Fostering in Wigan

Fostering is about creating opportunities for children to feel secure, develop confidence and experience the positive relationships that help shape healthy futures. Whether a child needs short-term support or a longer-term home, foster carers play an essential role in helping them navigate life's challenges and celebrate their achievements.

At Action for Children Fostering, we're looking for people throughout Wigan who can offer a caring and supportive home to local children. By fostering close to where children live, you can help them stay connected to their schools, friendships and communities while providing the care they need to flourish.

You don't need previous fostering experience to make a difference. If you're willing to learn, listen and support a child through their journey, we'll provide the training, guidance and encouragement needed to help you succeed.

If you've ever wondered whether fostering could be right for you, now could be the perfect time to explore the possibilities.

We understand that fostering involves commitment, responsibility and flexibility. That's why we provide financial support designed to ensure foster carers can focus on caring for children and young people.

Our fostering payments include a fostering allowance alongside a fostering fee. The allowance helps cover everyday costs such as food, clothing, transport, school activities and household expenses. The fee recognises the important contribution foster carers make and the skills required to support children effectively.

Payment levels vary depending on the type of fostering you provide and the individual needs of the child placed with you. Additional support may also be available for educational activities, hobbies, family experiences and special occasions that contribute to a child's personal development.

Our aim is to help foster carers provide positive experiences and excellent care without unnecessary financial worries.

By ensuring the right support is available, foster carers can focus on helping children feel secure, valued and hopeful about the future.

Fostering is a rewarding journey, but it's one that should always come with strong support. At Action for Children Fostering, we're committed to helping foster carers feel confident and well supported every step of the way.

Every foster carer is allocated a dedicated supervising social worker who provides regular contact, practical advice and ongoing professional guidance. We develop strong relationships with our carers and work collaboratively to address challenges and celebrate successes.

As part of our fostering community, you'll also have opportunities to connect with other carers who understand the unique experiences that fostering can bring.

Support available includes:

• Dedicated one-to-one support from a supervising social worker
• Regular supervision and review meetings
• Local foster carer support groups
• Opportunities to share experiences with other carers
• Access to specialist advice and resources
• Out-of-hours support for urgent situations

Many foster carers say that talking to other carers provides reassurance and helps them feel part of a supportive network that understands the realities of fostering.

Our goal is to ensure that every foster carer feels valued, informed and equipped to provide the best possible care.

Children in care may have experienced a range of challenges and life experiences. That's why we provide comprehensive training designed to help foster carers develop the confidence and skills needed to meet their needs effectively.

All training is free of charge and is available both before approval and throughout your fostering journey. We believe learning is an important part of helping foster carers provide outstanding care.

Skills to Foster

This introductory programme helps prospective carers understand the fundamentals of fostering, including child development, attachment, communication, safeguarding and the responsibilities involved in caring for children and young people.

Therapeutic Parenting

Many children entering care have experienced trauma, instability or loss. This training helps carers understand how these experiences affect children and provides practical approaches for building trust, resilience and emotional wellbeing.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding training covers child protection, online safety, wellbeing, recognising risks and understanding how to keep children safe in a range of situations.

Ongoing Professional Development

As your fostering experience grows, you'll have access to further training opportunities that help you develop specialist knowledge, expand your skills and respond confidently to children's changing needs.

Our training programme is designed to support foster carers in creating homes where children can feel safe, supported and able to achieve their potential.

Many people who become foster carers are surprised to discover how accessible fostering can be.

You may be eligible to foster if you:

• Are over 21 years old
• Have a spare bedroom in your home
• Have the right to live and work in the UK
• Can provide a stable and supportive environment for a child

We welcome enquiries from people with a wide variety of life experiences, including:

• Single people
• Couples and partners
• Parents and non-parents
• Homeowners and tenants
• Working professionals
• Retired individuals
• People from all ethnic, cultural and faith backgrounds
• LGBTQ+ individuals and couples
• People living with disabilities

There is no single type of foster carer. Children need different kinds of homes and positive influences, and having a diverse range of carers helps us find the right match for each child.

The qualities we value most are patience, compassion, resilience and a genuine commitment to helping children build brighter futures.

By becoming a foster carer in Wigan, you could provide a child with the care, encouragement and stability they need to grow in confidence and achieve their goals.

Contact our Wigan fostering team today to find out more about becoming a foster carer and how we can support you throughout your fostering journey.