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Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions about Foster Care
Fostering is a way of offering children and young people a home while their own family is unable to look after them. Fostering can be a temporary arrangement, and many fostered children return to their own families. Children who cannot return home but still want to stay in touch with their families often live in long-term foster care and have continued support from their local authority or health and social care trust.
Children need foster care for all sorts of reasons, including as a result of family breakdown or illness. They could have become subject to a child protection order following experiencing abuse and neglect, or their parents may be ill and unable to provide care.
Yes, you don’t have to be in a relationship to foster.
Our foster carers can be single, married, co-habiting, or in a civil partnership.
This is something that we would asses on an individual basis. Fostering is a demanding role and it is essential that you are able to be flexible around the needs of the children in placement and are also able to attend regular meetings and training courses.
Yes, we encourage anyone with an interest in fostering to apply! It doesn’t matter how you identify as long as you have the time, space and ability to care for a child or young person.
No, but you do need a stable home for a foster child with no risk of eviction, and you must not have rent arrears. As part of the assessment process, we will seek references from either your landlord if you rent, or the bank if you have a mortgage.
Yes, you must have a spare bedroom to foster a child. This is important as it provides the child or young person with a safe, secure place to call their own. In this time of change and disruption, giving a young person a sense of privacy is essential, and a bedroom to call their own will form a big part of this. If you currently do not have a spare bedroom but are looking to move soon, you can still contact us to discuss your next steps.
Yes, you are paid a fostering allowance for every child in your care. This allowance is dependent on the age of the child and their needs. It is important to remember that if you do not have a child placed with you, you are not paid. Find out more about the foster care allowance below.
Questions about Training and Support
We offer support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The team at Lotus will be in regular contact with you to offer advice and support and to ensure that children are receiving a high quality of care as you continue to grow as foster carers.
Other professionals involved in caring for the child will also have a role in supporting you around matters such as health and education. We also run support groups for foster carers and also for your children; many people find these enjoyable and helpful.
Here at Lotus, we help our foster carers to grow and develop to become the best possible carer they can. We achieve this by offering a range of training and support. We also show our carers how much they mean to us by arranging events throughout the year, including well-being days, appreciation events and away days
Get in touch today on 020 8106 6800 to start your fostering journey.
All foster carers will complete the introductory Skills to Foster training, as well as Fostering Changes and the Fostering Standards. After approval, a wide range of training is available.
At Lotus, we strongly believe in supporting our foster carers with ongoing training and support that enables you to provide the best care possible to the children and young people placed with you. We arrange various training courses throughout the year and arrange bespoke training according to the needs of our carers and the children placed with them.
Questions about Transferring – Existing Foster Carers
Yes. As a foster carer, you go above and beyond for the children in your care. Therefore, you deserve to feel valued and supported in your role. As an approved foster carer, you’ll have a wealth of skills and experience that we would welcome.
The Fostering Network introduced a protocol that helps foster carers move between agencies.
For foster carers with children in placement, the process is relatively straightforward. We’ll work with you, the local authority and the fostering agencies liaising to agree to the timescales and to how this is best achieved.
Visit our transferring page below to find out more
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