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 need fostering in Kent, across many of the region’s towns and cities. If you’re new to fostering or already experienced, can you help? We offer training, 24/7 support and an active network of peer support groups.
If you’re thinking about becoming a foster carer in Kent, we are a leading fostering agency with more than 20 years of experience, and we’ll 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.
One of the most established fostering agencies in Kent, we work 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 get unparalleled access to professional support and excellent free training in and around Kent. We want you to thrive too, being the best you can be in your role as foster carer.
On top of this, our Kent foster carers have a large and active peer network that includes several local support groups.
Next Step, a medium-sized agency, prioritizes comprehensive care for foster children and families in its region. Many long-term foster carers and staff reflect the agency’s commitment. Founded by a family with foster care experience, Next Step operates from headquarters in Faversham and offices in Wanstead and Croydon. With recent Ofsted assessment rates the agency as ‘GOOD’, experience continuity and quality care by joining Next Step, a dedicated fostering support provider.
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 Kent, 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 our foster career with Heath Farm (part of National Fostering Group), we have had nothing but support throughout. Even four years into fostering, we still receive a lot of support.
We have done a lot of training courses which have really helped us and we still continue to do the courses. Everyone at Heath Farm is very approachable and gives advice in their own way. We can’t wait to continue to work with them for many years to come.
Around 7,230 children live with a foster family in the South East. There are approximately 45,370 fostering households and 76,640 foster carers in England.
Sources: Department for Education, Ofsted
If you think you’d like to become a foster carer in Kent, 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 Kent. 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.
When I first came here, it was different and my carers were different to what I had known. But from the moment I met them, I kind of knew this is where I would want to stay.
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 8,000 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
Many children in Kent are waiting to be fostered; this amounts to hundreds across the South East and in London. National Fostering Group has local offices across the South East, also incorporating Essex and London, and including Uxbridge, Whitstable, Lowestoft, Waltham Abbey, Basildon and Croydon.
