Social services - fostering

Fostering involves caring for children in your own home while their parents are unable to look after them. This could be due to family illness, a breakdown in family relationships, abuse or neglect, or the need for teenagers and parents to live apart for a while. Fostering offers a better way of looking after children in the Local Authority’s care because they can continue to live and develop within a family environment. This is a temporary arrangement, and many fostered children return to their own families. Fostering may provide respite care or shared care for children with disabilities. Support is provided for the children, the foster carers and the family of the fostered children. Kinship carer’s are also supported within the fostering service, these are family members caring for children from their own extended families. The Kinship part of the service is accessible from the Referral and assessment team Child In Need Services.

The assessment and Recruitment Team are responsible for the recruitment and assessment of the foster carers. The Assessment Team operates a duty system dealing with the fostering enquiry. Any one interested in fostering could ring the above telephone number to speak to the duty social worker, or to leave a voice message or to send an email to fostering email address to express their interest. The duty social worker would then phone the enquirers to answer any queries and at the same time obtaining basic information, such as names and address. The duty social worker also would arrange for the Information leaflets to send to the enquirers and to invite the enquirers to attend the monthly Information sessions. If the enquirers wish to proceed with the fostering applications, a social worker would be allocated to carry out the Initial Assessment visit. They would make a recommendation to invite the applicants to attend the training course if the applicants meet the assessment criteria. After completing the training course, they will then be allocated to a social worker to carry out the full assessment. Subjects to satisfactory statutory checks and the assessment, the social worker would make a recommendation to present the assessment report to Fostering Approval panel to approve the applicants as a suitable foster carer/s.

Eligibility
Prospective foster carers must have a separate bedroom for a foster child and young people. Children 0-18 months can share with a foster carers’ bedroom sleeping in a cot.
0-12 years old: at least one carers must be available during the day, i.e. not working, not using alternative carers such as childminders. 13-18 years old: part time working up to 18 hours per week.
Prospective carers should live in or near the borders of the London Borough of Enfield.

Required Customer Information
Statutory checks: Enhanced CRB (Criminal Record Bureau), medical checks, school checks if the applicants have schooling age children and employment references.

Service Level Agreement and Turnaround
Full Form F assessment timescales from application form to panel should be no more than five months.

More information about this service

Contact Us

Frequently asked questions

Address:
Fostering – Education, Children and Leisure Services
Southgate Town Hall
Green Lanes
Palmers Green
London
N13 4XD
Map

Telephone:
0208 379 2831 (Fostering Enquiry)

Fax:
0208 379 2699

Voicemail:
0208 379 2831

Opening Hours:
Mondays to Thursdays: 8.45am to 5.00pm
Fridays: 8.45am to 4.45pm.

Useful Links

Fostering Network

BAAF (British Agency for Adoption and Fostering)

Fostering Information

Request a Translation of the Fostering and Adoption Microsite