Become a foster parent

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We need more foster parents to provide safe and loving homes to children, particularly sibling groups, teenagers and parents and their children in special parent and child fostering arrangements.

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We care passionately about matching young people with the right foster parent and need a diverse range of families. No matter what your age, gender, relationship status, sexual orientation, race or religion, as long as you care about offering a nurturing and happy home and want to make a real difference to young people’s lives and prospects, we would love to hear from you.

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What is fostering?

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Fostering is a term used to describe looking after someone else’s child in a family home when they cannot live with their birth family – that may be for a few days, weeks, months or until they are 18 or beyond. Fostering is a way of providing a stable family life and making children and young people feel loved, included and valued. 

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Foster parents play an important role in the team of professionals, including social workers, working with the child to make sure that they get the care and support which they need. From attending school and health appointments to taking part in extracurricular activities, foster parents look after the children in their care on a daily basis.

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Fostering is different from adoption because the Local Authority remains responsible for fostered children. In many cases, it is important for the child to to maintain links with their birth family. Xcel have a contact suite at our Sittingbourne office where birth family time can take place for those living locally.