Swindon Borough Council

Foster carers with Swindon support children and young people to have a safe and secure home at a time when their own family are unable to look after them.

Children and young people may need a foster family for a number of reasons, such as parental illness, relationship breakdowns or concerns over safety.

Our foster carers support the children and young people in their care to stay living locally. This supports children and young people to keep in touch with their family, attend the same school and spend time with their friends.

Challenge and reward

Fostering can be both challenging and rewarding. As a foster carer you have the opportunity to make a positive difference to the lives of children in your care.

There are many different types of fostering. Foster care can be a temporary arrangement and some children return to live with their own families. There are times when this is not possible and children need to remain in foster care.

Often, support and guidance at the right time will set a child on a positive path through their life and open them up to experiences they never would have had otherwise.

Our foster carers help children to keep in touch with their birth family and, in some cases, help children to return to their birth family or to move to adopters or long term foster carers.

Part of a supportive team

Foster carers work closely as part of a team alongside our social workers, children’s family members and other professionals to make sure the children in their care receive the highest standard of care at all times.

As part of the team around a child, our foster carers attend meetings to discuss how the children are. This is an opportunity to celebrate the children’s successes with them and to explore support for children with things that might be tricky for them.

These meetings are a place for all adults working with children in your care and to explore the children’s future plans so that they are always supported.

Becoming a foster carer is a big decision that gives you the opportunity to make a positive difference to children or young people in need of care, which can also bring benefits to your own life.

It is important for you to think about why you want to foster and how you think fostering might work with your own commitments, family and lifestyle.

Local connection

Our fostering team is based in Swindon, which means we can offer local support, guidance and training. As a foster carer, it is important to have a strong support network of friends and family around you.

Our Children’s Services team is available evenings, weekends and bank holidays to offer support, advice and guidance. Our foster carers meet regularly to support each other as they all live locally.

You can find out more about the support available to our foster carers.

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