Fostering in Suffolk

Foster carers help change young people’s lives every day. In Suffolk alone, there are many children and young people who urgently require caring, nurturing and supportive foster homes. Therefore if fostering is something you have been considering for a while, or if it’s something you have just started to research, now would be a great time to start your fostering journey. You could join our Fostering Suffolk team!

A foster carer’s role is to provide nurturing, stable and caring homes for vulnerable young people. There are many different types of foster care, and our enquiry officers will be able to talk you through the best options to suit you and your household.

How do I start?

Before making a fostering application, you will need:

To be aged 21 years or over
To have at least one spare bedroom in your home
To be a full time resident of the UK

You don’t need any childcare qualifications, as full and ongoing training will be provided. However we do ask that applicants have some form of experience caring for a child.

As we are a charity, we reinvest surplus income into providing more training for our fostering households.

Join our Fostering Suffolk team, and start changing the lives of young people in your local area.

TACT foster carers, The Wrights, talk about how proud they are of the young people they have cared for, and about the support they receive from TACT:

Why foster in Suffolk with TACT?

TACT is the UK’s largest dedicated fostering charity. We have been providing nurturing and caring homes for vulnerable young people since 1993.

We work closely with Suffolk County Council to help support the need for suitably ‘matched’ foster homes. We are a charity, so we do not ‘profit’ from foster care. This enables us to find the very best fostering options for young people without financial targets being the driving factor. Additionally, our surplus income is reinvested into providing more support and training, ensuring that our Suffolk Fostering team are fully supported and have the knowledge they need to make a difference to children’s lives.

We provide a number of unique additional support resources, such as a dedicated Education Service, Health Service – and an online foster carer portal. Our TACT Connect service ensures that when children leave care, they have TACT’s support into adulthood.

This is why 98% of our carers would recommend us to others thinking of fostering.

“The children come first, as they should, which is why I approached the organisation. The staff have all been hugely supportive. My TACT supervising social worker (SSW) is always there and ready to listen and help.”

– TACT Foster Carer

Suffolk Fostering Allowances

Foster carers are highly skilled people, and our Suffolk fostering fees and allowances reflect this.

The fostering allowance is made up of two elements:

An allowance for each child/young person in your care: this covers expenses such as food, clothing and travel for a young person.
A foster carer fee: this is your carer ‘fee’, for your knowledge and skill when caring for young people in your home.

The actual allowance you will receive will be dependent on factors such as the type of foster care you are providing, the number of children in your care (as you will receive a payment per young person), their age, and the complexity of their needs.

There are also additional payments for children’s birthdays, holidays and religious festivals. We also pay long service awards and a Refer a Friend fee (if you recommend someone who then goes on to be an approved foster carer with us).

Here are some examples of the weekly Suffolk fostering allowances you could expect to receive when you have a young person placed with you:

These are examples of our Suffolk fostering allowances

Full training

As mentioned earlier, no previous training is required as we will provide you with full and ongoing training.

The first training you will undertake will be Skills To Foster – which is taken early in the fostering application/assessment period. Delivered remotely by one of our dedicated trainers, it is designed to provide an early introduction to fostering. It is also an opportunity to evaluate whether fostering is the right choice for you and your household.

The course will be attended by other applicants, providing a valuable opportunity to share thoughts, questions and experiences. The sessions are co-hosted by an existing TACT foster carer, who will provide additional insight.

If you then go on to become an approved TACT foster carer, you will be allocated a full training programme to help you further your skills. This will enable you to care for more children with a variety of different needs.

24/7 support

At TACT, you will receive support 24/7 for total peace of mind. You will be allocated your own Supervising Social Worker who will provide most of your day-to-day support. All our social workers have manageable workloads, enabling them to devote more time to you. Additionally, we provide a dedicated out-of-hours support service – so there will always be someone on the end of a phone to talk to.

We understand that being properly supported as a foster carer is one of the most important factors in deciding on a fostering agency. This is why we reinvest surplus income into providing additional support platforms, some of which are unique to TACT. After all, the better we support you, the better you will be able to provide the care and guidance required to change children’s lives.

This is what we provide:

Full 24/7 support. Provided by your Supervising Social Worker and our out-of-hours support service.
Foster carer portal. An online information hub that provides advice and training to help with your day-to-day life as a foster carer.
Education service. Ensures that all young people in your care receive the educational opportunities they are entitled to.
Health service. Our health service was established in order to provide young people in your care with ongoing physical and mental health monitoring.
Support groups. Our support groups operate in Suffolk and the surrounding areas, and provide you with a local outlet to meet other carers in your area, share experiences and knowledge, and even make new friends!
Support for young people. Our Children’s Resource Workers provide the children in your care with additional support, activities and events.
Supporting your own children. We understand that your own children play an important role in the fostering household. As such, our Children Who Foster events provide your own children with an opportunity to socialise with other young people who make an amazing contribution to fostering.
Peer support. In some areas, peer-to-peer support may be available. These work by pairing newly approved foster carers with experienced TACT carers to provide another level of support.

Transferring to TACT

There are many reasons why current foster carers may wish to transfer from their local authority or agency. If you are currently a foster carer in Suffolk, we can provide a ‘fast track’ application process to ensure that the transfer to us is straightforward and stress-free. You would also not be required to re-take the Skills To Foster course.

If you have children already in placement, we would just need to ensure that the wellbeing of the young people come first. We would work closely with you and your existing fostering provider to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of care.

If you are interested in finding out more about transferring to us, simply select ‘I am currently a foster carer’ on our form. We will then be able to talk you through the process in more detail.

A fostering charity that goes above and beyond…

Our foster carer perks include a number of exclusive memberships and special offers – many of which are available via our Foster Carer Portal.
Our TACT Connect service ensures that our care leavers continue to receive help, support and guidance even after they have officially left our care.
We advocate for young people, actively campaigning in order to instigate positive change within the care system.

Start your fostering journey in Suffolk today, and change a child’s life. Simply fill in the form on this page to get started!