The BCP Fostering is a supportive and growing community. As a service we are rooted in a therapeutic approach for all of our Children in Care.

Since the start of COVID-19 we have had staff from Children’s Social Care put themselves forward to be assessed as Foster Carers for older children and teenagers. This new cohort of Foster Carers have been key in supporting and strengthening our fostering placement sufficiency during the challenges faced by COVID-19, and we are already seeing the very positive contribution they are making to our young people needing foster placements.

Staff from the council who have been approved as Foster Carers since COVID-19 started have been offering placements and support to:

• Young People at risk in the community who need to be placed in care.
• Young People who need additional support by way of a Shared Care arrangement to avoid a placement breakdown.
• Young People who need an alternative placement due to their placement breaking down

While the success of this recruitment strategy has encouraging, we need more carers. We need you!

If you, a member of your family, or any of your friends have a spare room and space in your hearts and lives and are up for a challenge, we want to hear from you!

There are a number of fostering schemes which we have developed by BCP, they include:

• Retained Carer Scheme (Carers who are available over weekends and during Out of Office Hours for young people needing placements)
• Shared Care (Foster Carers offering periods of respite for children and young people with disabilities)
• Short Term/Long Term Foster Care
• Parent & Child Scheme (Carers offering assessment placements for parents and children)
• Supported Lodgings Care (Carers offering placements to young people aged 16+ and to Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children)

We have developed a robust virtual assessment process to ensure that there are no delays in the approval process due to COVID-19.

As a Foster Carer/Supported Lodgings Carer you will receive:

• A generous fee/allowance
• Full support of a Supervising Social Worker allocated to you
• Fantastic training opportunities – including online training
• A dedicated team who will support you on each step of your journey!

How to get in touch? You can contact us through the Fostering website bcpcouncil.gov.uk/fostering or, conversely, please contact us on 0800 009 3084 for a further discussion.