Wigan Council is part of Foster for Greater Manchester, a collaborative partnership between all 10 Greater Manchester local authorities. We support new and existing foster carers to provide safe and loving homes for children and young people.

Wigan Council is a not-for-profit, government organisation focused on providing early help to families, children and young people living in all areas of the borough of Wigan including Abram, Ashton, Aspull, Atherton, Golborne, Hindley, Ince, Leigh, Lowton, Standish and Tyldesley.

Fostering is a professional role with responsibilities. Foster carers receive a regular tax-free financial allowance plus additional payments and benefits for each child in their care. The amount received depends on your experience as a foster carer, the type of fostering and the age of the child.

We are passionate about enabling our children to remain within their local area, therefore we need more foster carers to join our community so we can continue to support our local families. We are specifically looking for people to open their hearts to babies, older children, sibling groups and children with complex needs.

Here at Wigan, we want fostering to fit with your life and our dedicated team can help find the right type of fostering for you. We have a variety of routes including fostering babies for those who don’t have a spare room, long-term fostering for those looking to support a child up until adulthood, and specialist fostering which utilises your specific skills.

We provide a unique support and rewards package which aims to provide our foster carers with the tools they need to flourish such as training, allowances, discounted leisure membership, and Mockingbird. Mockingbird offers vital peer support and guidance alongside social activities and sleepovers to strengthen relationships and permanence.

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