Our next open event is on May 22nd at the City Chambers, George Square, Glasgow at 6.30pm. Come and have a cuppa with our foster carers and adopters and ask them your questions. Find out more about what it’s like to foster or adopt - we’d love to see you there!
But you don’t need to wait till then – call us any time during office hours on 0345 276 5555 or email families.children@sw.glasgow.gov.uk and we’ll be delighted to talk to you.
Fostering
Are you #opentofostering? Is it fostering something you have always thought or talked about? Could you change a child’s life?
Fostering Glasgow’s children is incredibly rewarding. Our foster carers change children’s lives. Whether they are looking after children through to adulthood, for a shorter time, or just some weekends, our carers help to bring safety, stability and fun to the lives of hundreds of Glasgow's children every day. Fostering can also be challenging, but our highly experienced staff team is here to help, every step of the way, and we offer our carers the highest levels of support, training and development.
If you have patience, understanding, a spare bedroom and the desire to make a difference, we’d love to hear from you. Please fill in the contact form on the left or give us a call on 0345 276 5555.
You can watch inspiring films of our extraordinary foster carers here
If you are already a foster carer with an independent agency or another local authority please click here to find out about transferring to Families for Children.
Could I be a foster carer
To be a foster carer the main qualities you need are patience, understand, flexibility, and the desire to improve a child’s life and give them stability. You also need a spare bedroom.
It doesn’t matter whether you are single, married or in a relationship with someone of the same or opposite sex. It doesn’t matter whether or not you own your own home. Your age may matter less than you think – our foster carers span a wide age range.
We welcome enquiries from families who have children of their own, as well as those people who do not have children. We need foster carers from all walks of life and backgrounds.
It’s always worth getting in touch if you have a question. You can fill in our contact form on the left or call us on 0345 276 5555.
All foster carers will be allocated their own supervising social worker who will guide and aid them through the process and offer support and formal supervision through regular visits. We are the largest provider of foster care in the whole of Scotland and our staff are highly experienced in supporting people through all stages of the fostering journey. Families for Children will provide support and training right across all aspects of the fostering role.
You can either own or rent your flat or house. You should have a spare room for the children you foster.
We would need to ensure that your problem will not be affected by caring for children and so we would need to ask your permission to seek our medical adviser's assistance.
Glasgow City Council has a legal duty to safeguard the best interests of children in all aspects of their health and welfare. Ideally we would like all children to grow up in a smoke free environment but we recognise that some people find it very difficult to stop smoking. If you do smoke we would ask that you do not smoke in and around the home or the children, and that you do not allow anyone else to do so. If applying to look after children under the age of two years old there is an expectation that you would be a non-smoker.
All foster carers get paid allowances to ensure that they can provide for the child's day-to-day needs and Families for Children also pays its carers a fee. You can find information on our fostering fees and allowances here. As Glasgow City Council is a placing agency, our carers have less time between placements than other agencies. In our experience - whilst this cannot be guaranteed - this means that our carers are more likely to have children placed with them on a regular/ongoing basis.
Get in touch! If you’re #opentofostering we’d be delighted to hear from you – call us on 0345 276 5555, or fill in the form on the left and we’ll get back to you quickly. You can also download a fostering information pack.
A friendly and experienced member of our team will be delighted to chat through the process with you, and advise you on the different ways to foster.
Types of Foster Care
There are many different ways to foster a child in Glasgow. If you’re #opentofostering just give us a call and we’ll talk them through with you to help you find the right option for yourself and your family.
Short-term foster carers look after children who can no longer remain in the care of their own families. Children may stay in short-term foster care for only a few days or for as long as two years, depending on their individual circumstances
Often children come in to short term care due to ongoing issues in their family home. During this period foster carers provide the child/children with a secure, stable and nurturing home environment, in which both their physical and emotional needs are met. The aim is often to resolve issues at home so that children can return to their families where possible, and foster carers do a vital job of supporting Glasgow’s children during this period in their lives
Permanent carers look after children from all ages and backgrounds throughout their lives, until the point where they move onto independence.
Permanent carers have a lot of input regarding decisions about the children's care and provide vital stability to Glasgow’s vulnerable children, enabling them to flourish as they grow towards independence.
There is a careful matching process between children and permanent carers.
Could you help keep a family together? Family-based respite carers offer children and young people in the community short stays in their home, to assist birth families at difficult times. For some families this may be a one-off requirement while other families may need regular short periods of respite to help them care for their children. This resource is so valuable as it often helps keep families together, where without it children might be accommodated.
Family-based respite carers need to be committed to helping vulnerable children and families in Glasgow and be available to take children on an emergency or a planned basis.
Shared Carers are a lifeline to birth families. For one weekend each month they look after a child or young person who has a learning and/or physical disability, to give the child’s birth family a break
They may also offer to care for that young person for a longer holiday period during the year. Shared Carers build up long-term relationships with the child/ren they look after and with birth families.
This is a specific form of fostering for young people with behavioural difficulties. Carers provide a home for one young person aged 7-17 for a period of 9-12 months, during which the young person agrees to follow a structured programme. TFC foster carers are an essential part of a team of people, all working with the young person, and attend a weekly team meeting, as well as having daily telephone support.
The TFC programme has been shown to make a real difference in the lives of the young people involved.
Supported carers offer support and accommodation to young people over the age of 16 who have previously been looked after by social services and who are now getting ready to make the transition towards living independently.
Supported carers provide a safe and secure environment where young people can learn a variety of skills which they will need through adulthood, such as cooking, cleaning budgeting, and more complex tasks like developing social skills and relationships.
Financial support for carers
Here at Families for Children we really value our foster carers and offer a package of training and support that values and recognises our carers' skills and commitment. Fostering is about so much more than paid rewards, but we also want to ensure that you receive a realistic financial support package that reflects the vital role you play in the lives of our children and young people. The financial support package for our carers is made up of two parts; the fee and the allowance.
You can find information on our fostering fees and allowances here.
We will always place Glasgow’s children with our own foster carers wherever possible, rather than purchase places from independent providers. This means that as, a Families for Children foster carer, you will have the chance to undertake the role you trained for - supporting Glasgow's children on an ongoing basis.
Examples of Fees and Allowances:
Laura, full-time foster carer
Laura is a foster carer with Families for Children and looks after Vince, 6 and Adam 14. Laura receives a weekly allowance and a fee for each of the boys. For the care of Vince, Laura receives an allowance of £156.26 which covers clothing, maintenance and pocket money. She also receives a £150 as a weekly fee. For the care of Adam she receives an allowance of £194.53 as he is older, and a weekly fee of £150. In total, Laura receives £650.79 per week for caring for Vince and Adam
Louise, respite carer
Louise works full time as an IT specialist and offers family-based respite one weekend a month. She is a single carer and currently looks after Sophie, age 14, to give Sophie’s mum a break. Louise has had no children of her own and finds her relationship with Sophie to be rewarding and fun - she recently took some annual leave in the summer to enjoy some extra days out with Sophie. As a family-based respite carer Louise earns £49.36 per overnight stay. Moreover, Louise really enjoys spending time with Sophie and views it as a really positive addition to her life
Support and Training
At Families for Children, we are committed to offering the highest possible level of support to our foster carers. Prior to approval as a foster carer, we offer a full preparation training course. Then, within the first year of approval, all of our carers undergo further training, which equips them with further tools and skills to help them in their fostering role.
We have a team of dedicated Learning and Development Officers who offer ongoing courses to help carers flourish in their role. We also run a range of support groups for carers to come together, including a dedicated support groups for new carers, providing the chance to share experiences with others who are at a similar stage of their fostering careers.
