What Do I Need to Become a Foster Carer?

You don’t need a qualification or degree to be a foster carer despite what you may believe. It’s great if you have a background working with children, but this doesn’t need to be professional. Being a parent or having experience with children of close friends or family is perhaps the best thing you can have, as you’ve got actual hands-on experience of taking on a parenting role, which is what fostering is all about. Although you won’t replace a foster child’s parent, you will care for them as one of your own temporarily. If you don’t have your own children, you should have some kind of experience working with children. This could be babysitting, childminding, or working in a children’s hospital or nursery, just to name a few. You could also be a foster carer if you regularly care for a family member or friend's children.