Fostering

Welcome

Thank you for taking the first steps into finding out more about becoming a foster carer for Doncaster.

Every day children in Doncaster live ordinary lives, cared for and supported by their foster carers. It is this normality and stability that foster carers can offer children at a time when they may need it most.

We are looking for people who can open up their homes in order to offer this to a child in need. You must have a committed, positive approach and be prepared to face the challenges fostering presents but also be ready to enjoy the fun and rewarding times that it offers too.

We hope that the information on these pages will convince you, that you too can make a difference to a child’s life by fostering and that you will take the first steps and contact the Fostering Team to register your interest.

What is Fostering?

Fostering is about looking after other people’s children in your home when they cannot live with their own parents or family. Foster carers offer children somewhere to live for as long as they may need it, which may range from a few nights to a number of years.

Fostering involves taking on the day to day parenting of children and working alongside Doncaster Council and other professionals to achieve the best possible outcome for each child.

There are many reasons why children can’t live at home with their families; this could be due to illness or a family crisis, or more seriously because a child is at risk of neglect or abuse.

All the children who need foster carers will have experienced the trauma of being removed from their parents and home and all that they consider ‘normal’. Therefore, you will have to work with the child to help them come to terms with what has happened to them and make them feel comfortable and secure in their new environment.