Fostering offers children and young people a safe and caring home when they are unable to live with their birth family.
When a child can’t live with their own family, a relative, or a close family friend, a foster carer opens their home and welcomes them in. Foster carers offer the love, stability, safety, space and time that every growing child and young persons needs.
Fostering is a profession
Fostering is a real, professional role, not just a kind gesture. That’s why foster carers receive full training, ongoing support, and a regular tax-free allowance, plus extra payments depending on the child’s age needs, and the type of fostering required.
Most importantly, fostering is one of the most meaningful things a person can do. It’s a chance to change the story for a child right in your own community.
There are around 65,000 children in the UK living with around 55,000 foster carers. Another child comes into care approximately every 20 minutes. In Reading, we have more than 250 children and young people in our care. Sadly, not all are able to remain in Reading due to there not being enough local carers to look after them, which is why we need more foster carers in Reading so we can keep the children close to their families, friends, school and communities.
What does a foster carer do?
Day-to-day, fostering is the ordinary things that matter most like doing the school run, cooking meals together, helping with homework and simply being there to talk. It means building trust with a child who may not find that easy and offering steady, caring guidance through whatever they may be going through.
They may have experienced trauma, or have had experiences that make it hard for them to see their own worth, and they may look to their foster carer to rebuild confidence in themselves and in others around them; to demonstrate clear values and help them with the social and life skills they need as a firm foundation for adulthood.
In short, they need someone they can trust and believe in.
Could that be you?
What are the different types of foster care?
Foster care is about matching the needs of both carer and child. Many carers need to fit in additional commitments, such as work, study or caring for other members of their family. Because of that, we have a range of fostering options.
Who needs fostering?
In Reading, we are always looking for people who can take on all types of fostering and all ages of children and young people. At the moment, we particularly need foster carers who can look after teenagers, siblings and children with additional needs. If you think you can help, please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.
Both fostering and adoption are needed when a child cannot stay with their birth family. Fostering is usually a temporary arrangement, whereas adoption means a child will become a permanent member of the adoptive family.
With fostering, the parental responsibility sits with the local authority and the child’s birth parents, although some of this may also be shared with the foster carers. This is usually a temporary arrangement in place while other arrangements are being made for the child in the long term. There is also long-term fostering, where the child will stay with the foster carers until they are 18, or until they are 25 if a ‘Staying Put’ agreement is put in place.
When a child is adopted, there is a legal procedure whereby all the parental responsibility will move to the adopter. The child will then become a permanent member of the adoptive family.
Reading Fostering Service is the local authority fostering service for Reading Borough Council. If you are thinking of adopting or would like to find out more, we work with Adopt Thames Valley.
Could you become a foster carer?
Answer a few questions and find out whether you’re ready to make a lasting difference to a child in Reading.
