Short Term Fostering

What is Short Term Foster Care?

Short term fostering is one of the most common types of fostering available in the UK, with thousands of children in need of short-term foster care every year.

Short-term foster care provides children and young people with a stable, safe, and supportive home when they are unable to live with their birth family. This type of fostering is often only temporary, while arrangements for their future are being made.

Securing A Better Future

There is much to consider when figuring out the kind of support a child or young person needs to have a successful future. During a short-term fostering arrangement, lots of people (including the child’s family, the Local Authority, and various professionals) work together to find a long-term solution.

The aim of short-term fostering is to eventually return the child or young person to their birth family, with the right kind of support. However, this isn’t always possible. If a foster child is unable to return to their foster family, they might need to move into a different type of foster care arrangement – like long-term fostering.

At Compass, we’re proud to place our children at the centre of our decision making. We work hard to make sure that every decision we make respects the needs, wishes and wellbeing of our children and young people – providing them with everything they need to secure a better future.

A picture of two men caring for a young baby, smiling.

Why Do Children Need Short Term Fostering?

Children and young people often come into foster care because they are unable to live with their birth family. In 2022, there were over 404,310 children living away from home in the UK.

There are many reasons why a child or young person may be unable to live with their family. These include signs of abuse or neglect, family illness, family dysfunction, or circumstances within which the home environment is considered unsafe or unsuitable.

Fortunately, short-term fostering provides children and young people with a safe home to live in while any issues are sorted out, or more permanent arrangements can be made.

How Long is Short Term Foster Care?

Most children and young people come into foster care on a short-term fostering plan. How long they stay in foster care depends on their individual circumstances and the circumstances of their family. It also depends on the type of arrangements that need to be made for the child or young person’s future, and how long it takes to put these arrangements in place.

Some foster children may only need to stay with their foster carer for a single night, or a few days. Other foster children may stay in short term foster care for a longer period, from a few weeks to a few months, to a few years.

A female foster carer laughing and embracing her foster child.

Benefits of Short-Term Fostering

At Compass, many of our foster carers offer short term fostering. Caring for children and young people in short-term fostering arrangements can be challenging at times, but it also comes with many benefits – for both the foster child and their foster carer.

Over 34% of our foster carers said they chose fostering because they cared about children and wanted to help them. As a foster carer, you have the unique opportunity to make a real difference to a young person’s life.

This is because short-term fostering provides children and young people with vital support during what might be an immensely challenging time in their lives. Foster carers help them feel safe, stable, and secure, guiding them in understanding their emotions and providing some much-needed comfort when the going gets tough.