Fostering in the South West

This is when a child needs to stay with a foster family for several years, or until they are ready and able to live independently.

Sometimes, children and young people need somewhere to live temporarily.

Planned breaks carers play a vital role in supporting full-time foster carers and young people. Providing cover during holidays and weekends gives full-time carers the chance to recharge their batteries and enables children to have new experiences. It would involve you looking after a child or young person for a few days, usually on a regular basis.

Alongside our fostering service we also offer a short break service to children with disabilities. Mainly this tends to be children with a learning disability, but all disabilities are considered. This service aims to offer a safe, positive home-from-home experience to children in which they can try new activities, develop their independence skills, and have fun in another family environment.

Each short break is for UP TO 24 hours, sometimes for two or more consecutive nights. These can be weekends, midweeks, and school holidays.

Additionally, the parent/families get a much-needed break from the full time caring role.

Typically lasting around three months, this type of fostering involves safeguarding and supporting babies and young children whose parents are unable to safely care for them without help. The parent(s), who can be teenagers or adults ranging from 18 to 40+, live with you during this time, and care for the child under your observation and with your help. This is a very different role from other types of fostering and is offered in only some of our services. You receive additional training and support. Our current specialist carers have told us it can be extremely rewarding. We’d be happy to talk to you if you wish to explore this further.