Pre-stage
Initial enquiry: You can speak to a member of our fostering team on our Freephone number 0208 583 3426 if you are interested in fostering. At this stage, we will send out an information brochure to you by email.
We will invite you to attend our information event which is held monthly. This is a good opportunity for you to find out more about the fostering process. If you are unable to attend the information event or would like to proceed with your application sooner, we can skip this step and arrange a date and time to complete a telephone questionnaire with you.
Telephone questionnaire: We will need to complete a telephone questionnaire with you to find out more about you. The questionnaire takes approximately 20 minutes and we will need to speak to the main applicant (if you are in a relationship). You will need to have a spare room in order to proceed to this stage. Once the telephone questionnaire is completed, we will make a decision whether you are successful to proceed to the next step and will advise you accordingly.
Initial home visit: A recruitment social worker from the fostering team will contact you to arrange a date and time to visit you at your home. The recruitment social worker will discuss fostering in more detail and will look at the space you have available for a foster child. The purpose of this initial visit is to further build on the information shared during the telephone questionnaire, establish your motivation to foster, as well as look at your suitability and the suitability of your home. Following this visit, your application is then reviewed by a manager who will make a decision as to whether a full fostering assessment is offered.
Application pack: If a full fostering assessment is offered, we will send out an application pack to you along with consent to statutory checks which you will need to complete and return to the fostering team.
