Support & training

"Our fostering support worker was absolutely fantastic. He was reliable, consistent, and supportive of me as a foster carer." Jo, Foster Carer

"We would like to thank our social worker for her unwavering support over the previous three years. She displays an extensive knowledge and willingness to help out, and we also appreciate her ability to address the difficult questions which arise when fostering. She is caring and supportive and we have learned a lot from her." Martin and Peter, Foster Carers

Fostering isn’t something you should ever expect to do on your own. We'll support you in a number of practical ways:

1. As soon as you start the process of becoming a foster carer, we’ll offer you the chance to be mentored by an experienced foster carer.
2. In your first year of fostering, you’ll receive intensive support from your fostering social worker, additional help from a family support worker and the chance to reflect on how things are going with expert guidance from child psychologists.
3. Your dedicated fostering social worker will continue to support you day to day and will help you grow and develop as a foster carer.
4. You’ll attend regular support groups of other foster carers in your area, where you can share and learn from people doing the same thing as you.
5. Your birth children will be invited to attend the Kids 4 Kids support group.
6. You'll be able to call on out-of-hours support in an emergency.
7. You will receive fees and allowances to cover the costs of looking after a child and to recognise your time and skills. Take a look at our payments for fostering information.
8. To help children celebrate special occasions, you will receive additional allowances for holidays, birthdays and religious festivals like Christmas and Eid.
9. You will have access to a secure website that includes information on relevant policies and legislation.
10. As a GCC foster carer you are automatically enrolled as a member of The Fostering Network and New Family Social - national organisations that support foster carers.

“I enjoyed fostering so much that I did a degree in health and social care through the Open University when I was 50. It helped me a lot with understanding behaviours.” Pam, Foster Carer

GCC offers a comprehensive programme of training right from the start of your time with us.

During the assessment period, you’ll attend a Skills to Foster course. This is a preparation course designed to give you as much knowledge about fostering as possible.

Once you’ve been approved, you will complete our Training, Support and Development Standards courses within your first year of fostering. These standards are your induction into the role and include courses to ensure you have the skills and knowledge to keep children safe and secure.

In future years you will complete an annual personal development plan with your social worker to ensure that you continue to develop your skills and role as a foster carer. This includes opportunities to take on more specialist forms of fostering.