Fostering in Hounslow

It all starts with a friendly chat.

Caring for children and young people who live in Hounslow

Fostering with Hounslow keeps children and young people who need foster care in the local community, in familiar surroundings which we know can provide a better outcome for them as they grow up. Foster care offers children a safe and caring home when their biological families cannot take care of them.

Choosing to foster for Hounslow council means that children and young people can remain geographically close to their family home. In most cases, they can continue going to the same school or nursery, church or faith group and regularly see the friends they have made. Most importantly, they can continue to see their parents, siblings and extended family members on supervised visits without having to travel too far.

Hounslow is a diverse borough where the needs of children are a priority, and our foster carers are truly valued. Foster carers in Hounslow can now enjoy an even better fostering allowance package and support, with a fantastic 44% increase across the board! This includes a 20% increase for standard allowances and a 50% increase for children with complex needs.

There are many ways to foster

There are various types of foster care to consider, allowing for flexibility in how you can provide support.

You might start with part-time fostering, often called respite care, where you look after children during weekends or holidays. Additionally, you can choose to foster on a short-term or long-term basis, support children with disabilities, assist refugee children, or even foster parent-child pairs.

Each option offers unique opportunities to make a positive impact in a child's life.

Can I foster?

To foster, you must be over 21 and have suitable living accommodations, including a spare bedroom for the child, if you're not fostering infants.

It's essential to have no criminal convictions related to children and some level of experience in childcare, although this can be flexible. Additionally, you should have leave to remain or be in the final stages of approval for your status.

Each of these criteria helps ensure a safe and supportive environment for children who need foster care.

Financial support from Hounslow Council

As a foster carer in Hounslow, you can earn up to £899 a week, depending on the needs of the children in your care. Hounslow Council provides a fostering allowance to cover the day-to-day care of each foster child, plus a professional fee as an income payment for your efforts. Together, the allowance and fee average a minimum of £474 per child, per week.

But that's not all! Foster carers in Hounslow also enjoy fantastic benefits, including a 100% Council Tax refund (averaging £2,000 per year) no matter where you live, a one-off holiday payment each year, and assistance with purchasing essential items like bedding and car seats (up to £750 per child).

Additionally, you'll receive an annual payment of £500 towards utility bills. Hounslow Council also covers mileage expenses and provides support for Christmas, festivals, birthdays, and basic clothing needs. 

Emotional and professional support

As a foster carer, you'll be fully supported. We offer 24/7 telephone support from social workers, including out-of-hours assistance from the duty social worker or the children’s emergency duty team. You'll be part of a dedicated team focused on the well-being of the child or young person in your care.

We provide a range of support to enhance your fostering experience, including skills fees for specific competencies and allowances for the child's daily expenses, such as savings and pocket money. You'll receive training both before and after approval, and you'll have access to various support groups and assigned buddies for valuable connections and guidance. Each carer is allocated a Supervising Social Worker (SSW) to assist you throughout your fostering journey.

We also offer numerous benefits, such as assistance with setting up payments for essential items, memberships to fostering networks, quarterly newsletters, clinical psychotherapist support, and health and wellness perks like a Fusion leisure centre pass. Plus, enjoy family fun with an annual Merlin pass, free Blue Light card discounts, and invitations to our yearly social event to celebrate foster carers.

What are the steps to becoming a foster carer in Hounslow?

Step 1 - Make contact

Call Foster with West London on 020 8753 1075 or join us to hear more at one of our information sessions. During this initial call we will provide you with advice and support you to make a decision as to whether it is the right time for you to foster.

If you are ready to progress with your journey to becoming a foster carer, an initial enquiry will be completed over the phone to learn more about you and your family. If you meet the initial screening criteria, you will be passed to the local authority you want to foster for who will book an initial home visit and a member of the team will visit you.

Step 2 - Training

Attend our Skills-to-Foster 3-day course which will equip you with essential skills required to care for a vulnerable child or young person. Attendance at the course forms part of the assessment process and all applicants are required to attend. 

Depending on when the training course starts, you may be invited to attend the course before the assessment begins or during the assessment.

Step 3 - Assessment (Stage 1 and 2)

Once we have completed your initial enquiry and an initial home visit has been carried out, a decision will be made to progress to Stage 1.

Both you and your allocated worker will sign an Assessment Stage 1 agreement outlining the process involved. During the Assessment Stage 1 a number of checks, required by the government under the fostering regulations, will be undertaken which includes:

  • your local authority
  • probation
  • finance
  • employment
  • education

In addition to the above, we will complete personal references and education checks for your children. You will be expected to undertake a health assessment with your doctor. We will need to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check on you, your partner and any members of your household who are over 18 years old.

We will also agree on a timeframe for this work to be undertaken. You will be offered the opportunity to undertake Skills-to-Foster training at this stage.

Upon completion of Assessment Stage 1, you will be allocated a social worker to carry out an assessment of your background, life experiences and the qualities you would bring to fostering.

This is called Assessment Stage 2 of the fostering process. This will be reviewed halfway through by the principal social worker within the team to check any plans that need to be put into place.

Step 4 - Approval

You will be invited to a Fostering Panel that will assess your application alongside the government fostering regulations and make a recommendation for your approval as a foster carer and the final decision will be made by the agency decision maker shortly after.

Step 5 - Post-approval

You will be enrolled on our payment system and allocated a supervising social worker who will help you prepare yourself and your home for a child or young person coming into your care, and your life as a foster  carer begins!

After one year, you will go back to a Fostering Panel which will review your first year as a foster carer.

Start today

If you would like further information, with no-obligation, please send us your details and one of our fostering team will get in touch with you.

Embed webform
How can we help you?

We collect and use your personal data as outlined in our privacy notice (link opens in a new window).

Get an info pack