Find out about the types of foster care role you could offer, our foster families and how you can become a foster carer
Are you thinking about fostering?
The Northumberland foster care team look after children who can't live with their parents for short or long periods of time. To do this we need people, individuals and families, like you, to join our team to help care for these children. We work with you to train and prepare you for the role and then provide ongoing support when you join the Northumberland Foster Family. It's amazing what our foster carers and the children they care for get our of fostering......but don't take our word for it: Foster carer Louise says, "You get a real buzz from helping children when they need you the most." Care experienced young person, Ebony says, "My carer Alan has helped me feel part of the family, by giving me space and trust to make my own choices. He gives me boundaries, and I just feel really settled and safe here so I can get on with my life and school." For more real life stories from foster carers and care experienced young people - click to view our 'Fostering stories' section
There are very few things that would stop you from becoming a foster carer. If you are in a stable position in life and can offer a child or children a safe, secure and nurturing home, then you could foster. We can help you explore what types of foster care you could offer now or in the future. We will also explore what support and training would help you.
Ability to use existing experience as a parent
Use professional skills to help children and families
We wanted to fill a space in our family life that was missing (e.g. wanting a bigger family, or wanting to have children back in the home when their own children were getting older)
Altruistic needs (feeling you could help by sharing your energy and resources)
Seeking a child with high dependency needs that we could help (e.g. through experience of disability)
Providing something the community will value
We are very proud to introduce "‘Everything’ - our latest fostering recruitment film, created collaboratively with 100 other local authority fostering services. The film shows the positive long-term impact fostering can have on those involved, showing one fostering household’s journey over decades. It features a couple of time-hops, telling the stories of two people, Will and Zara (now adults) that were fostered as children by Mike and his wife. The film also shows the important role birth children play as part of a fostering household. ‘Everything’ was developed with foster carers and people that have care experience; providing superb insights into the reality of fostering. What you do with your life could forever change someone else’s - nowhere is this more true than when it comes to fostering.
Louise shares with us the good, the bad and the ugly side of foster care stating "There is much more good"
Foster carer Vicky shares her experience of the application, training and preparation process you undergo to become a foster carer. She talks further about the training courses and programme you have access to when you start working with Northumberland.
The Fostering Network’s Mockingbird programme is an innovative way of delivering foster care using the Mockingbird Family Model. This is an extended family model that has the potential to improve placement stability, security, safety and permanence for children. It improves peer support for foster carers, includes regular joint planning and training, and social activities.
The programme improves the stability of fostering placements and strengthens the relationships between carers, children and young people, fostering services and birth families. Watch The Fostering Network's animation Mockingbird: a really big family to hear from young people about their experience of being part of a constellation. This film was co-produced in 2021 with young people who are part of Mockingbird in the UK.
The Fostering Network is the UK’s leading fostering charity. They're the essential network for fostering; bringing together everyone who's involved in the lives of fostered children. They support foster carers to transform children’s lives and we work with fostering services and the wider sector to develop and share best practice.
They work to make sure all fostered children and young people experience stable family life and are passionate about the difference foster care makes. They champion fostering and seek to create vital change so that foster care is the very best it can be.
The hub home provides support to the other families, through:
The hub home also provides a neutral space for:
We've successfully achieved funding from the Department for Education (DfE) and are working with The Fostering Network to deliver the Mockingbird Family Model in and around Northumberland.
We’re looking for experienced carers, or professionals from a caring background, to be a part of this innovative method of delivering foster care.
Details of the roles available are below:
Hub home carers:
Satellite carers:
How much will I get paid for being a foster carer?
This depends on what service you are offering our children and young people, and also your skills and experience. The basic payments information is on the support for you page.
Will being a foster carer affect my benefits?
You should still be able to claim the same benefits when you become a foster carer. Fostering allowance payments received while a child is with you are not normally taken into consideration when calculating benefits, as allowances are to pay for the care of the child. Foster carers may also be able to claim working tax credits. We cannot offer advice on your whole family financial situation – the Citizens Advice Bureau and local benefits can help instead.
Will I be affected by the bedroom tax?
A foster carers’ first spare bedroom is exempt from the bedroom tax. Northumberland provides extra financial support to foster carers with two or more bedrooms via the discretionary housing fund, subject to a full income/expenditure assessment. This also applies to people going through the foster carer recruitment process.
I will be classed as self-employed - where can I find tax and self-employment advice?
Help and advice is available online with HMRC - foster carers' e-learning: Tax for Foster Carers. Alternatively, there are live and pre-recorded webinars: HM Revenue & Customs: self-employed webinars Once you join the Northumberland Foster Care Service, you get free membership and benefits to FosterTalk who have specific foster care tax advisors.
Prospective foster carers attend a 2 day skills to foster course as a key part of the application process. The course is the next step after your home interview, when you and the service manager agree to move to the next step in the application process. If you have a partner, then they also attend this course with you.
The course is relaxed and friendly and aims to:
Our enquiry hub - Foster With North East - has several courses scheduled across the year. If you need to plan ahead for work, ask about dates on your enquiry call, so you look to book time off from work etc..
Do I need a spare room?
Yes. In Northumberland, a fostered child must have their own bedroom, whatever their age. A private space is important for both the fostered child and you as a foster family. The sleeping arrangements for any children who are already members of the household must not be changed in order to accommodate a fostered child. We have to respect your own children's space, and it is different to moving in to share to make room for another sibling. Fostered siblings are sometimes able to share bedrooms with each other.
What if I have my own children at home?
There should be a two to three-year age gap between the age of your own children and any fostered children. Fostered children are generally younger than your own children. If you have young children at home and are interested in fostering older children, then we would look at your work experience with older children and the needs of your family.
I rent my home, is that a problem?
Your property is taken into consideration in the approval process in terms of health and safety. So as long as you have a spare bedroom and can offer stability, security of tenure and a safe home, it does not matter if you rent or own your home.
What if I don’t live in Northumberland?
That’s fine, but you must live in the nearby surrounding areas. We try to keep children as close to their home area, as long as that is safe for them, so they can maintain links with their family, friends and school.
Do I need to have internet access?
Northumberland County Council expects foster carers to have internet access to support children with their education. It is also critical for your foster care role as a means of communicating with your fostering team, other teams around the children and your support network of other foster carers. You will have a professional email address and use of a secure website for foster carers. The foster carer website is where you will store your documents, diary activities and meetings, hear about information from the service, communicate with all foster carers and other professionals and access a library of resources. A number of training courses are available to complete online, including training for safe internet usage supporting children and young people. For those who are not confident with general computer use, our local libraries offer a range of free training, in addition to support from the team.
I am retired, can I foster?
There are no official upper age limits. As long as you are reasonably fit, healthy and have the energy to make a commitment to care for other people’s children for some years, then you can foster.
I am single, can I foster?
You can be a married or unmarried couple, single - male or female. It doesn't matter if you are a parent or not.
I am LGBT+, can I foster?
We welcome applications from single people and couples who can bring different skills, knowledge and life experiences to the fostering role. We are interested in stability and your ability to care for children. I don’t have specific qualifications, can I foster? You won't need any special qualifications – but you will need a practical understanding of children and their needs. We'll give you the training you need as a foster carer, and we’ll expect all adults in the household to attend the skills to foster course as part of your assessment. Training and development is a core part of being the main foster carer. You must attain the national training standards and complete mandatory courses within a given timescale.
I have a disability, can I foster?
Everyone who applies to foster is required to undergo a medical as part of the assessment process to ensure you can offer stability, can care for a child and meet the other demands of the role. Our medical advisor reviews all applications to foster from a physical and emotional health perspective. They make recommendations on a person's ability to meet the role requirements including how fostering will fit with their individual circumstances too. Click here to watch our video on having a disability and fostering.
I smoke, can I foster?
You will not be excluded on the grounds you smoke, but you must stop smoking in the family home. No child aged less than five years or with respiratory or similar health conditions will be placed in a smoking household. Northumberland County Council encourages participation in a smoking cessation programme.
I have a health issue, can I foster?
There are few things that would prevent you from offering care to children. You must undergo a medical and be physically and emotionally fit to be a foster carer. If you are not sure, please get in touch - we would rather you ask than rule yourself out. Click here to watch our video on having an on-going health condition and fostering. I’ve had depression – can I still foster? Yes. Past mental health problems, or any other health problems, will not exclude you from becoming a foster carer. As fostering can be stressful at times, like a lot of jobs, it is important we all consider the emotional impact fostering may have on your mental health. We have a responsibility to ensure we are looking after you and your family, and fostering is right for you at this time. A medical is requested from your GP for our looked-after children’s doctor to review as part of the assessment.
I want to continue work, can I foster?
Yes. Depending on your other commitments and level of flexilibility within your job, you may want to consider fostering on a part-time basis, such as providing respite care at weekends and school holidays, or you can join us as full-time foster carers. As long as you can make a regular commitment, our team are here to guide you about feasible options for you and the children who need your care. Our greatest need is for full-time foster carers who do not have any other work commitments.
I (or a member of my household) have a criminal conviction, can I foster?
Criminal convictions do not necessarily ban you from fostering. Much depends on the seriousness of the offence, how long ago the crime was committed and how you have lived your life since. You cannot foster if you have committed serious offences, like violence, or any offences against children.
Any other criminal convictions and cautions will be considered by the head of children’s services, who will decide whether or not an application can proceed. All household members aged 16 or over, need to agree to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check, and any other additional safeguarding measures considered by the agency to be appropriate.
I don’t drive, can I foster?
Yes, but you must have the capacity and means to meet the travel and transport requirements of the role. These include transporting children to school, family contact and social activities; and for you to attend meetings, support groups and training etc.
My son/daughter have questions about fostering. Where can they find information?
Click here to view our Children Who Foster booklet Our recruitment officer and team can answer questions from your children and family as you progress through your application. In the meantime, please see our guide which was developed by children who foster. Why do you need to contact my past partners? We consider past partners where you have lived together for more than two years, been married or parented children together. Contacting ex-partners during an assessment is standard practice within Northumberland. The independent review mechanism, which investigates practice into how adoption and fostering assessments are conducted in England, advises it is good practice to contact all ex-partners. It's also useful to obtain references from both families when 'it was apparent there had been acrimonious separations' (British Adoption and Fostering: IRM Annual Report 2010/2011). We appreciate people can be apprehensive about this, particularly when the relationship didn't end amicably. However, the foster care social worker is trained to assess responses accurately and judge this against other positive information available. Contacting an ex-partner is more relevant when you have parented together. This information is essential to developing our understanding of you as a parent. Unless there are issues relating to domestic violence, or those that would put the applicant or children at risk in any way, contact would need to be made with an ex-partner. Depending on individual circumstances, we may also choose to contact past partners where there has not been any shared parenting. If you have any concerns or queries about this, please talk to the team.
Will I need to have contact with the foster child’s birth parents?
Yes. Where appropriate for the fostered child you will be expected to work with birth parents and be non-judgemental in your approach. We provide training and support on contact with birth family members.
Can I take my foster child/children away on holiday?
This is generally encouraged, however, it would be included in the information and guidance you receive before a child comes to stay with you. The decision depends upon the child’s individual circumstances and lies with the child’s social worker but where possible, we would encourage you to take the child along. Does your service have a privacy statement? Yes, click to read a copy of the Family Placement Privacy Notice
I am a foster carer with another agency and would like to look at transferring to Northumberland County Council?
If you have previously fostered or currently foster for another agency or council, we would like to hear from you. We are keen to recruit experienced foster carers. The process is quicker than a standard application. Please call our regional enquiry hub on 0800 917 7771.
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