Types of fostering

Short-term foster placements provide care for children for periods up to two years. These placements give children a safe and supportive home while plans are made for their long-term future.

Children in short-term care may return to their birth family, be placed with relatives, or transition to long-term fostering or to an adoptive family.

Long-term foster carers provide a stable and loving home for children who are unable to live with their birth families. These children remain with their long-term carers until they reach adulthood and beyond, offering them continuity and support during their formative years.

Support a family in crisis or give a foster carer a well-deserved break by caring for a child or young person for a short period. This type of care is typically needed during weekends, school holidays, or in emergency situations.

Short break carers provide children with disabilities regular, planned support during weekends and school holidays. Working closely with parents, they ensure each child receives personalised care tailored to their unique needs.

We need carers who can care for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children or UASC are children who have fled their country of origin without the care and protection of their parents. They are forced to leave their family and country behind to seek protection from violence, persecution, war, detention, climate change, terrorism or the disappearance of family. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children take long and dangerous journeys alone, or are trafficked in circumstances unknown to them. We need carers who can provide these young people with a safe home and support when they settle in their new life including education and the local community in Sutton.

Parent and child fostering is a specialised type of fostering where a young parent, often with a baby or during pregnancy, stays with the foster carer to learn essential parenting skills. Unlike typical fostering, the foster carer's role is to guide and support the parent as they care for their child, sharing observations with social workers to help ensure the parent can safely care for their baby independently.

As a supportive guide, the foster carer provides a secure and encouraging home environment, helping the young parent build confidence and develop their abilities.