Do I need specific qualifications to become a foster parent?

You do not need to have any formal qualifications or previous experiences with childcare to become a foster carer.

During the initial assessment process for new foster carers, we focus on how well we believe you could care for a child, and whether you are able to offer a safe space for a young person to live and explore what support you will need in order to carry out the role effectively. There are many transferrable skills that you can gain both from your professional and personal life experiences and we will be looking for you to demonstrate some of the key attributes during the assessment process.

We understand that providing foster carers with high levels of support and training is important and can in turn result in stable placements which creates better outcomes for children and young people. Once you are approved with us you will be supported to achieve Training, Support and Development Standards for Foster Care (TSDS). At People Who Foster we are committed to providing a comprehensive training programme and support for all our foster carers for your ongoing professional learning and development.

While you do not need any formal qualifications to become a foster carer, there are certain skills we believe allow you to best meet the needs of children and young people which include:

• Good communication verbal and written skills.
• Good listening skills.
• The ability to work as part of a team.
• Have a good level of patience, empathy and resilience.
• To be confident in IT.

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