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If you’re ready to apply or simply want to find out more about fostering, you can fill in the contact form and our Carer Enquiries team will be in touch.
Respite foster care, otherwise known as short-term or short-break foster care, is provided for children and young people when their primary carer is temporarily unable to look after them.
Respite foster care, otherwise known as short-term or short-break foster care, is provided for children and young people when their primary carer is temporarily unable to look after them.
As a respite Foster Carer, you are likely to support the same local children and their families. This gives you the chance to get to know each other, making things easier over time. It also enables you to see the benefit your care has on families in need.
These types of placements are usually for no more than fourteen days, but may occasionally be longer depending on the individual family circumstances. Placements are organised in advance and you choose your availability. This gives respite Foster Carers plenty of time to make arrangements, enabling them to work alongside fostering more easily on a regular basis.
The reasons for this type of placement are wide-ranging; for example, you may be called upon to support other local foster parents who may be experiencing difficulties or simply need some time to unwind.
Your role as a respite Foster Carer is to provide a family home where children can feel safe and secure while they are away from their family or their usual Foster Carers. You will provide the primary carers with reassurance that their children are well cared for during these short breaks.
Respite Foster Carers can fit this type of care around family or work commitments that may exclude them from other types of fostering.
They may use these short-term placements to test out whether they want to take the next step and become full-time Foster Carers when circumstances allow.
Respite Foster Carers receive support and training and are paid a fee for the time they have a child or young person placed with them.
Could you provide children with a safe and secure family home while they are away from their family or their usual Foster Carers?
If you’re ready to apply or simply want to find out more about fostering, you can fill in the contact form and our Carer Enquiries team will be in touch.
You can use our Live chat to talk directly with our Carers Enquiries team and find out more about fostering with Five Rivers.
Your local fostering team will be there to support you, offering personalised, professional guidance throughout your fostering journey.
