Become a foster carer - Camden Fostering

It is great that you are interested in becoming a foster carer! We are actively recruiting more foster carers at the moment.

If you feel ready to start an application, then the steps below will show you what to expect. If you are not yet sure if you would like to apply but have questions, then please contact us.

Step 1: Contact us

When you are ready to start a fostering application then our fostering recruitment social worker Lauren will have a conversation with you on the phone to briefly find out about your motivations, relevant experience and the space in your home. You will also be asked to complete a preliminary application form.

Get in contact with us.

Step 2: Home visit

Lauren will then visit you at home. She will have a brief look round to check that your home is suitable for fostering. She will talk to you in more detail about your desire to foster and she will also speak to anyone you live with, as it is important that your whole household thinks fostering is a good idea.

You will also be given paperwork to complete so that background checks can be started (medical assessment, police check, employment checks etc.).

Step 3: The Skills to Foster preparation group

You will then be invited to attend a three-day compulsory training course to prepare you for fostering. This course covers the role of a foster carer, the importance of understanding a child and where they come from, working with birth families and professionals, keeping children safe and helping children to move on.

Following this course, a joint decision will be made by the trainers and you to see if fostering is right for you. If you go ahead, you will move on to the formal assessment process.

Step 4: The assessment

An assessing social worker will visit your home at least eight times. They will ask you about your family background, going right back to your own childhood and your early experiences. They will look at your educational and employment experiences and your significant relationships. They will also look at your skills to care for children and your readiness to become a foster carer.

The assessing social worker will also request references from people who know you well and can comment on your ability to care for a foster child.

Step 5: The fostering panel

Once the assessment is finished, your assessment report will be presented to Camden’s independent fostering panel. The fostering panel advises the council on the suitability of people who apply to become foster carers.

The panel will decide whether or not to recommend to the council your approval as a foster carer, but the final decision rests with the Assistant Director of Safeguarding and Social Care.

The fostering assessment usually takes between six to eight months to complete, from when you first get in touch to when you are approved as a foster carer. We appreciate that this is a long time, but it is very important that we are as thorough as possible when making decisions about who is suitable to look after vulnerable children.