Six step process
Your fostering journey with us
begins with a conversation.
- Step One
Your Initial Enquiry
Your fostering journey begins with a simple enquiry. Our online enquiry form is a quick and simple way to take the first step, helping our team understand how best to support you from the very start.
This is your chance to see if fostering could be right for you. Our friendly team will take it from there to provide the support you require and guide you through every stage of the process, keeping you informed from the minute you hit ‘Submit.’
- Step two
Your Initial Visit
After your enquiry, we’ll be in touch as soon as we can to arrange an initial visit. This is a conversation about yourself, your family, your motivations to foster and your home environment. It may sometimes take place in person but more often these days is held remotely, helping us move your application forward whilst giving you the chance to learn more about fostering with Compass.
Once this is done, we can move on to the next stage: your preparation assessment.
- Step three
Your Preparation Assessment
Your preparation assessment is a major part of becoming a foster parent, but it’s not something you have to do alone. It’s a chance for us to get to know you properly, understand your strengths and help you prepare for the realities and rewards of fostering. As always, you’ll be supported throughout, with tailored guidance, development and opportunities to connect with the wider Compass Fostering community.
This stage should also help you gain a tangible understanding of the difference you could make as a Compass Life Changer.
- Step four
Foster Care Foundations
Foster Care Foundations helps you turn that motivation into confidence. This is your local introduction to therapeutic foster care. Alongside other prospective foster parents, you’ll develop your skills and understanding for the fostering journey. The course provides a solid foundation in the complex but deeply rewarding role of fostering, giving you the tools to become the best foster parent you can be.
Your learning and development won’t stop here, however. Once approved, you’ll continue to build your safeguarding skills, recording practice and therapeutic understanding through additional support and training.
- Step five
Your Foster Panel
Once your assessment is complete, you may also be invited to attend a foster panel. The panel exists to carefully consider your assessment and make a well-informed recommendation regarding your suitability to foster. It is not an interview, and you’ll be supported so you know exactly what to expect and feel prepared on the day.
After the panel, the recommendation is considered as part of your final approval decision by the Agency Decision-maker. As part of your journey to foster panel, you will meet your Supervising Social Worker and dedicated Family Finder.
- Step six
Your First Foster Child
Once you’ve been approved as a foster parent, you’ll officially become part of our welcoming Compass Fostering community.
With the support of your own Supervising Social Worker, your local Compass Fostering hub and a dedicated Family Finding Team, we’ll use what we know about you, your family and experience when matching you with a child or children.
We look for potential.
We look at each person’s potential to foster.
After all, great foster parents come from all kinds of backgrounds. We work closely with applicants throughout the assessment process to determine whether Compass is the right fit for them.
Read our success stories to hear from our Life Changers, including many who thought fostering wasn’t an option.
FAQs
Find answers to some of our most frequently asked questions.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Fostering isn’t easy. But it’s one of the most important things you can do to transform the life of a child. If you’re ready to explore whether fostering could be right for you – and want to do it with a team that will have your back – we’d like to hear from you.