Fostering and Caring

Fostering is a way of providing a safe and secure home and family care for child or young person who, for various reasons, is unable to live with their own family. Foster care may be needed for a few days or a few weeks or it can be for a much longer period. The aim is for children to return to their own families where possible and where it has been assessed as safe for them to do so.

In Reading we also provide a range of other caring schemes whereby children and young people are supported by adults for different periods of time. Information about the different schemes is detailed in the Types of Foster Care and Carer Schemes page below

In this section, you can:

• find out about becoming a foster carer or a short-term carer with one of our other schemes;
• get information and support if you are already a foster carer;
• get information and support if you are a child who is being fostered or may soon be fostered;
• find out about Family and Friends caring if you are looking after a child who is not your own.