Find out if you could be a foster carer
In a few simple questions, you’ll know if you’re suitable to apply to become a foster carer.
We have many foster children looking for homes in Bournemouth where they can thrive. Can you help change their future? Our placements that suit people who are new to fostering and also experienced foster carers, with 24/7 support, peer support, regular activities and free training.
If you’re considering becoming a foster parent, choose a fostering agency with local teams who will be with you every step.
National Fostering Group is the largest independent fostering agency in the UK with superb agency coverage across all regions – meaning you have the support of a team close to you.
One of the most established fostering agencies in the UK, we work with local authorities to place children and young people in homes where they can thrive.
As a foster carer with us, you’ll have unparalleled access to professional support and excellent free training in and around Bournemouth. We want you to thrive too, being the best you can be in your role as foster carer.
On top of this, carers who are fostering in Bournemouth have a large and active peer network that includes more than a dozen local support groups.
Fostering Solutions South is based in Winchester and is a friendly, family-focused team. They place a great deal of emphasis on the matching process to make sure foster children bond well with the families – the majority of their children remain with their foster families long-term.
Our average foster carer pay is around £24,500 a year (£2,040 on average per month), which is far higher than the government’s recommended weekly allowance. For most foster carers in Bournemouth, this will be tax free! Some types of fostering placement pay more than £35,000 a year. Foster carer pay doesn’t affect state benefits you’re currently receiving.
Since we started fostering we’ve never looked back. It has given me a new lease of life and made me feel a lot younger.
If you think you’d like to become a foster carer in Bournemouth, your next step is to have a chat. You can book a call by using our enquiry form. After this, if you decide to go ahead with an application, this usually takes around 16 weeks and we’ll help you every step of the way. We’ll help you decide what types of fostering you want to do and we’ll even get you started with foster carer training.
We are looking for foster carers in Bournemouth and the surrounding area, including Westbourne, Christchurch, Lytchett Matravers, Corfe Mullen, Verwood, Ringwood, Winton, Charminster, Southbourne and Poole. We welcome people from ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds, physical abilities and the LGBT+ community. You can be single, married, a homeowner or a tenant. Your ability to care for and nurture a child is what really matters. If you’ve worked in sectors like education, the emergency services, care or healthcare, you’ll be especially suited to this role.
Dozens of children and young people are awaiting foster parents in Bournemouth and the surrounding area, from Poole to Christchurch and across Dorset including Ferndown, Wimborne and Blandford Forum. National Fostering Group has local offices across the South including Winchester, with local teams supporting foster carers in their communities.
The best part of my role is seeing the foster carers who, to begin with, may lack confidence or feel they are not doing things quite right, blossom into fostering experts. Seeing the bonds develop between the children and foster families makes everything we do worth it.
Our foster carers come from all walks of life. With training, support and a generous fostering allowance, they provide homes where children can thrive and experience the childhood they deserve.
More than 9,000 new foster carers are needed UK-wide to provide homes for children in need of a foster family. If you’re thinking of becoming a foster carer, now’s the time.
Source: The Fostering Network
Around 9,190 children live with a foster family in the North West. There are approximately 45,370 fostering households and 76,640 foster carers in England.
Sources: Department for Education, Ofsted