Why Foster?
Fostering a child and providing them with a loving, happy, and stable home is a truly rewarding experience. With the number of children coming into care increasing for a variety of reasons, there has never been a more important time to act. You can make a real difference in a child’s life by offering them a safe and supportive environment, helping them to thrive and reach their full potential. Choosing to foster means offering hope and a brighter future to a child or young person in the North East.
"Being a foster parent has changed my life for the better in ways I never imagined, and I'm grateful to be a part of their journey towards a brighter future."
Susan, foster parent

Fostering parents say fostering is hugely rewarding. It can bring them joy, happiness, satisfaction and a sense of using and building their skills. As with most worthwhile things in life, it can be tough going, but it’s absolutely worth the energy and effort.
Children and young people need stable and loving foster homes, and the number keeps growing.
Children need foster parents for all sorts of reasons. Some have had parents who’ve become ill or died. Many have been abused or neglected. While the reasons differ, all will be in need of a suitable home, and all will have experienced the trauma that comes from moving away from their birth family. Some will have difficulty adjusting to life in a new home. That’s where the therapeutic training and supervision we offer comes into its own, as it helps you understand how what has happened to young people shapes their current feelings and behaviour and how to respond. Our staff have loads of experience, and we’ve some very experienced foster parents who mentor you and provide support.
Increasing numbers of young people are coming into care, driven by a mix of things like poverty, parental substance use, domestic violence and mental health. Some children are going into care many miles away from their friends and family when actually it’s best for them to be fostered where they have existing relationships. Some siblings are being broken up because of a lack of sibling placements.
There has never been a more important time to step forward and help! By opening your heart and home, you can create a safe and nurturing environment for children and young people who may have faced challenging circumstances early on in life. You can help make the difference.
Change a child’s life
There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing a young person develop their self-belief, set goals and achieve them. The joy and happiness they experience as they learn new skills and grow in confidence will support you through the worthwhile challenge of fostering.

Build your knowledge and grow personally
Fostering is professional parenting. As a super parent, you’ll develop your skills and talents through the therapeutic training and other training that we offer. Sometimes, this will be instead of a ‘normal career’. You will learn far more about yourself and other people by fostering than you will in almost any other walk of life. You’ll understand how children and adults think and behave, why, and how best to help and support them. Over time, you might want to develop your skills through higher-level training.

Financial income and other support
Fostering can give you a good income that reflects the skills and commitment you need to be a super parent. Fostering requires dedication, time, effort and, of course, money. To reflect the skills and commitment needed to be a foster parent, we offer competitive fees that recognise the value of your role in shaping a child’s future. These often pay enough for you to foster full-time.
Up to £543 per week per child to take financial pressure out of fostering. You can learn more about our fees and support here.

Because you value relationships and community
Fostering allows you to build meaningful connections and relationships with children, birth families, and everyone involved at Changing Futures Fostering.
You become part of a supportive community, sharing experiences and learning from others who are passionate about making a difference. The bonds formed through fostering can be lifelong and provide a sense of belonging and purpose. We have regular group training and group activities for foster parents and children.

Interested in starting your fostering journey, or want to know more about fostering with Changing Futures Fostering? Please click here to contact us, and we’re happy to answer any questions you may have.