Can I foster?

Yes. When you foster a child, you must be able to provide a bedroom that is for their use only. Get in touch with our team if you have any questions related to your home and the space available.

You’ll need to be aged 21 or over to foster.

There’s no upper age limit, as long as you’re able to meet the physical and emotional demands of caring for children.

If you are in good health, mentally and physically, all you need is the drive and energy to make a commitment and a difference to a child or young person.

Yes, you can be a foster parent if you are LGBTQ+. We assess people’s suitability for fostering on how well they are able to meet a child’s needs and make a secure home where a child can thrive.

You don’t need any formal qualifications, but you do need to be comfortable around children and have experience in looking after or working with children or young people. This could be through parenting your own children, or regularly babysitting for your friends and family.

No, to become a foster carer, you can be married, single or living with a partner.

No, you could be a homeowner or living in rented accommodation to become a foster carer, as long as the accommodation is safe and welcoming. We would assess the suitability of the accommodation as part of the application process.

The welfare and health needs of fostered children and young people is always paramount and at the heart of foster care. All fostering households should be smoke free and we will not place children under the age of 5 if anyone in the household smokes or vapes. If you have plans to give up smoking or vaping and are interested in fostering young children, please get in touch.

Having pets does not prevent you from fostering - in fact they can be an asset to a foster family. Your pets will be assessed as part of the assessment process, taking into account their temperament and behaviour.

Becoming a foster carer doesn’t have to mean giving up employment. You would be expected to be available to care for children, support contact between a child and their family and to attend meetings, training and support groups. Depending on your circumstances, you can sometimes foster and continue to work flexible hours; it just may make a difference to the type of fostering that you can do.

Read more about fostering when you work (PDF, 111KB).

Being retired isn’t a barrier to applying to become a foster carer. National figures show that the majority of foster carers are actually over the age of 50. If you feel you have a lot to offer a vulnerable child or young person, age or retired status isn’t a factor, so get in touch.

You can find out more about transferring on our dedicated Transferring Foster Carers page or by talking to our team.