Apply today, and do something amazing
Apply today, and do something amazing
We are proud of our foster carers, and equally proud of the support and training that we offer them.
We will support you every step of the way throughout your fostering career to make sure you’re foster-ready.
Fostering is what we do
Our award-winning team of dedicated Fostering Social Workers will be there to connect you with children’s social workers, teachers, therapists and other professionals, making your life easier.
We will also offer you professional supervision and high levels of advice and support, as well as locally sourced expert training.
For you to support our children well, we in turn will offer you the same.
We take pride in the support we offer our foster carers
Fostering isn’t a 9-5pm role. That’s why we provide an Out of Hour Fostering Service for our foster carers to access at times of need!
From 5-10pm, 365 days a year on weekdays.
10am-10pm at the weekends and bank holidays.
There is no call centre, you speak to one of our own fostering team who is on duty, who will provide you with the tips, advice and support that you may need.
In Barking & Dagenham we pride ourselves on our accessibility, and our foster carers know our managers.
We are a team, and managers will listen to and support both you and your Supervising Social Worker, at times of need.
We will make sure you’re foster ready
Our children deserve the best – to be loved and well cared for.
This is why at Barking and Dagenham, we have high standards and expect much of our professional foster carers.
From the start of your approval and throughout your fostering journey, we will provide regular training courses to ensure you are able to provide the right support that our young people need.
Each year we roll-out 60+ trainings, many of which are facilitated by the experts in their field at LBBD – so you will receive good quality, often bespoke training, by those that do the job.
We take pride in the support we offer our foster carers
From day one you will join our regular support groups and connect with other foster carers. You can share your experiences or come and listen to others, to increase your knowledge, get fresh ideas and grow your support network.
Our support groups are welcoming and full of others who have walked the same path that you are starting out on.
We can also link you with an experienced local carer who will become your fostering buddy for the first year of your approval.
We will make sure you can support our children
We offer a very competitive weekly payment to help you cover the cost of looking after our children.
We also offer guidance to ensure you receive everything you are entitled to.
Additionally, we will pay for you every year to join either The Fostering Network or Fostering Talk. These are national organisations who will provide you with independent advice and support when if you need it.
We will also provide you with support to help navigate becoming self-employed (all UK foster carers are) and support you in ascertaining whether you may be entitled to additional support once you become approved.
ACCESS A STRONG AND SUPPORTIVE FOSTERING COMMUNITY
Through our Mockingbird Programme, foster carers can benefit from being part of a supportive constellation of local fostering families, led by an experienced Hub Home Carer.
This structured community provides:
Helping carers feel connected, confident and never alone in their fostering journey.
Fostering is a full-time role and within our Mockingbird Hubs we ensure foster carers receive breaks and support.
At times of family need, we also strive to support our carers when we can, and this will be dependent on each individual circumstance.