What is fostering?

Fostering may be a term you’re familiar with. You’re probably all too aware that there are children who need care outside their own family environment and are being looked after by children’s services. Part of that care is to place these children with foster families who can provide them the love and support they need to be safe, secure and ultimately successful.

Foster carers look after children or young people who cannot live with their own families. This could be due to reasons that include illness, relationship breakdown or concerns about their welfare. Foster carers provide children and young people with a safe and nurturing family environment, caring for them as though they were their own children.

In March 2019 (latest figures) there were 56,150 children in England living with foster families. In Slough we have a fantastic team of foster carers but we always have a need for more!

Fostering can be a life changing choice – the satisfaction of knowing you have helped a child by offering them a family environment whilst their own family are experiencing a crisis can be enormously rewarding. Fostering can be hard work at times, but it is also tremendously satisfying.

You can learn more by reading real-life case studies of the people we work with here.

What it’s like to foster for Slough Children’s Services Trust