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.
Children and young people need fostering in Harrogate. We offer local training, 24/7 support, peer support, and the opportunity to be the best you can be in your role.
If you’re considering becoming a foster carer in Harrogate, choose to work with a fostering agency that has friendly local teams who will support you all the way.
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.
We are the leading fostering agency in the Harrogate area and work in partnership with local authorities to place children and young people in homes where they can thrive.
As a foster carer for the National Fostering Group, you’ll have unparallelled access to professional support and excellent free foster carer training on your doorstep. We want you to thrive too, being the best you can be in your role as foster carer.
In addition, you’ll have access to a large and active peer network that includes several local support groups.
NFA North is a well-established fostering agency that supports foster carers and children in Yorkshire, including Harrogate and the surrounding areas. Foster children are carefully matched to their foster carers, who get 24/7 support if they need it. The team feels like a family and puts on plenty of events.
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 Harrogate, 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.
The agency has a lovely feel that makes you part of something special. It's nice for everyone to know your name and have a chat whenever we pop in. My social worker is amazing and goes above and beyond what she is paid for. It is a real pleasure to see her once a month for coffee and a chat.
If you think you’d like to become a foster carer in Harrogate, 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 Harrogate. 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.
Scores of children are currently fostered or waiting to find foster parents in the Harrogate area. National Fostering Group is the largest independent fostering agency in the UK. Our team supporting fostering in Harrogate, NFA North, covers the whole of Yorkshire (as well as Lincolnshire). This includes Otley, Blubberhouses, Knaresborough, Wetherby, Tadcaster and Boston Spa.
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
Fostering statistics in Yorkshire & The Humber
Around 5,720 children live with a foster family in Yorkshire & the Humber. There are approximately 45,370 fostering households and 76,640 foster carers in England.
Sources: Department for Education, Ofsted
