Focus fostering

The Focus fostering scheme is a specialised salaried form of fostering providing placements for children between the ages of 5 to 16 years old. Focus fostering differs from 3D fostering in its approach and can provide longer term placements.

The children referred to the Focus fostering scheme have more complex support needs and have often had a number of previous foster care placements which may have broken down. The children may display a range of difficult behaviours including not going to school, withdrawn or aggressive behaviour and a mistrust of adult carers due to their previous experiences. Some children will have learning problems and will require considerable support from their carers.

Focus fostering can be demanding but also highly rewarding providing an opportunity to foster a child as a career option by providing a stable and caring home to a child who may not have had this experience previously. If you feel that you could work from home with children as an alternative to your current employment we would love to hear from you. In addition to the fostering allowance, carers receive an annual fee starting at £19,285 per annum, which is paid weekly.

Focus foster carers receive comprehensive support from their family placement worker with fortnightly contact and also access to a multi-agency team including social workers, psychologists and teachers. The support offered reflects our commitment for children to have the right to a family life despite their difficulties and includes:

24 hours, seven days a week support with a dedicated on-call service.
Regular paid and planned respite to enable you to have a complete break from caring.
Fortnightly meetings with the Focus team and other Focus foster carers.
Fortnightly face to face contact with your family placement worker.
Full training and preparation programme.
A generous weekly reward/fee payment.
Access to a team of professionals to support you and the child in placement.

To become a Focus foster carer you will need to:

Have some experience of working with or caring for children, young people or vulnerable adults.
Have an adult in your household who will be available full time to care for the child and work closely with the Focus team.
Have no other children under the age of 12 living in the household.
Have a spare room for the child.
A strong commitment to working in partnership to manage behaviour difficulties.

Focus foster carers provide short term and long term placements and can alternate the type of provision once a placement has ended.

This page was last updated on 28 February 2012