Interested in Fostering

NEXT STEP FOSTERING SERVICES

FOR PROSPECTIVE CARERS

The decision to become a foster carer is not one that anyone should take lightly. Today, fostering is rightly regarded as a demanding profession. The responsibilities that go with the task of being a foster carer are high.

As a foster carer you will be responsible very substantially for the well-being of the children and young people who will be p]aced with you. The very fact that they are in foster care means that they are likely to be at a vulnerable stage of their lives.

It is important to emphasise the potential joys of foster-caring. The children and young people you foster will not be unfamiliar for long and we would hope that they become accepted and claimed as a part of your own family.

For many foster carers, the experience of fostering is one of the most profound experiences of their lives. Many foster carers remain in touch forever with the children and young people they fostered.

If you are working with Next Step, you will enjoy access to our wide range of support services, full and comprehensive training and a range of facilities that are focused on making your fostering a success and ensuring that you are given every assistance in your professional responsibilities for the child or children you look after.

Overall, our aim at Next Step is to help foster carers create sustained relationships with their Looked After child and to take every step to make the fostering relationship work. The Agency is on hand to deal with challenges that may arise, from school attendance to difficult to manage behaviour, to relationships with birth children and so on.

Next Step provides a very high level of support to foster carers and we also work to the highest standards. Being approved as a foster-carer with Next Step Fostering requires a high level of commitment from you, and the willingness to take on new learning. We expect at least one carer in a household to be available full-time as a foster carer.

We are also conscious of the importance of helping birth children with the adjustments that may be necessary when Looked After children join your family. Your Link Worker will support you and your children with this.

These important requirements are in harmony with the Agency's firm and committed belief that fostering is a profession which requires professional levels of commitment, and a real respect for the responsibilities fostering brings.