​​​​As a foster carer, your role will be to meet the needs of a child in your care. You'll be working as part of a team to ensure a child's physical, emotional, social, educational and developmental needs are met.
Meeting the needs of the child
Physical development and good health
- Keep children safe from harm.
- Promote self care.
- Provide a healthy balanced diet.
- Provide access to medical attention.
- Refrain from using physical punishment to discipline them.
Emotional needs
- Encourage a child to have good self-esteem.
- Promote and supporting a sense of identity.
- See the child as an individual.
- Provide opportunities to spend time with a child.
- Promote the development of secure attachments.
- Provide consistency and stability.
- Nurture and promote a child's cultural, racial and religious identity.
- Facilitate and support contact with the child's birth family as appropriate.
Social contacts
- Encourage the child to make friends.
- Encourage them to socialise and build support networks through joining clubs or groups.
- Understand the value of contact with other fostered children.
- Encourage a child to reach their full potential.
Education
- Take an active interest in the child's education, including in their homework.
- Work closely with the child's school.
- Promote and encourage learning.
- Support a child's attendance at school.
- Advocate for the child's individual needs.
Additional fostering responsibilities
- Understand that fostering is a family task which will impact on you, your family and friends.
- Establish support systems for a child and other family members.
- Maintain comprehensive records of your placements.
- Work alongside professionals.
- Attend training.
Make a fostering enquiry today