Our highly respected assessment process has been designed to ensure that fostering is right for you and your home. It also ensures that the children we place with you suit your capabilities as a foster carer. The process takes four to five months from start to finish, and all of your questions, concerns and choices will be discussed in-depth.

Make an Enquiry

After discussing your initial enquiry about fostering, we will complete a short questionnaire. This is done over the phone and enables us to gather some basic information to help start assessing suitability and what type of fostering best suits you and your circumstances.

Arrange a Home Visit

A member of the fostering team will visit you at home to discuss fostering in more detail, and look at the space you have available for a foster child. We can also answer any questions you may have at this stage.

Skills to Foster

As part of the assessment process, you will be invited to attend a three-day training course for prospective foster carers. This training will cover a variety of topics in order to prepare you for your role as a foster carer.

Starting the Assessment Process

If it is agreed by both parties that the assessment should proceed, your social worker will complete a BAAF* Form F assessment, including discussions about your background, experiences, parenting skills and the qualities you will bring to fostering.

Together with the social worker, you will provide evidence of your ability to care for babies, children or young people. The assessment will also involve talking to your children, any adult offspring who have left home and ex-partners where applicable. You will also be asked to undertake some ‘homework’ tasks, which your social worker will support you in completing.

We complete statutory checks such as DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service), Local Authority and health checks on applicants and also statutory checks on members of the household over 16 years of age and members of the applicants’ support network. You will then read and sign the final report before it is presented to the FSG Fostering Panel.

*British Association for Adoption & Fostering

Fostering Panel

Your Form F assessment will be presented for approval to our Fostering Panel, which is made up of up to 10 people from a range of different professions. Based on the assessment, they will reach a decision as to the type of young people you will be approved to care for, taking into consideration their age, sex and fostering needs. Once approved by the Panel, you will be registered as a foster carer.

Approved to Foster

Congratulations – you’re now an FSG foster carer! Our Family Finder will work with you and your supervising social worker to create your carer profile, this is one of our matching tools and your profile is shared with local authority placement teams. We also have a child friendly version of the carer profile so that we can share this with any children coming to live with you. Our Family Finder will contact you when any children or young people are referred to us who we think would make a good fit with you and your family.