Fostering can be incredibly rewarding and is a chance to make a huge difference to the life of a local child. In Derbyshire, we have children of all ages waiting to be placed in a loving, stable home for either a few days or longer-term.
Our fostering team support applicants every step of the way – there’s training available and once approved, carers receive financial support and benefits.
We need your help to spread the message and encourage people who could be interested in becoming foster carers to find out more.
How you can help
- Start a conversation – do you know someone who might make a great foster carer? Or have you ever thought about becoming a foster carer yourself? Now’s the perfect time to find out more and start a conversation about fostering. Our fostering recruitment team also hold regular in-person and virtual events - the next in-person event is on Thursday 12 May, and the next virtual event is on Wednesday 25 May. You’ll find all the information you need at derbyshire.gov.uk/fostering.
- Share our message – if you’re on social media, keep an eye out for lots of posts over the next few weeks and share our message with your followers. There are new Microsoft Teams backgrounds available – we’d love for you to use those in internal and external meetings to spread the word. The foster care recruitment team also have A4 posters available, so if you have a village hall, sports centre or church that you could put a poster up in, please contact keziah.limer@derbyshire.gov.uk and we’ll get one to you.
What we're looking for
To be a foster carer you don’t need any special qualifications, you just need to:
- be aged 21 or over - there's no upper age limit
- have a spare room – or space in your bedroom for a cot for children aged up to 2 years old
- go through a few initial checks before an assessment
- have some experience of caring for children, for example through working with them, through your family and friends, or through volunteering.
We’re an inclusive authority and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and communities, (for example, LGBT+, any ethnicity, race, culture and religion). Applicants can be single or in a relationship, married or civil partnership, in work or not, and either rent or own their own home.
Spread the word this Foster Care Fortnight and help us change the lives of children across Derbyshire.