Fostering as a Career

Many prospective carers wonder if fostering is a viable career, and the answer is, yes! Fostering is absolutely applicable as a career option and it can be one of the most rewarding careers out there. When you choose to foster a child, you are actively making a difference to that child’s life, giving them a safe space to learn, develop and grow.

Foster care has often been thought of as a vocation, something people commit to out of passion and a philanthropic desire to do good. In recent times, however, fostering is more widely considered as a career choice. Foster parents require essential skills such as communication skills, behaviour management techniques, time management and most importantly, patience!

A lot of time is also needed to dedicate yourself to fully caring for a child’s complete needs. It is an essential requirement that a prospective foster carer has enough time to cater for the child’s care needs. Some people choose to work part-time and share caring responsibilities with a partner who looks after the child while you attend your job, other people choose to foster full-time, giving the child / children all of their time and attention.

One of the fantastic things about fostering as a career is that it’s very flexible. You can choose to foster in a way that works for you and your family! That may mean dedicating your career to foster care full-time, taking on respite care in your free time or taking on a challenge such as siblings or fostering teenagers. Fusion Fostering work with you to discuss your individual circumstance and find a fostering solution that is a good fit with your current situation, family and your expectations of fostering. So if you enjoy working from home,   helping others and having no strict ‘office hours’, foster care could be the perfect career for you.

The most important thing to consider when thinking about fostering full-time is your personality and your ambitions. Our foster carers report high levels of job satisfaction due to the rewarding nature of the job. If you naturally love to help others and your ambition is to make a difference to children and young people’s lives, you will find foster care to be extremely fulfilling and enriching.

Maybe you’re worried that you don’t have the necessary skills or experience to pursue fostering as a career? Worry not, full training, guidance and support is provided by Fusion Fostering. We offer a variety of courses to ensure you have the essential skills to foster before your first care placement and we continue to offer further training to help your professional development continue. What’s more, you will have access to an experienced member of the Fusion Fostering team at all times. So whatever your need, Fusion has you covered. Learn more about the fostering training we offer by clicking here and the ongoing support for carers by clicking here.

Finally, finance is always important to consider. You should think about your financial stability and if you have the security to provide full-time care to a child. Fusion Fostering provide a generous weekly allowance, intended to meet all care needs for the child in your care. There is also a carers reward allowance intended to cover your time and skills. Find more about how much foster parents get paid by clicking here.

If you think that fostering may be the perfect career choice for you, please get in touch. We are happy to answer any questions you might have if you are thinking of fostering and can offer advice, support and guidance through your application. Give us a call on 03301 239355, send an email to info@fusionfostering.com or fill out our online contact form.