Frequently Asked Questions

Ideally, foster carers should own their own homes. However consideration will be given to applicants who live in rented accommodation if they can provide security of tenure. The only major stipulation is that you have a bedroom for a foster child to call their own and that it is preferably on the same floor as the foster carers. There should also be sufficient room for children to play and do their homework, as well as space in the garden areas.

The minimum age is 25 years, although you may be a slightly younger person who has had a lot of experience working with or caring for children and young people. We also expect that people have had a stable relationship with their partner/husband/wife for a minimum of three years.

There are many carers who have not had children of their own. However, you may have experience of caring for other peoples children, be in a profession where you have had contact with children or maybe the type of person or couple who have a natural aptitude in working with and understanding the needs of children and young people.

As part of the assessment you must be able to demonstrate a good understanding of how the needs of children who are fostered may differ from those within their birth families.

A previous criminal conviction would not necessarily disqualify you from fostering; it would depend upon the nature of the conviction and when it occurred. It is standard for us to check police records at an early stage of the application process so we would need you to discuss any convictions with us as soon as possible so that we could decide whether or how it might affect your application. This information would remain confidential at all times.

We regard all couples living together as partners in the fostering process so we require that you both have the necessary checks and training and that both take part in the assessment process.

We will need to carry out checks on anyone in the household over the age of 18. Even if you are the main carer, anyone sharing your home will have some involvement in and influence on the fostering task.

A Social Worker appointed by Ryancare will undertake an assessment with you and your family. This information is then held in confidential files at our offices in Wanstead. Part of this information is called a Form F and this may be shared with Local Authorities when they are seeking to place a child with Ryancare . This ‘matching’ process is done in consultation with yourselves as well. It is very clear that all staff that work within Ryancare should maintain confidentiality regarding the work we do and especially regarding the children we look after.

We specialises in caring for children with a wide range of emotional and behavioural needs. Some children may have suffered severe traumas such as abuse or neglect. Some may have had a number of placements that will leave them mistrustful and wary of making new relationships. All of these children need considerable and sustained reassurance and care in order for them to come to terms with their circumstances.

We also have carers who foster children with a range of physical disabilities and foster carers who take mother and baby placements, which again is one of our specialist services.

You are part of a professional team that aims to meet the children’s needs. This team consists of you, your supervising social workers, Day Care staff and Qualified and Experienced Managers. As a foster carer you will receive regular visits from your supervising social worker in order for them to supervise and support you. You will be invited to regular support meetings with other carers and will also be expected to attend training sessions in order to familiarise yourself with additional information. You may need to advocate for children on occasions at meetings and at some point, you may need go to a court and give information.

Ryancare run a day care programme for children and young people who are not in formal education and this is a benefit to both the child and the carers. You will be required to keep daily records about each child in your care and compile monthly reports as well. This is necessary as some children have had many homes in their childhood and these records are extremely useful for them to have later in their lives.

Our carer’s work on a ‘self employed’ basis. Foster carer’s receive very favourable tax treatment on income derived solely from fostering.

Under a new tax relief introduced in 2003, foster carers whose gross receipts from foster care do not exceed an individual limit will be exempt from tax on their income from foster care.

Individual and more general advice on taxation is available from a number of sources including the Inland Revenue. We have Accountants available to offer you advice if required.

Some children that you will foster will need a high level of support and commitment from you. There is an expectation that the main carer does not have any other paid employment outside of Ryancare. At Ryancare Fostering, we think that the high quality care, which we consider every one of our children and young people need, can only be achieved by having one carer at home full time.

Our carers are part of a professional and dedicated team and we offer them a remuneration and holiday package that reflects their commitment.

Before you are approved as a carer with us, we will have discussed the different types of placements that are needed for our young people. You can decide which types of placement would suit you best. If you would prefer emergency or short-term placements, you do need to be aware that this isn’t always possible to know at the beginning of a placement exactly when a child will move on.

Yes, you can. However, you need to bear in mind that the majority of our children referred to Ryancareare in the 11+ age group. If you are relying on income from fostering, you are far more likely to have continuous placements if you are willing to take teenagers as well as children.

We do also require carers with sufficient space to take sibling groups. These children are often younger. We also look for foster carers who can look after children with a disability, or of a mother and her baby.

We discuss every placement with our carers and it is your decision as to whether to take a young person. We will provide you with as much information about the young person and their background as possible, including any difficult behaviour and how to manage it. You do need to be aware that sometimes we have very little information, especially in an emergency. We would always, however, seek to find out quickly as much as possible. 

We would normally expect carers to undertake these tasks. Occasionally, if you have a particular problem, your supervising social Worker would endeavour to make alternative arrangements. Although, we would expect you to have your own support methods in place to help you.

Having read this information, we hope that you will want to pursue your interest in becoming foster carers with us. Once you have completed the application form and returned it to us, someone will contact you very quickly in order for them to arrange to do an initial visit to you.

The purpose of this initial visit is to give you more information about what fostering involves and to assist us at this early stage if there is anything that may affect your application, for example; insufficient bedroom space or recent changes in your family circumstances. These visits are a two way process and you or we may decide not to pursue the application any further. However, if we all want to proceed, then you will be asked to attend a series of training sessions and then have an in depth assessment about yourselves, your family and your backgrounds. All of this information will help us to decide what age of children, how many and what gender you should foster. The process is again very much two way and is an opportunity for you to ask more questions, get to understand the demanding and rewarding elements of being a foster carer for an established agency, as well as getting to know other foster carers in the same situation.