Why choose us
Committed to you, in your community
Rated as both Outstanding in England and Excellent in Scotland; at Fostering People, quality is at the heart of everything we do.
Fostering agencies offer many similar things, but they’re also a little different in the way they work. So what’s special about Fostering People? Ultimately, it comes down to our commitment to building strong local networks of support that you can tap into. We’re based around you, in your community. We share your experiences, and work alongside you to achieve the very best for children. Combined with a very powerful fostering model and excellent training and benefits, and local support that sets us apart.
Our fostering model
Our fostering model is very simple. We recruit really good foster parents that share our vision to do the very best for the children in our care. We have high expectations of ourselves and our foster parents, and this has led to a culture of excellence which in turn inspires our young people – the very best result is when they have high expectations for themselves.
If you’re new to fostering with us, you’ll be joined by other foster parents as well as our team, who are here to help. Our culture exists because we work together, supporting and inspiring each other.
Here’s a quick overview of the key reasons for choosing Fostering People:
1. Proud to be local
Although we’re a national agency, we have a local focus. We employ social workers in the communities we serve and we bring our training to our communities for added convenience. Best of all we’re on hand 24/7 to deliver the support you need.
2. Quality at the heart of everything we do
We’re a high-quality agency and have the accreditations to prove it. We are rated as ‘Excellent’ in Scotland and, in the last three England inspections of our work, OFSTED rated us as ‘Outstanding’.
The OFSTED inspection covered all aspects of our work, including the support we provide to foster parents, and we scored highly in every single area. In particular, the report commended the outstanding progress children make and the way our foster parents feel valued and supported. OFSTED and Care Inspectorate ratings are important because they provide a reliable and independent benchmark of quality.
3. A therapeutic approach
We’ve adopted what’s called a ‘therapeutic’ approach to fostering, which is really about helping foster children (and their foster parents) think about and understand their actions, emotions and behaviours. Based around four key principles – play, acceptance, curiosity and empathy (PACE) – it’s helping bring about life-changing experiences for everyone. It’s a powerful approach that calls for specialist training and support. We provide it through skilled and highly trained teams who are always available locally for you.
4. Excellent allowances and benefits
We believe in rewarding our foster parents generously, in recognition of the outstanding work they do. Because we’re community-based without expensive overheads and offices, we’re able to divert more funding towards our rewards package with a range of payments and allowances as well as paid holidays and/or respite care.
5. Training & support
Starting with a comprehensive two-month induction programme, there’s on-going training to help you develop your skills and career, with a wide range of training programmes along the way. For added convenience, these are all delivered locally to you.
There’s also strong support from social workers, with regular supervision from a qualified and experienced social worker, as well as access to qualified therapists.
Last but not least, you’ll have other local foster parents you can call, have coffee with and, in many cases, form life-long friendships with – and that really makes all the difference.
We’ll provide the support groups, meetings and forums for you to get together with members of the team and foster parents too. As foster parents with Fostering People, you’ll receive free membership of FosterTalk, an independent organisation offering advice and support to all fostering professionals.
6. We’re always learning
Even though we’ve been rated outstanding by OFSTED three times in a row and as excellent by the CARE INSPECTORATE, we’re not complacent. In fact, it’s our ability to learn and improve that makes us able to consistently stretch to even higher standards.
We’re constantly looking to bring in new ideas to improve the support and services we offer. For example, we recently overhauled our foster charter to better reflect the way we work and the needs of our foster parents and children.
7. Our foster parents are happy!
At the end of the day, it’s not what we say that really matters. It’s what our foster parents say about us. In a recent survey, they told us – and it seems we’re doing a good job!
Here are the highlights:
‘This is the happiest I have ever been in my life. I feel totally safe.’
’I love it here. I couldn’t ask for a better placement.’
‘I love my carers to the end of the world.’
'My foster carer speaks up for me, and she's fierce. She always has my back one hundred per cent and I never need to worry. She'll speak to the school as well and get things sorted.'
We’re an ideal choice for people who’d enjoy high quality fostering support and services delivered locally through close-knit teams of like-minded people, all creating a sense of professional togetherness.
Take your first step to becoming a foster parent today
If you’re interested in becoming a foster parent and would like to learn more, then we’d love to hear from you.
Simply fill in the form below and one of our friendly team will be in touch.
Can’t find what you’re looking for?
Call us on 0800 077 8159
Please email us on enquiries@fosteringpeople.co.uk
Fostering People Limited, Suite D, The Point, Welbeck Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham, NG2 7QW