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Do you have room in your heart and your home?

Could you be a foster carer and help us support children, young people, and their families through times of need and crisis?

In some circumstances, children and young people need cared for by someone out with their family for a while and this is where you could help.

A foster carer is someone who looks after children on an emergency, short break, interim, long term, permanent, or emergency respite basis. Click here for more information on this.

We are looking for people who can care for all ages of children including babies, toddlers, primary and secondary aged children. In addition to this, we are looking for carers able to provide a supported care arrangement to our young people aged 16 and over, and carers who could offer a shared care arrangement for families and children with complex needs.

Call us now on 01292 267675 or email FPTA@south-ayrshire.gov.uk

Our Vision

We want to ensure every child who is welcomed into foster care in South Ayrshire will be cared for to a high standard, will feel loved, safe, listened to and respected, and supported to maintain links with their family and community where this is safe for them.

We endeavor to ensure our foster carers feel supported and are sufficiently trained to navigate the complexities of caring for children who require to be cared for out with their family.

In South Ayrshire we are whole heartedly committed to fulfilling The Promise.

What do our children and young people say?

Who can become a foster carer?

People from a variety of backgrounds and experiences have become foster carers. The main qualities you need are patience, understanding, empathy and a kind, nurturing approach to loving and caring for children and young people.

You do not need to come from any particular walk of life; our children and young people need all different kinds of foster carers to love and care for them. Here are some examples of the types of people who currently foster children and young people in South Ayrshire:

People that have raised or are raising their own family;
Those who don't have children of their own (they may have experience of children in other settings, for example caring for nieces and nephews, child minding, or working with children);
Single people;
Couples including same sex couples;
People from different ethnic backgrounds;
Employed and unemployed carers.

Read our FAQ section to find out more or contact us.

Assessment and preparation

When you express an interest in fostering, a social worker will contact you to arrange an initial visit to your home. Proving there are no issues identified which will preclude you from fostering, you will then be invited to attend preparation groups which delve deeper into the fostering role. All going well, you will then be allocated a social worker who will carry out a full fostering assessment with you, which we aim to be completed within 6 months. Your social worker will frequently visit your home.

Confidential enquiries will be made of your local social work department, and you will be asked to provide up to six referees, including previous employers and ex partners where appropriate.

All applicants require a medical examination (which is like a check-up), and any health issues will be explored. Under the current policy carers who smoke cannot care for children under five years of age.

Anyone interested in applying to foster will be subject to a Disclosure (Scotland) check to find out if they have a criminal record and to check if they are on the list of people disqualified from working with children. A record of offences will need to be carefully considered but apart from offences against children, having a record will not necessarily rule you out from fostering.

When your assessment is concluded, your social worker will have made a recommendation in terms of you becoming a foster carer and will present a full report our Fostering Panel. The Fostering Panel will consider your application and make a recommendation of your suitability to our Agency Decision Maker, whose role it is to consider whether to approve prospective foster carers. You would be notified in writing of his decision.