Local Council Fostering: Quick Questions

Do you get paid for providing foster care for your local council?

You get an allowance to cover expenses and you may get a top up too.

Find out more about allowances for foster carers.

Can I be a foster carer?

Single. Married. Any gender. Any sexuality. Any religion. As long as you have a separate room for the child you’re fostering and meet a few other requirements, there are very few reasons that would make you unable to foster a child in Manchester.

See if you could foster here

Will I get help to care for foster children?

Yes. Lots of it. There’s formal training, social worker support and a huge support network to help you decide if fostering is right for you and to help you build your skills.

Find out more about training and support

Why should I choose my local authority rather than an Independent Fostering Agency (IFA)?

There are several fostering agencies in and around Manchester. Why choose Fostering for Greater Manchester? Well, we’d never discourage anyone from fostering, no matter who they do it with. But we’d be particularly grateful if you would choose Greater Manchester fostering with us. Here’s why:

• Children first: We’re part of your local authority. We don’t work for profit, which means we can put the interests of children first.
• We’re local. That’s important because it means our foster carers are part of a local network. It means we’re better able to keep children local too. Often, IFA’s don’t have such large local networks, which means children are more likely to be moved away from their home town.
• Shorter gaps; more regular payments: Your local authority always needs more foster carers, which means there are usually only short gaps between placements. That’s not always the case when you work with an IFA. Those gaps matter because you only get paid when a child is placed with you.

Find out more here

Who do I talk to about becoming a foster parent in Manchester?

Foster for Greater Manchester supports foster care in Bolton, Tameside, Salford and each of the ten GM districts. If you’re thinking of becoming a foster carer, talk to us about it now. Here’s how:

Fill out our enquiry form
Call us: 0300 303 0321
Email us: enquire@fosterforgm.com

Foster care Manchester        

“We have not been successful in recruiting enough new foster carers to provide a foster family in Manchester for every child who needs one.” Manchester City Council Fostering Service Annual Report

People who provide foster care in Manchester stay. According to the above report, just 1% stopped fostering in the past year – which is a measure of how they feel about the difference they make. The real challenge is encouraging more people to apply.

Manchester is a big city and the number of children in its care is also large. Just under 1,500 children need help, and we want to find foster parents in Manchester for all of them. Just as importantly, we want to keep the children local and ensure their needs – not profit – are the main focus. That’s why we encourage local authority fostering rather than choosing fostering agencies in Manchester.

To find out more about what’s involved, the support you receive and Manchester fostering allowances, please get in touch.

Fostering in Bolton

Bolton needs your help. Not long ago, the town received 120+ enquiries about fostering in a typical year, and around 50% of those enquiring would go on to apply. Since then, enquiries about providing foster care in Bolton have almost halved and the % of those applying has dropped too*.

The best way to make a difference is to bypass fostering agencies in Bolton and go straight to source: Fostering for Greater Manchester. To find out more about what’s involved, the support you receive and the Bolton fostering allowance, please get in touch.

*The Bolton News

Foster care in Bury

The number of carers fostering in Bury compares well with other areas and the total number of fostering households is slowly increasing. Yet it’s still the case that a third of children needing to be looked after don’t get the foster family they need*.

That’s why we need to increase the availability of foster care in Bury.

To explore fostering in Bury, including the allowance and why we’d prefer you to choose Fostering for Greater Manchester over any Bury fostering agency, please talk to us.

*Bury Council Scrutiny Report

Fostering Oldham

The cost-of-living crisis has seen an increase in the number of children needing fostering. Each day, there are around 70,000 children needing foster care in the UK*. Several hundred of those are in Oldham.

Right now, we don’t have enough Oldham foster carers for all the children and young people who need our help. If you think fostering in Oldham could be for you, get in touch to find out more about what’s involved, support, training, and the Oldham fostering allowance.

*Oldham Council

Rochdale fostering

There are around 600 children in care in Rochdale at any one time. When we’ve carried out surveys, we know around 4 in 10 people say they would consider fostering in Rochdale. As the number of children needing support grows, we really need more of those people to explore fostering in Rochdale in more detail.

To find out more about what’s involved, support, training, and the Rochdale fostering allowance, please talk to us.

Foster in Salford

The number of children in fostering in Salford has increased by 29% in the past five years*. Yet as need grows, the number of households in Salford applying to provide foster care is now much lower than before the pandemic*.

Children need your help, now. If you could foster in Salford, or if you’d like to know more about what’s involved, what support’s available and how much you’ll get from the Salford fostering allowance, please get in touch.

*MSN.com

Fostering Stockport

More than 300 children are in foster care in Stockport at any one time*. Yet it’s just a fraction of the number of children and young people who need support. To improve Stockport fostering rates, we need your help, and yes, there are allowances available to cover the costs.

*Stockport Council

Tameside fostering

Over the last few years, between 600 and 700 children have needed fostering in Tameside each year*. Yet between a third and a half don’t get the care they desperately need  because there simply aren’t enough foster carers to go round.

You could make a huge difference. To explore fostering in Tameside, and to explore more about Tameside fostering payments and allowances, please get in touch.

*E.g. Tameside Children’s Sufficiency Strategy

Fostering Trafford

There’s a big need for Trafford fostering. According to its latest strategy document*, the percentage of children needing to be looked after in Trafford is higher than the national average and higher than its neighbours.

You can help. To find out more, including what Trafford fostering allowances you might be entitled to, please get in touch.

*Trafford Council Children’s Sufficiency Strategy

Wigan Fostering

We need more foster carers in Wigan. According to latest figures*, a record number of children in Wigan were in care last year. 68% of the young people placed into care in Wigan live in the borough. That’s relatively good compared with the rest of the country, but it still means that almost 1 in 3 children who need fostering in the Wigan area find homes outside the borough. And too many have to switch schools at least once during the year.

That’s why we need your help. To find out more, including what Wigan fostering allowances you might be entitled to, please get in touch.

*Wigan Today