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 Leicester. Whether you are new to fostering or have previous experience, we have a variety of placements from emergency to long term. We offer 24/7 support, peer support, regular activities and free training.
If you’re thinking about training to become a foster parent or taking it up again, work with a fostering agency with local teams who will be with you every step of 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, 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 Leicester. 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 Leicester have a large and active peer network that includes several local support groups.
Jay Fostering is a well-established agency with a skilled team, many of whom have been with the agency for a long time. This stability means that foster carers in Leicester get to know the people who are supporting them and are supported by people who know their family situation well. The team works hard to create a family feel and a sense of belonging.
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 Leicester, 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.
We like the new umbrella of National Fostering Group (which Jay Fostering is part of). We find that if someone at Jay Fostering can’t help us, someone at National Fostering Group can.
We’ve been made to feel very welcome. It was like a family bubble at Jay and now we’ve got a bigger bubble. The support we get from our agency is really important to us. It feels a bit like a security blanket, having someone else to back us up and stand alongside us. We feel that the training was second to none, too.
If you think you’d like to become a foster carer in Leicester, 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 Leicester. 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.
Many children and young people are awaiting a foster parent in Leicester. National Fostering Group has local offices across the Midlands, including Melton Mowbray, Loughborough, Nuneaton, Market Harborough and Peterborough.
We are a fabulous team, we all bend over backwards to support each other through any given situation, from personal difficulties, to cover meetings, duty and Out of Hours. Someone will always help out a colleague in any situation.
Around 4,070 children live with a foster family in the East Midlands. There are approximately 45,370 fostering households and 76,640 foster carers in England.
Sources: Department for Education, Ofsted
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
