Our Support for Carers

If you decide to become a Foster Carer with Knowsley MBC you won’t be on your own; our experienced Fostering Team will be with you every step of the way. You will receive a financial allowance, full training along with 24 hour support from our team. We pride ourselves on the support we offer our carers. As a Knowsley Foster Carer you will be given:

• 24 hour advice and support. All carers have a dedicated Social Worker along with access to an out-of-hours support service - because we know fostering isn’t a 9-5 job. Your designated Social Worker will provide you with advice, support and guidance.
• We will share our knowledge and first-hand experience with you. All children come into the care of their Local Authority in the first instance and our team has often been working with the child and their family for a while. This gives us a lot of important background knowledge that we can share with you as their carer. This also helps us to match children with carers who we believe will be most suitable for them and their circumstances.
• Free training and skills development opportunities. You can read more about our training here
• We offer a number of different fostering placements to suit you and your lifestyle and are committed to giving you on-going training and support. The personal development of our carers is really important to us and we want our carers to grow and develop to become the best possible carer they can be. We offer comprehensive training in a wide range of child related subjects such as emotional first aid.
• We work closely with our existing Foster Carers to ensure they feel fully supported and value their views on how we can develop our service through recruitment, support and training.
• We provide any equipment you will need to accommodate a child in your home, such as cots, stair gates, and can supply special equipment for some children and young people with a disability.
• Our Foster Carer committee organise regular fun events and activities such as trips to the pantomime, theme parks and parties for all carers and their families.
• We offer a competitive financial and support package. You will be paid an allowance to care for each child you look after and there is also the opportunity to take qualifications which allow you to gain ‘Skills Payment’, similar to a wage.

If you’ve ever thought about fostering we really would love to hear from you.