Understanding the different types of fostering
When you become a foster parent, you’ll be able to provide a range of different types of fostering to suit the wide range of needs of children in the UK who need foster homes. Let’s learn all about the different types of fostering so you can see which might suit you and your family best.
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Short-term fostering
- The most common type of fostering
- Can last for a few weeks, months or even years while plans are made for their future
- Aims to reunify children with their families
Most children in foster care will experience this type of care initially, while their Local Authority and everyone involved in their care work behind the scenes to find a safe way for them to return home if possible, or while more long-term arrangements are put in place. This type of fostering is brilliant for foster parents who are interested in helping lots of different children at a pivotal time in their young lives.
Long-term fostering
- A minimum of 2 years is spent in the foster home
- Typically lasts until a child reaches 18
- Provides a long-term, stable home for a child
Long-term fostering is the ideal solution for children who are unable to return to their birth families. Many children transition from short-term to long-term foster care, either staying with their short-term foster parent where possible or moving in with a new family. This is a great option for foster parents who are looking to make a life-changing impact upon a child and watch them grow and thrive. Children in long-term foster care will stay in touch with their birth family wherever it is safe and in their best interests to do so. They may also stay with their foster family after they reach 18, in what is known as a ‘Staying Put’ arrangement.
Respite fostering
- A temporary type of fostering
- Offers lots of flexibility for foster parents
- Great for those who cannot foster full time
All of our foster parents are entitled to 2 weeks of respite, and if they choose to take them, their foster child will temporarily stay with another foster family in an arrangement known as respite care. Respite care is a fantastic choice for people who are interested in helping children through fostering but who cannot commit to becoming full-time foster parents. This kind of fostering generally happens during weekends and school holidays, and is planned in advance so you’ll have plenty of time to adjust your schedule. Respite foster parents receive a generous fostering allowance for the duration of time a child spends in their care.
Emergency fostering
- Helps children when they are most in need
- Typically lasts between a few hours and a few days
- Requires lots of flexibility
When a child unexpectedly needs a safe place to stay, such as if there has been a crisis at home or a caregiver has unexpectedly been taken into hospital, they will enter emergency foster care while their Local Authority resolve the crisis or make further arrangements. Emergency foster parents provide a vital service in times of crisis, often opening up their homes to children with very little notice and at any time of the day or night. The warmth of a caring foster parent can make all the difference to a child in a time of crisis.
Fostering siblings
- Keeps families together
- Strengthens sibling bonds
- Gives foster parents the opportunity to help multiple children at once
When families are separated in foster care, it can have a damaging effect on sibling relationships. That’s why we do all we can to keep siblings together wherever possible. By fostering siblings you can make a huge difference to the lives of multiple children, providing you have enough space in your home. In most circumstances, siblings will require separate bedrooms.
Parent and Child fostering
- Helps keep families together
- A less hands-on approach to fostering
- Typically lasts up to 12 weeks
Parent and child fostering is when a foster parent invites both a child and their caregiver to live with them for a brief period of time to help assess and improve their parenting skills. Typically a foster parent in this situation will provide supervision and guidance, supporting a parent to care for their child’s needs rather than doing everything for them. This can be a vital intervention for parents who are at risk of being separated from their child and can be really transformative for a family’s future.
Fostering sanctuary-seeking children
- Provides safe homes for asylum-seeking children
- A great choice for foster parents who speak more than one language
- Protects some of the most vulnerable children in the UK
Last year there were almost 5,000 applications for asylum from unaccompanied sanctuary-seeking children in the UK, all of whom need safe homes with loving foster parents. We tend to prioritise cultural matching, meaning that wherever possible we will match a child with a family who share elements of their culture such as their religion, language and ethnicity. Foster parents who don’t share a child’s background can learn all about how to support their cultural identity by taking part in some of our online e-learning courses, including ‘Cultural Awareness’ and ‘Caring for a Child of a Different Race, Religion or Ethnicity.’
Fostering children with additional needs
- Provides children with loving homes which nurture their individual needs
- You’ll have the support of great training resources
- An excellent choice for those with experience of caring for children or adults with additional needs
We support our foster parents to properly care for the needs of children who are physically disabled, as well as those who have learning difficulties or who are neurodivergent. Many children in care have disorders including Autism, ADHD and FASD, and it’s important that we match them with foster parents who are fully educated to support all of their needs. We offer lots of support to our foster parents who care for children who have additional needs, including specialist training available through our online learning platform.
Find out more
Download our Fostering Guide
Think fostering could be right for you and your family?
Learn more about fostering by downloading our Fostering Guide.
For everything you need to know about becoming a foster parent with Clifford House.
