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 Newtownabbey, County Antrim. When you become a foster carer in Newtownabbey, 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, 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 and Northern Ireland, 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 Newtownabbey area and work in partnership with Health and Social Care Trusts to place children and young people in homes where they can thrive.
As a foster carer for the National Fostering Group, you’ll have unparalleled access to professional support and excellent free 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.
Foster carers in Northern Ireland are supported by the team at Kindercare Fostering NI, our agency that covers fostering in Belfast, Newtownabbey, Bangor, and Newtownards. We’ve built a reputation as a small team with a family ethos and who have shared vision and values. Our aim is to provide the highest quality care to our children and support to our foster carers, by providing a professional, supportive and engaged service.
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 foster care in Northern Ireland, 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.
There is no other job like fostering. You can physically see the difference you are making in these children, from the day they come to you to the say they leave, you know you have made some sort of difference. The cherry on top of the cake is when they come back to you years later and say ‘you were right’ or even just a simple ‘thank you’ it reminds you the tough times are worth it.
If you think you’d like to become a foster carer in Northern Ireland, 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 Belfast, Newtownabbey, Bangor, and Newtownards. 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 are waiting to find foster parents in the Newtownabbey area and across County Antrim.
Kindercare Fostering, part of National Fostering Group, covers Belfast, Lisburn, Newry, Eniskillen, Omagh, Derry, Coleraine, Cookstown, Bangor and Ballymena.
Here we are, 21 years later, 25 children later and no looking back. I could never imagine doing anything else.
