INFORMATION FOR PARENTS
Next Step Fostering was established in 1988 as a specialist resource for looked after young people and in 1995 became an Independent Fostering Agency.
Our families at Next Step have undergone a long and challenging assessment by independent Social Workers before being approved to look after your child. Each child is matched individually to our families to ensure all their needs will be met.
We can provide, if it was felt appropriate by everyone involved with your child/ren, contact suites which offer a safe and relaxed environment. Our objective is to promote and support positive contact between parents and their children. We have access to three contact centres in Kent and Medway, the main one based on a large site that has playrooms and spacious facilities that can assist with maintaining a constructive relationship with your child. We also have facilities for your use at our other offices in London.
Our aim is to work in partnership with the child, parents, foster family and the Local Authority to meet the needs of your child. This is managed by a Link Worker that is allocated to each of our fostering families. At Next Step we provide a high level of 24-hour support for all our foster carers.
We can provide an activity based programme for young people that are not attending fulltime education with the aim to re-integrate back in to school. This is crucial for some children as they keep a sense of routine and have some continual learning up until they go back to school.
As an agency, we strive to make sure everyone has an opportunity to let us know how we are working and if there are some practices that can be improved. If you would like to talk to someone, then please contact us on the numbers below.
All of our services are inspected by Ofsted, the report can be obtained directly on request by calling 08456404040, or via the link ‘Ofsted Report’.
If you would like any further information please contact our main office on 0845 603 8354 or email info@nextstepfostering.org