What family building means
We believe that building a family for children who cannot be cared for by their own family can take various forms, so we’ll explore with you the best way to achieve that goal.
Both fostering and adoption are great ways to make a positive difference in the lives of children and young people.
Through fostering and adoption you can:
- Build a family for children who cannot be cared by their own birth family
- Offer children love, stability and unwavering support
- Enable children to flourish in a positive environment
- Build lifelong bonds
Adoption at a glance |
Fostering at a glance |
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Commitment Adoption is a lifelong commitment to support a child, where you take on full parental responsibility for a child’s care as their legal guardian. |
Commitment Fostering involves welcoming a child into your family and supporting them to flourish. There are different types of fostering, some of them are short-term and others are long-term. |
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Support and training You will receive initial training and support to prepare you for parenting a child and you can also access post adoption support. |
Support and training You will receive initial training to prepare you for parenting a child. You will receive ongoing support throughout the placement. |
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Financial support Your adoption agency can apply to the Adoption Support Fund to access support for your child’s emotional needs. You may also receive a means tested adoption allowance, depending on your child’s needs and your financial circumstances. |
Financial support You will receive a fee and fostering allowance which starts at approximately £350 / week. This will remain in place until the child is 18 and sometimes longer. |
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Birth family contact Children typically have some contact with the birth family, either indirect (e.g. through digital communications) or in person. |
Birth family contact Children typically have some contact with their birth parents or family, either indirect (e.g. through digital communications) or in person. |
Are you eligible to foster or adopt?
Whether you want to adopt or foster, you will have to go through an assessment and approval process. Before taking that next step, make sure you meet the following criteria:
- You have a spare room
- You are at least 21 years old
- You live and have a residency in the UK
- You and members of your household must not have convictions or cautions for offences against children
Skills you’ll need and learn
Both fostering and adoption require similar skills. We’re sure you already have most of them – however you will also receive training and support to prepare you to meet the needs of a child or young person in your care.
Patience and a sense of humour
You should be resilient – a healthy sense of humour will get you through the ups and downs of parenting.
Seeing things from another perspective
Empathy and compassion for a child and their situation is crucial to provide them with a supportive and nurturing environment.
Standing up for the child
You will need to advocate for the children’s best interests to support their education, health and wellbeing.
Trauma-Informed Parenting
We will train you in trauma-informed parenting to help you create a safe and healing environment for the new child in your life.
About the children
Children need fostering or adoptive parents when their birth families are unable to care for them. The reasons why the courts may make a decision for children to be fostered or adopted are really varied, and often involve children having been exposed to traumatic experiences. This means that children will need love, nurturing and therapeutic parenting to reach their full potential.
Children who have had difficult early lives have often had their attachments disrupted and will have learned patterns of attachment that help them to cope in an insecure and frightening environment. If you are thinking of building a family through fostering or adoption, it will help you to understand the different attachment patterns that children can develop to protect themselves in an uncertain world.
To learn more about the importance of attachment, go to First Steps which will help you think about how the less trusting patterns of attachment are formed and how to help a child become more dependent on nurturing care.
Contact us if you’d like to find out more or take the next steps in your family building journey.
Building Families Through Fostering & Adoption
Thursday 16 May | 5.30 – 6.30pm | Online
Join us to explore how you can make a difference to children who need a family. This free online event is designed for individuals and couples in the early stages of their family building journey.
We will provide you with lots of insights about fostering and adoption, offering guidance and information that can shape your decision-making process. There will be opportunity to ask questions, and you can also have a follow up conversation about your individual circumstances.