There are different types of foster care needed for a wide range of children aged between 0 – 16 years. As a foster carer, you may look after a child for a few hours or opt to welcome a young person into your home for several years. We are currently looking for people from all walks of life to foster children and teenagers in Gateshead, and welcome all enquiries but are specifically looking to recruit:
To help you decide the type of foster care that is right for you, please click on the links to find out more information.
Emergency Foster Carers
We are actively recruiting people who are interested in becoming emergency foster carers.
A career as an emergency Foster Carer can be very rewarding. There are children and teenagers all living in the Gateshead area who have an urgent need to be cared for away from their own homes, often at very short notice, night and day, for brief periods but possibly for longer.
You will receive a financial allowance with 2 weeks paid holiday entitlement, access to regular training, support and supervision.
Long Term foster Carers
There are some circumstances in which children cannot return to live with their birth parents so long term fostering allows a child to retain contact with their family but to be brought up in a safe and caring environment with foster carers.
If you decide to become a long term foster carer you receive full support from the child's social worker and by a fostering social worker during the placement.
Remand Foster Carers
Young people who have been charged with an offence are sometimes put into the care of Gateshead Council and need to be placed with a foster carer. They may need to stay with you for a couple of days or anything up to a few months. It is often the most difficult area of foster care but can also be the most satisfying.
As a remand carer, you receive additional specialist training and benefit from a regular payment on top of you’re your normal fostering allowance.
Contract Foster Carers
This a specialist type of foster care, looking after children aged 8 – 18 years who have particular needs or whose behaviour is more challenging. As a contract foster carer, it can be very demanding but also very rewarding.
Placements can be long or short term but because of the level of skill and full time commitment needed from you for this particular type of foster care, you will benefit from a paid weekly fee on top of the normal fostering allowance.
Springboard Foster Carers
If you would like to take part in a new and innovative programme offering a highly structured approach to caring for a young person then Springboard Fostering could be right for you.
As a Springboard foster carer, you can expect to work with children aged 8 – 16 years who may have experienced numerous foster care placements, have complex needs or who present with challenging behaviours and struggle to live within other foster or residential homes.
By taking part in the Springboard programme as a carer, you can make a huge difference to a young person’s life in a number of ways including:
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Reducing social exclusion
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Providing stability
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Encouraging the forming of relationships
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Recognising achievements and giving praise
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Giving them a better start in life
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Reducing offending behaviour
In addition, as a Springboard carer you will receive £26’000 a year, plus allowances for the child, specialised training, 24 hour on call support, 28 days holiday and regular short breaks.
Short Term and Temporary Foster Carers
Also known as ‘mainstream fostering’ a child may be placed with you from one night to several months, depending on their circumstances and the legal situation.
Short term fostering occurs when a child needs to be removed from their home for various reasons. Often these children are returned home.
If a child cannot return home, they may need to stay with you much longer (often more than a year) whilst we look to find a permanent home (long term fostering or adoption) for the child. You would then help to prepare the child for his or her move to a new family and would be closely involved in helping the adoptive or permanent family understand the needs of the child and prepare for the child's arrival.
Short Break Care
By providing part time care you may be able to help families in difficulty by providing a break for parents and children. These breaks are often over weekends or holidays.
This type of fostering also offers a break to full time foster carers, often for a weekend or over a holiday period of a week or fortnight. Being a short break carer can also involve providing cover when foster carers are unwell or face family difficulties.
Children in residential schools sometimes need care with a foster family at weekends and school holidays
Home From Home
Families with disabled children can benefit greatly from short breaks, usually ranging from the odd day or weekend to regular a ‘shared care’ arrangement which is why Home from Home fostering is so important. As a carer, you will look after children for a short time giving parents and families the opportunity of a rest.
As a Home from Home Foster carer, we will provide you with additional training to ensure you have all the skills you need to carry out this important role.
Mother and Baby Placements
We sometimes need carers who can support young mothers and help them care for their babies.