What we look for in carers

The most important ingredient in a carer’s personality is that - to a child or young person - they feel like a ‘safe’ person.  We all have different ways of being safe people but it is this message of safety that we give to others that will enable a child to begin to trust us. What follows is also important:

• You have the time and the energy to commit to a child or young person.  You won’t be able to do a full-time job and be a foster carer, unless you choose to be a respite carer ie you only look after children at certain times, for example, when their regular carers  are on holiday
   
• You are the sort of person who recovers quickly from setbacks and can learn from the many and varied experiences you are likely to have as a carer
   
• You have at least one spare bedroom.  As long as one bedroom is free it doesn’t matter whether your home is a house or a flat, owned or rented
   
• You are prepared to work as part of a team – with other care professionals, with the school and with the birth parents, if necessary, to secure the best outcome for the child
   
• You are someone who will enjoy the challenge of fostering.