Parent & child fostering

What is parent and child fostering?

Parent and child fostering is all about helping vulnerable parents to develop the confidence and skills they need to provide appropriate care to their child – while supporting local authorities to evaluate their ability to parent.

The role of a parent and child foster carer involves supporting an expectant mum or a vulnerable parent and their young child. This can be a mother or father, and sometimes both. Some may have a learning disability, which makes it hard for them to learn parenting skills. Or they may not have experienced a stable childhood themselves, which has impacted their ability to look after their own children.

Parent and child foster placements - sometimes referred to as ‘mother and baby foster placements’ - normally last around 12 weeks and tend to be quite intensive, so it’s a challenging and responsible role.

To support you, we provide 24-hour assistance and plenty of specialist training (in paediatric first aid, for example), as well as the guidance of social workers and specialist care professionals who work with you to achieve positive outcomes for the parent and child in your care.

Who is suitable for parent & child fostering? 

Many of the vulnerable young mothers and fathers who need our help have not always received a stable, nurturing childhood, and therefore lack the skills and knowledge they need to care for their own child. Mother and baby placements give parents a chance to learn how to care for their child in a safe and nurturing home environment.

A mother and baby foster placement is a specialist fostering service that we provide to local authorities. While you don’t necessarily need to have raised your own children to provide parent and child foster care, you will need a minimum of 1 years’ experience in fostering or the equivalent in a related profession, such as:

• Midwives
• Health visitors
• Nursery workers
• Social care workers

There are also some additional practical requirements to make sure there’s a good amount of living space for the parent(s) and their child – this includes a large enough bedroom to fit a cot.

Foster carers will also need to keep a detailed daily record noting observations of the parent’s ability to respond to their baby’s needs, and how they manage the routine and any practical tasks. Therefore, you’ll need to be good at record keeping and report writing, and be able to speak confidently about their parenting ability at various professional meetings which might include giving evidence in court.