Types of fostering

Foster carers open their hearts and homes to children and young people during a time of uncertainty. They offer comfort, care and stability while decisions are made about their long-term care plan. It is a vital role that helps bridge the gap, to make sure every child feels safe, supported and valued.

You will:

• be there to meet the child's emotional, physical and developmental needs;
• and provide a nurturing environment in the midst of change.

Placements can last from a few weeks to a couple of years. It will depend on each child's unique circumstances.

This provides more than just a home. Carers offer stability and a sense of belonging to those who are unable to live with their birth families permanently. Long term foster carers care for children until they are ready to take their next steps into independence. This gives them the chance to grow and thrive in a safe, nurturing environment.

While Calderdale Council and birth parents retain legal parental responsibility, you become the caring presence in the child's daily life. You offer guidance, emotional support and a place to call home.

It is about building lasting relationships, creating cherished memories and helping a young person feel truly valued. It is a journey filled with challenges, but also incredible rewards and the chance to make a lifelong difference.

Here carers play a vital role as they support children during moments of crisis. This is usually required when a child is unable to remain safely with their parent or usual caregiver.

In these urgent situations, you open your home outside normal hours to provide a safe environment. You offer a child comfort, stability and reassurance when it is needed most.

This care is temporary and bridges the gap until a longer-term carer is available.

This is short-term care for children and young people when a little extra help is needed. This type of care supports full-time foster carers to rest and recharge or handle personal matters.

Whether it is for a few days or a couple of weeks, a short break can have a transformative impact.

It is a flexible and rewarding role that helps keep stability and emotional wellbeing for the whole fostering family.

This gives disabled children or young people the chance to stay with a family for a short time.

It lets them get involved in daily family activities.

Typically, you would offer care from one night per week to a weekend per month.

Short-term

Short-term placements can be anything from a few days up until a couple of years. It can vary depending on which local authority or where you're working.

Some children can come for an emergency just, you know, for the weekend until somewhere, you know, more appropriate is found. There's always a plan. It might be, you know, for a plan for a few months till they can go back home. So, yeah, different lengths.

Sometimes it could be that the child has come from a family where there might be some issues and it might be temporary issues and you're making a difference to somebody's family. You know, sometimes the child may go back to their family or to the extended family. And even though and hopefully they will carry on and the child will go back to a fulfilling life and you've been a part of that and we become a part of that, their journey in a in a way.

If you decide that you want to take a child for a short amount of time, you might say, "I'll do it for six months or I'll do it for a year." Then they'll match your child with your availability. Let's say a child is coming and you're looking after that child while they're being placed for adoption. You would work with that child until that child is adopted. That could be six months, it could be a year, it could be 18 months.

Long-term

Long-term fostering is where a child is matched with you long term and it's expected that that child will remain in your care until the age of 18 unless a family member comes forward.

I prefer more long-term fostering because I wanted more stability for my son. I wanted him to have longevity with the kids and create bonds and relationships with them and he has. I like to see the finished product if you know what I mean, you know, I'd see where they are and that, but as a family, I prefer it because they become part of my family.

Emergency

We do have emergency foster carers available. They tend to become involved when a child needs somewhere to go at short notice. It could be in the middle of the night. It could be outside of working hours. That's when we'll approach them to support. They can support maybe for just a day or sometimes it can be more dependent on which service it is and how things work.

There's no typical case. Some children I have picked up from a police station. Some are moved in a planned way and you meet them with a social worker maybe at their previous foster carers accommodation first. And obviously it's very different which of those two scenarios that you get to know the children in. Often a trip to McDonald's or something like that on the way home really helps. Something that just breaks the ice, something that's a treat for the kids, that they're familiar with, can be a good way to break the ice to help them to know that you're a friendly person and that you're on their side. Everybody's different and some children are looking for immediate reassurance from you. Some of them just want to be left alone for a while and to come out at their pace. And so perhaps to be able to read the signs from the child of what they're looking for from you.

Support care

So when we first started, I think as an introduction, we were asked to do respite. So respite is where you help another foster care, give them a break whether that's for a weekend or for a week. So that's a really good introduction because not only do you get the opportunity potentially to meet the child before they come to visit you, you obviously also get to speak with the other foster career who knows the children and can give you some insights accordingly. You tend to get looked upon as the fun uncles and aunts is how I would describe it. Some of the rules, boundaries, that perhaps are a little bit more rigid with their main foster career can be relaxed a little bit because they're coming away not quite on holiday but they're coming away for a fun weekend. So we get to do all the fun stuff really which is sometimes very nice.