Make your weekends matter!
You can be a part-time foster carer with Foster for Bradford from as little as one weekend a month.
Interested? Get in touch.
You don’t need to know right now what type of fostering would suit you. We can help you decide what would suit your personal circumstances.
What’s it like to foster part-time?
Neil, a full-time foster carer who started fostering part-time, talks about what it can be like to foster children part-time. Please note that he uses the phrase respite fostering, a term we no longer use in social care.
What is part-time fostering?
Part-time foster care, which used to be known as short break care or respite fostering, provides temporary foster care for children who live full-time at home with their families; with full-time foster carers; or in a children’s home.
Part-time fostering is a flexible way to support children and their families. Part-time foster carers make big impacts on children’s lives.
Part-time fostering can be planned and predictable. A part-time foster carer might be matched with a child who lives in a children’s home but would do better living with a family, so you might have the child to stay with you for one weekend a month, while we search for a full-time foster family for them. A part-time foster carer might be matched with a child who lives with a single grandparent who looks after their grandchild full-time.
If you offer more than one weekend a month, you might be matched with 2 or 3 children for planned visits.
Can I foster part-time?
Part-time foster carers are often:
- people who work full-time, part-time or term-time
- people who have time in the evenings or weekends
- people who have retired
- families already doing activities with their own children who would like to give additional or wider life experiences to other children
- people interested in becoming full-time foster carers eventually. Many foster carers start by offering part-time fostering first.
Can I foster part-time and carry on working?
Yes, you can work alongside part-time fostering. We ask you for at least one weekend a month.
You will need a bit of flexibility in your availability to meet the needs of the child you will be supporting – this might involve being able to welcome the child into your home on the Friday afternoon and take them to school on the Monday morning.
What do I need to be a part-time foster carer?
You will need:
- to be over 25 (or 21 if you have lots of experience caring for children)
- to have at least one spare bedroom that is big enough for a single bed, a chest of drawers or a wardrobe, a window and a door
- at least one weekend a month to foster
- the time, energy and desire to provide a nurturing, safe and supportive environment
We need people who have an open heart, a spare room and the time, energy and desire to provide a nurturing, safe and supportive environment for a child to not just develop, but thrive.
Enquire now
Be inspired by our film Any of Us
Foster carers like you
Foster carers are ordinary people, like you, who do something extraordinary. Have a read of some of our carers’ stories on our website to find out what it’s like to be a full or part time foster carer for Foster for Bradford.
Why Foster for Bradford?
Dedicated support
Great pay and benefits
Training & development
Caring for local children
Fostering is the best job you can have, but it is so much more than a job.
Kal and Ash, foster carers
