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Respite

Respite fostering is where a child or young person will stay with you for a very short period, usually a weekend, but it could be up to a couple of weeks. You may have the same child or young person staying with you on a regular basis, or it may be one off support. We’re currently looking for respite foster carers for children and young people aged 11+.

If you’ve never been a foster carer before, it’s a good way to see if it fostering is for you, or if you don’t want to commit to long term fostering, then respite fostering could be the option for you. You don’t need any specific experience, just a spare bedroom, and a caring and loving home.

Respite fostering provides opportunities for foster carers to provide care to a young person and continue to work, by providing short break care in the evenings or at a weekend when they are available. This is different from providing a full-time foster placement as it allows carers to have flexibility to manage their work life and to provide support at times when they have spare time.

Respite carers receive financial support when a young person is placed and will have access to a full and comprehensive training programme, regular supervision, support groups, 24 hour on call service and membership to the FCA (Foster Carer Association).

One of our current respite foster carers tells her story below.

We'd love to hear from you! 

If you want to know more, please contact us for a chat and we can tell you more about what’s involved and answer any questions you may have. Call us today on 0161 799 1268 or fill in our online form.

Fostering enquiry form

Susan’s story 

Susan has been a respite foster carer for over five years, read her story below.

I started fostering as a single person after my own children had grown up, I had the ‘empty nest’ feeling.

I later met my partner who then also undertook the foster training, so we now foster as a couple.

Being respite carers we feel we get the best of both worlds; we still work full time and still have our own family time but every six weeks or so a young person comes to stay the weekend with us.

The respite weekends go really well as the young person gets a weekend away from the usual and gets an opportunity to do other things.

The weekend is a chance for the children to relax more and enjoy their time out, so we like to do activities that they enjoy, our aim is to create happy childhood memories and new experiences for them.

I get a real sense of job satisfaction when they return home with a smile on their faces when they have had a nice weekend and equally as important knowing that we have given the full-time carers a well-deserved break.

I guess it’s like visiting grandparents or an aunt and uncles house for the weekend.

We have really developed a lovely bond and relationship with the children that come to visit and treat them as an extended part of our family.

The children we look after range from 12 to 16 looking after a teenager is no different to a younger child and in fact sometimes easier as more self-sufficient and communicative.

It has been great to see the children grow up and develop over the years, becoming more independent and we get a real feeling that we are making a difference to their lives.

Types of fostering

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