About Fostering
What is Fostering?
Fostering provides a full-time, safe and nurturing family environment for children and young people in need.
There are lots of different reasons a child may need to go into foster care. These can include family illness, experience of abuse or neglect, an unsafe environment or a family home that is unable to provide the care and safety that they need. The role of a foster carer involves patience, flexibility and understanding as well as motivation to care for children and young people.
​
Some children return to their family homes after a foster placement, some are transitioned to adoption and some will stay with their foster carers until they are an adult, at which point they may choose to leave or stay in their foster home.
There are lots of types of foster care to meet different children's needs and offer options for a foster carer's level of availability.
Why Do People Foster?
At Red Kite, we are actively recruiting foster carers across Wales and South West regions.
More foster carers mean that we can offer more suitable and well-matched placements between carers and foster children. Whilst it is a challenging role, with tenacity, patience and care, we believe you will feel fulfilled and rewarded by providing a safe, comfortable home to children who need it.
Care for and nurture a child where others have been unable to
​
Help to break a pattern of neglect
​​
Build trust and lasting healthy relationships
​​
Improve a child’s relationship with their birth family (where possible)
​​
Enable and encourage a child to reach their full potential and aim for a brighter future
​​
Contribute to the community by helping prevent homelessness, drug abuse and violence
​​
Help young people develop confidence to have fun and be themselves
What's Involved in Fostering?
Nurture and support the children in your care
Complete allocated training
Promote contact with
the child's birth family
Keep daily records and communicate with your family support worker
Be willing to learn, grow and develop
As a foster carer, you will be required to commit time and energy to children and young people in your care.
The role is tough at times, therefore it is important to practice patience, resilience, and confidence in order to deal with situations that do not go to plan. Foster carers also need to be observant so that they can recognise when they need to step in or seek assistance to help deal with a particular situation. You will find that you are always learning and reflecting on your actions and experiences to develop the skills that help you to provide thoughtful care for children.
​
Of course, you will not be expected to get everything right immediately. You will receive training and support from a team of social care workers before being approved to foster and throughout your career as a foster carer. Regardless of your level of experience, you will be equipped with the tools you need to build a safe and happy foster family.
As well as providing day-to-day care for children and young people, foster carers are expected to advocate on behalf of the child, support their educational, health and social wellbeing, manage sometimes challenging behaviour, keep records, attend meetings and work with the wider team at Red Kite. Additionally, we are here to help provide you with the resources you need to develop your own skills.
​
In many cases, it is important for fostered children to maintain contact with their birth family through regular contact meetings. Foster carers play a big part in making these happen.
​
You will receive a fostering allowance to cover the cost of looking after the young people in your care, and as fostering is considered a career, you will receive a fee amount depending on the skills and experience you bring to the role of fostering.
