How to Foster a Child: Simple Steps to Prepare Yourself for Fostering

If you’ve ever felt the call to make a difference in a child’s life, fostering could be the perfect path for you. Becoming a foster parent is a life-changing decision, for you and for the children who you’ll care for. At Family Fostering Partners, we know that for some people, understanding how to foster a child can feel overwhelming at first. That’s why we’ve broken down the key steps to help you feel confident, informed, and supported on your fostering journey. 

Research how to foster a child

The first step in preparing to foster is gathering information. The more you learn, the more confident you’ll feel.

• Understand what fostering involves: Fostering means offering a safe, stable, and loving home to a child who can’t live with their birth family. This could be for a few days, months, or even years.  
• Explore the different types of fostering: Different types of fostering suit different people. These include emergency, short-term, long-term, respite, and parent and child placements. 
• Talk to people who’ve been there: Speak to current foster carers or watch testimonials online. At Family Fostering Partners, we’re always happy to connect you with experienced foster parents who can share their real-life stories.
• Ask questions early: Don’t worry about asking the “wrong” question because there’s no such thing! Our team is here to guide you and help you explore whether fostering is right for you. Use the ‘chat to us’ feature in the bottom right hand corner to connect to a member of the team.
• Partner with the right fostering agency: Look for an agency that offers personalised support, values your input, and puts the needs of both carers and children first. At Family Fostering Partners, we build strong relationships with our fostering families, offering ongoing training, 24/7 support, and a genuine sense of community.

Get your home ready for welcoming your foster child

You don’t need a big house or fancy décor to foster, but your home does need to be safe, welcoming, and ready for a child to join your household.

• Have a spare bedroom: To foster, having a spare bedroom is an absolute must. A quiet space where a child can relax, feel secure, and have some privacy is really important.
• Think about practical safety: This includes things like secure windows, a smoke alarm, and safe storage for medicines or cleaning products. Your assessing social worker will help and guide you with this.

Training and support about how to foster a child

You don’t need to know everything about fostering from the start—we are here to guide you and give you the best training possible.

• Attend Skills to Foster training: This training is delivered before you are approved as a foster parent. ‘Skills to Foster’ training will tell you everything you need to know about fostering with Family Fostering Partners.
• Benefit from 24/7 Support: At Family Fostering Partners, our foster parents are never alone. You’ll have a dedicated supervising social worker, access to a 24/7 on call service, and fully paid membership to Foster Talk who offer free legal, medical and financial advice.
• Join our community of carers: Our peer support groups, closed Facebook page, and in-person events help our foster parents to stay connected, build relationships and build a fostering network.
• Ongoing development: After being approved as a foster parent, you will be invited to a range of training that is bespoke made to our foster parents, covering subjects like attachment, trauma-informed care, internet safety, and first aid.

When you’re equipped with the right tools and surrounded by the right people, the question of how to foster a child becomes a shared journey, one filled with learning, growth, and purpose.

Take the next step

If you’ve been wondering how to foster a child, we hope these steps have helped bring clarity. Fostering is about being present, compassionate, and ready to learn; before you know it, fostering will be second-nature! To speak to our team or request an information pack, contact us today. We’re here to guide you every step of the way.