Fostering Peterborough 

A brief description of the types of fostering that you can get involved with. If you would like further information, please contact us.

Emergency response care fostering
Emergency carers provide a safe home environment at very short notice, from just a few hours up to 72 hours. Arrangements are quickly made for children to return home or move on to time limited foster carers. If interested in this type of care, you need be able to care for children from birth to 16 years of age. You also need to have previous parenting and child care experience.

Time limited fostering
Ranging from an overnight stay to a few months, this usually results from difficulties in the family or the child being harmed or abused in some way. Offering a safe place to live, you'll help them to understand what's happening and offer support, whilst the social worker engages with the family to return the child home as soon as possible.

Long term fostering
Despite loving their children, some parents are unable to provide them with the necessary care. You can help by offering a child the chance to grow up in a safe and supportive environment, where they'll receive care and attention and the opportunity to keep in touch with their family.

Respite care fostering
Foster carers often need a short break from a couple of days to two weeks. You may work full time but feel able to provide this important break to the main carers.

Part time link care fostering
This involves having children with a disability stay with you for a short time so their families can have a regular break. This care can range from a few hours each week to a weekend a month, for planned breaks and sometimes in an emergency.

Specialist fostering
Some children require experienced specialist care to meet their complex health and/or challenging behaviour needs. If you choose this option you will need to be available full-time and have a range of skills and experience of working with children.

Fostering groups of brothers and sisters
Staying together is very important to children who have had changes in their lives. Through this type of care, you might find yourself caring for two, three or maybe more children.

Fostering a mother and baby
You may feel able to help some mothers who need support and security and people who can teach and encourage them without taking over their responsibilities. Often perceived as very demanding and daunting, fostering needn't be a seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, round-the-clock task.  Every child has different needs, requiring many different forms of support, all equally important to them.