Day to day commitment for foster carers

The closest equivalent to foster care would be children who stay with extended family members for a period of time – it’s perhaps not the same as living with parents, but (like with living with extended family members), the foster parents must care for the children in a way that is agreeable to those with parental responsibility. The foster carers ensure that the child has a suitable place to stay, that they access suitable education provision, feel supported and cared for and all other day to day needs should be met.

Children in foster care have more meetings than most children – there are planning meetings, contact with significant others, education meetings, health meetings, sports/leisure clubs and activities and more. Caring for children looked after requires more time and attention than is required for most children, because children looked after have experienced more trauma and loss than most children, so they need more care and support to heal. It is for this reason that the fostering application and assessment is rigorous – we must ensure that foster carers have the capacity and will to do what is required to meet the needs of the children.