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A collaborative service for:
By fostering with Cheshire East Council, you’ll be making a difference to the most vulnerable children and young people from your local area.
Foster carers work in partnership with the team around the child in their care, and by becoming a foster carer with Cheshire East you’ll benefit from working directly with this team, including the child’s Social Worker, education and health professionals, resulting in better communication, support and outcomes for our children.
In Cheshire East we pride ourselves on the extensive training we offer to all our fostering families. From mandatory courses which all foster carers must complete within 12 months of approval to ICQ Accredited Diploma programmes for carers who are keen to progress their own personal development, there’s something for everyone, at every stage of their fostering journey.
“The best thing about fostering for Cheshire East Council is the on-going training which gives different levels of support to foster carers. With a good variety of courses available to both new foster carers or more experienced foster carers, there’s always something new to learn”
Jo, Cheshire East Council Foster Carer
Being a Foster Carer is hugely rewarding on many levels, but it also takes lots of practical provision to make it possible. We are very proud of the role our foster carers play and in recognition of this we provide an extensive package of benefits and rewards.
We offer:
A professional fee for your time, skill and hard work dedicated to fostering plus a generous fostering allowance, to cover the cost of looking after a child
Baby equipment for those foster carers caring for a baby/toddler
A holiday, birthday, religious celebration allowance for each foster child based on their age.
A £500 bonus for every friend you refer to fostering, who is approved to foster
Access for new carers to apply for the Guaranteed Income Scheme for the first 6 months in a 12-month period
Free membership to the Fostering Network which gives discounts to legal expenses, mortgages, holidays, and family days out.
A leisure pass for ‘Everyday Leisure’ which can be used by foster children and all the foster family to access swimming, gym, and classes
Annual events to recognise and support the foster carer role, including Family Fun days, festive celebrations, and long service awards
Annual children celebration event ‘Star Awards’ to recognise the achievements our ‘cared for’ children make.
Regular newsletters keeping you up to date with what’s happening in the fostering service.
Regular events and support groups for children of foster carers
Access to apply for the Fostering Capacity Scheme whereby foster carers can apply for a loan or grant to increase the capacity to offer more placements for children, by adapting their property
Free or discounted tickets for family activities to make days out fun and accessible.
Up to 14 nights paid respite
Our committed support is evidenced by our strong professional relationships with our foster carers and a high retention rate. We’ve got carers who have been with us for 10, 20, 30, even 40 plus years! We offer support that is both practical and emotional, to ensure you’re well equipped to undertake the fostering role and know you’re never on your own.
We offer:
As the local authority, one of our biggest benefit is that we have a huge range of internal and external partner services. These include:
