This is not a test, it’s simply an opportunity for us to find out about you and your family. We’ll work with you for 12 weeks to help you learn more about fostering and its suitability for you.
Fostering is a big commitment, and we want to make sure it’s right for you. We’re committed to helping children find caring families.
The assessment process is thorough and may feel challenging. You will be asked to share personal details about almost every aspect of your private life, including your current relationship, relationship history and your childhood. Your social worker will tell you what the checks entail and who needs to be involved.
If you have children, our outreach team will use this time to help them understand fostering and become comfortable with it.
At the end of the 12 weeks, a social worker will prepare a report about you and your family, ready to take to the Fostering Panel who will make recommendations about your suitability for fostering.
The report will cover:
- your childhood, job and relationships
- your previous childcare experience
- your capacity for parenting
- your references
- any other safeguarding we might need to do about you or your family, such as checks with schools and the probation service
Many people from different backgrounds and experiences become foster carers. Never assume that you cannot foster because you may have had a difficult childhood or lived through complex adult relationships. These experiences can give people a unique insight into the difficulties a child might be going through.