Children can be fostered for different lengths of time. Some are fostered for a day or two, while others may stay with foster carers from a young age until they become adults. Here are the different types of fostering:
Short-term fostering
- For children whose future is uncertain.
- Can last from a few days to over a year.
- Helps decide the child's long-term future.
- Find out more about short-term fostering.
Long-term fostering
- Also called 'permanent fostering'.
- For children who stay in foster care until adulthood.
- Provides security and stability.
- Can continue until age 21 under 'staying put'.
- Find out more about long-term fostering.
Emergency fostering
- For children needing immediate care.
- Can happen any time, day or night.
- Short-term until more is known about the child's situation.
- Find out more about emergency fostering.
Sleepover fostering
- Provides weekend/overnight/holiday care to children where their permanent carer is unable to.
- Helps support foster carers.
- Find out more about sleepover fostering.
Short breaks fostering
- Overnight and day care for our children with disabilities.
- Supporting birth families with short breaks.
- Find out more about short breaks fostering
Flexi-carers
- Supporting day care for children
- Helping children get to school or family time
- Supporting children to come over for tea
- A positive way to start your fostering journey if you do not have a spare room or wish to build your confidence and skills in caring for our children.
- Find out more about the Flexi-carers.
Step across fostering
- For children moving from residential homes to foster care.
- Helps them adjust to living in family-based care.
- Find out more about step across fostering
Parent and child fostering
- For a parent and their child, often a parent and baby.
- Teaches parenting skills and ensures the child's safety.
- Aims for the family to live independently after a few months.
- Find out more about parent and child fostering.
Fostering unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC)
- For young people who have fled traumatic situations.
- Meets their daily needs and advocates for them.
- Involves working with health, education, and cultural organisations.
- Find out more about fostering unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
Remand foster care
- Caring for children who are in the youth court process
- A positive alternative to children living in remand units
- Preventing criminalisation of our children
Mockingbird fostering
- Become a hub home carer for one of our Mockingbird constellations
- Create a fostering community, and lead take a leading role in support of a small group of fostering households and children.
- This type of fostering is built on the premise of ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ and aims to build an extended family model of fostering.
- Find out more about the Mockingbird model of fostering.
Supported lodgings
- For young people aged 16 or over.
- Provides a bedroom and support.
- Helps them prepare for independent living.
- Teaches life skills and offers advice on education and work.
- Find out more about supported lodgings.
Kinship care
- A child lives with relatives or family friends instead of their parents.
- People sometimes call kinship carers “family and friends carers” or “connected carers.”
- Kinship care can be a formal arrangement through a local authority. It can also be an informal arrangement made by the family (private fostering)
- Many kinship carers are grandparents, uncles, aunts, older siblings, or close family friends.
- Find out more about kinship care.