What kind of fostering would you like to do?

MIddle aged foster mum smiling at the camera as she hugs her teenage foster son

Whether you're looking to care for a child for just a few days or to offer a long-term, life-changing home, we provide flexible options to suit your lifestyle, experience, and availability. You can choose the type of fostering that works best for you, or combine several approaches depending on your circumstances.

Short-Term Fostering

Task centred (2 days to 2 years +)

Task centred fostering provides children with a stable home while longer-term plans are developed. This might involve caring for a child while their family works through challenges or during legal proceedings that determine whether they return home, move into long-term fostering, or are adopted. Children and young people in short-term care can be any age from birth to 18.

Emergency Fostering

Emergency fostering involves stepping in at very short notice to care for children who need immediate protection and support. This is usually unplanned and can happen at any time of day or night. To offer emergency care, one carer must be based at home, and carers should not have their own children under 16 living at home. Previous experience of working with children or young people is essential, as this type of care can be challenging but highly rewarding.

Part-time Fostering (Short Stays)

Part-time carers provide essential support to other foster families or birth families by caring for a child for a short period. This might be a regular weekend arrangement or a one-off break while the main carer recovers from illness or takes a planned holiday. It offers children consistency and carers the chance to rest and recharge.

Long-Term Fostering (Permanence)

When a return to the birth family isn’t possible, some children need the security and stability of a permanent foster home. Long-term fostering offers a consistent, nurturing environment where children can build relationships and flourish, often until they reach adulthood and beyond.

These children may have experienced multiple moves or trauma, so long-term fostering requires compassion, emotional resilience, and a high level of commitment. In addition to the standard "Prepare to Foster" training, long-term carers attend a dedicated one-day course and can access up to 14 nights' short stay care for the child/ren they are looking after. In some situations, more overnight short stays are available, this is led by the child's needs and in accordance with their care plan.

Parent and Child Fostering

Parent and child fostering is a specialist role where you provide a supportive home for a parent (usually a mother, father, or sometimes both) and their young child. The aim is to help the parent develop their confidence and parenting skills while ensuring the child’s needs are met.

You’ll offer guidance, emotional support, and practical advice, empowering the parent to make safe, positive decisions for their child’s future. This type of fostering can be a powerful way to support two lives at a critical moment in their journey.

Ages and Matching

Foster children can be any age, from newborns to 18-year-olds. During the application process, you'll have the opportunity to discuss your preferences, including age range, number of children, and specific needs, and we’ll always respect this when matching you with a child or young person.

Carers can be approved to look after up to three children, depending on the space in your home and your ability to meet each child’s individual needs.

FOCUS Fostering

FOCUS fostering provides fostering opportunities, care, understanding and support for adolescents. It is an approach within Lincolnshire’s wider fostering offer, designed to provide enhanced support for adolescents. This type of fostering role is being introduced as part of a two-year pilot programme, recognising the unique needs of this group of children.

FOCUS foster carers must have previous experience of working with or caring for children, particularly adolescents, and complete enhanced level training to support them with this role. FOCUS carers usually care for children aged between 12 and 15 years who otherwise, would be likely to be cared for in a residential care setting. FOCUS fostering households must have at least one carer at home, able to care full-time and usually only care for one child at a time.

There are 2 types of FOCUS foster carers:

  1. Full-time FOCUS fostering is task-centred fostering for adolescents for up to two years.
  2. Emergency and/ or short stay FOCUS carers support full-time FOCUS foster carers and the children living with them, by providing planned short stays, or they provide emergency foster care for children who would likely have been placed in residential care in an emergency, including out of hours.

Find out more about FOCUS fostering.