Supporting you at every step

There is a lot more we can do for you once you start on your foster journey with us. We’ll be with you every step of the way to make sure you have the right support and guidance to care for young people across the North East.

We provide:

• 18 days Short Break Care – You may need a break from time to time, and we will work with you to support this. However, if you don’t use it, we will pay you the cash value for any outstanding.
• Birthday and School Summer Holiday Payments – Amounting to £560 to £620 a year for every child placed with you.
• Therapeutic Foster Parent Training – Practical training & tools designed by foster parents and children who’ve been in care.
• An Experienced Foster Parent as a Mentor – Someone who has been there, done it and learned from experience. They know more about the realities of fostering than a social worker and can give you the benefit of their experience.
• Psychology Support – Provided through monthly group supervision and any other time needed, we offer help with a tailored plan for your foster child.
• Fortnightly Supervision – from a skilled, experienced social worker in your first year (usually changing to monthly afterwards).
• 24/7 Telephone Support – from an appropriately trained member of staff.
• Education Support – Help finding the right school, getting the best education possible for your fostered child, and extra help in some subject areas if they need it. You can find out more here.
• Access to Mentoring and Befriending for Fostered Children – The child’s Social Worker can make a referral for this support, which usually involves a trusted adult meeting up with the young person every two weeks to do fun things together. It’s an extra layer of support for the young person that can help them have fun, enjoy life and build relationships.

Check our our competitive fees and allowances here

Support Networks:

Parents live in communities, and most families have a network of people around them to help them bring up the children and support the adults. We work with you to help you build the right support networks for you.

In addition to the support networks you already have in your families, friendship circles and your local community, we help you build relationships with other foster parents in our fostering community. They understand the unique challenges that come from being a foster carer, and many can give you a sympathetic ear, a shoulder to cry on, and often some practical advice and insights based on their own experiences. We support newer foster parents with a mentor or buddy, which helps them progress in their fostering role.

Other Support:

Foster parents can access information and support from us and from a variety of other agencies. These include:

• The Fostering Network, one of the UK’s leading fostering charities
• Fosterline is a free helpline and website funded by the Department for Education, offering advice, information and support on all issues related to fostering. Calls to the advice line are free!
• Foster Talk is an independent, non-profit organisation. They give professional support services to foster parents.

For more information on any of the fostering support available, please click here to contact us at Changing Futures Fostering!