Who can foster?
When it comes to being a foster parent and fostering a child, it’s your personal qualities that count.
Must be over the age of 21
You must be over 21 and have the space & time in your life to be able to foster.
Need to have a spare bedroom
For fostering, a spare bedroom near the parent’s room is required for the child.
No qualifications required
You don’t need specific qualifications or experience in childcare.
No discrimination
Foster regardless of age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity etc.
Considering Foster Care in England? Understand the Criteria and Requirements
There are many myths and misconceptions about who can foster a child and what exactly the foster care criteria are for England. At Family Fostering Partners, we are committed to debunking such myths so that as many people as possible can consider becoming a foster parent. When it comes to fostering and foster care requirements, personal qualities and a passion for child welfare are what truly matter. You can learn more about foster care criteria in England, and who can foster a child via the Government website.
Foster Care Criteria in England: What You Need to Know
To be eligible for fostering, certain basic requirements must be met, these are:
- You must be over the age of 21.
- You need to have a spare bedroom available in your home.
- It’s important to have the capacity and commitment to provide a nurturing environment for a child.
These foster care criteria ensure that every child in foster care receives the attention and space they need and deserve in a stable and loving home.
Who Can Foster a Child?
At Family Fostering Partners we work hard to ensure that individuals from all walks of life can feel confident to put themselves forward to become foster parents. Whether you are single, married, identify as LGBTQ+, or come from any religious or cultural background, you can foster as long as you share a commitment to supporting the well-being of children and young people in care. We work with local authorities all around England, for instance in Gloucestershire, Cheltenham and Redditch, to find, train and support new foster carers.
Foster Care Requirements: The Qualities of a Good Foster Parent
While there are no strict rules regarding your background, certain attributes are highly valued in foster parents:
- A genuine interest in childcare and a desire to make a positive impact.
- Patience and resilience, especially when dealing with challenging behaviours.
- A willingness to learn and grow within your fostering role, supported throughout by training and guidance from us at Family Fostering Partners.
- Strong collaboration skills to work effectively with other people such as educational staff, social workers, and a child’s biological family.
- Emotional stability and the capacity to provide a supportive, understanding, and calm environment.
Getting Started with Fostering
Before applying, it’s also wise to consider:
- Your physical and mental health to ensure you can meet the demands of childcare.
Having a disability or a preexisting medical need (physical or mental) does not prohibit you from being able to foster, however, you do need to be able to meet the demands of looking after a child.
- Your financial stability, to ensure that you’re able to meet a child’s needs and your own using the fostering allowance. Use the ‘chat to us’ feature in the bottom right hand corner to ask us about the fostering allowance.
- Accessibility and logistics, especially if you rely on public transportation to attend meetings, training, and support groups.
Don't Let Fostering Myths Deter You
Many potential foster parents hesitate due to misconceptions surrounding foster care requirements and who can foster a child, we hope that this page has dispelled some of these myths. The children and young people that we help look after are all unique, therefore, it’s vital that our cohort of foster parents are equally diverse and unique.
If fostering sounds like the right fit for you, we encourage you to reach out and start your journey with us today. We can be contacted by filling out the contact form.
Training is very important. FFP are amazing at giving support. If there are any courses we’d like to do, we just speak to our link worker and they will always organise that for us. The training is first class.
Steve, Foster Parent
