We will always try and find foster homes for siblings where they can stay together, as long as this is in each of their best interests.
More than 12,000 children in care are living without at least one of their siblings. Going into foster care can be traumatic for a child, and being separated from their siblings can worsen this. That is why Nexus Fostering will always try and find foster homes for siblings where they can stay together, as long as this is in each of their best interests.
To foster sibling groups, the main things you need are time and room in your home.
Caring for more than one child means you will go to more appointments with professionals and school meetings, and they might be in different schools, depending on their age.
You will have the support of your Nexus Fostering social worker and your local office, who are on hand to offer any advice you might need.
Initially, siblings often find it easier to settle into their foster carer's home because they have each other for reassurance and familiarity.
''Seeing our girl’s relationship go from strength to strength has to be the biggest benefit of keeping them together, they have each other, and shared experiences and they get to grow up together united. They get to share achievements and memories and are simply able to just be sisters'''. Laura, Foster Carer for 5 years
I’ve been 18 years fostering, for nearly 8 years with Nexus Fostering. We’ve fostered 116 children in total! The 3 siblings I have now are age 3 and identical twins of age 6. First, they came on respite for a couple of weekends, then out of the blue, I was called to the school and told to take them home permanently.
I feel it’s very important for their own self-esteem and to be kept as a family. My 3 were going to be split as we struggled to find someone to adopt children with special needs, especially a group of 3. The younger one was going to be adopted and the other two go to long-term fostering. But it would have devastated them all – each one wondering why they weren’t chosen, why they were left behind, what had they done to be separated. It would have majorly affected them all.
Short-term fostering is when a child or young person lives with a foster family on a temporary basis while longer-term preparations are established for their fostering or when the time is right for them to return to the care of their birth family.
Parent and Child fostering is all about young families together, where a parent and child stay with you at a time when they need extra support. In most cases the child is of a very young age.
Children from all backgrounds might need the love and support of a foster carer at some time. But this is especially true of child refugees or unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
