Welcome to Acorn Fostering Services

You will need to provide the details on your application form of three personal referees one referee must be a family referee.

The referees should have known you for at least three years and for couples must be able to provide information on both applicants.

The agency will send references to the referees for completion and your assessor will arrange to meet with them during your assessment.

If you have a permanent lodger or non-family member who has lived with you for over 12 months, you may still foster.

If they will not be leaving the home they must agree to be part of the assessment.

This involves statutory checks and meetings with your assessor to determine their suitability for living in a household with a fostered child.

Any other rental arrangements could prove too complicated and not feasible for fostering.

The fostering regulations require criminal record checks to be made on everyone applying to foster and those living in the household age 18 and over.

When you apply to foster you will need to disclose all criminal cautions and convictions. These will be discussed with you and the fostering agency will obtain an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring check.

Minor offences should not prohibit you from foster caring, however offences against children and sexual offences would prevent you from applying.

Fostering agencies update this check at regular intervals post-approval.

Having pets does not prohibit you from fostering, in fact, in many cases pets can add to the therapeutic environment for a foster child.

Your pet must be risk assessed as part of the process of becoming a foster carer, in particular it’s temperament and behaviour around children.

Additionally, as a pet owner you will need to consider how you would feel if a foster child injured one of your pets.

Foster carers are expected to give fostered children opportunities to experience family events and going on holiday is an excellent example of one of these.

The child’s social worker makes the ultimate decision on whether a child is allowed to go. Normally, this is seen as beneficial to the foster child’s experience of being a part of your family.

If you cannot take a child abroad, you will need to think about how a child can experience a holiday in the UK.

Generally, fostered children remain at their same school with the same teachers and friends. This provides them with consistency when everything else in their lives are changing.

The exemption to this is a long-term placement where a change of school can be considered.

It is inevitable when the placement ends it will be an emotional time for all concerned.

Remember, your family will have played an important part in preparing a child for what comes next in their journey. You and your family can take satisfaction from the positive change a child will have gone through during their time in your care.