Every potential foster caregiver will have to go through the fostering assessment process before they can become a foster carer with Nationwide Fostering. Although not every case follows the same path, the stages listed below should give you a decent indication of what to expect.

Your application to foster

Once an interested applicant has contacted us by phone or email, we will send them a fostering application pack through email or mail, which they must complete and submit to us.

When we get your completed application, we will call you to review it and, if all goes well, we will uk

Form F Assessment

A social worker from Nationwide Fostering will come out and see you in your home as the following step in the fostering assessment process.

This initial visit normally lasts about 2 hours, but it may be broken into two distinct appointments in some cases.

It’s an opportunity for us to visit your home and analyse things like your spare room and communal areas.

We’ll go through certain questions with you during the visit, such as:

• Your knowledge of fostering
• Your goals for becoming a foster carer
• Your skills and traits and how they will benefit your fostering work
• What do you want to get out of the fostering process.

The visit is also an excellent opportunity for applicant to ask more questions and to make sure they are clear about the fostering details.

Statutory Checks

You’ll be required to complete a DBS check, a local authority check, and a medical examination by your doctor as part of the fostering evaluation process.

All of these expenses shall be covered by Nationwide Fostering.

Skills to Foster Training

You’ll be required to complete a DBS check, a local authority check, and a medical examination by your doctor as part of the fostering evaluation process.

Nationwide Fostering will cover all of these expenses.

Fostering assessment panel

Nationwide Fostering features an impartial fostering panel of nominated members, including Nationwide Fostering staff members, who each have a broad range of knowledge, skills, and experience.

Some of these individuals have worked in the field of child care, while others will have first-hand knowledge of the fostering process, either as a foster kid or as a foster caregiver.

Members have access to legal and medical counsel in addition to their knowledge.

The Panel will review the report (Form F) that has been provided to them and make a recommendation on whether or not you should be authorized as a foster carer.

Approval Notice

The last step:

All foster caregivers will get an approval notice from Nationwide Fostering.

After that, you’ve been approved as a foster parent.

Following that, we will assign you a named Supervising Social Worker who will assist you throughout your fostering career.

Vacancy List

You will then be added to our waiting list of foster families that are looking for a child or young person to adopt.

A child placement can happen quickly, but it is mostly dependent on the number of child referrals that Nationwide Fostering receives in your area, as well as your flexibility and ability to accommodate and care to their requirements.