Foster with The CFT!

The Children’s Family Trust (The CFT) are a charity with a difference. We’ve provided unrivalled support to foster families across England since 1945.

Speak with our team to discuss your requirements or find more information below.

Get in touch!

Every child deserves a warm, loving home to grow up in!

Have you been thinking about fostering, but unsure where to start?

Get in touch with us and find out if fostering is for you!
 
The Children’s Family Trust work with individuals from all walks of life in their pursuit to make a difference for young people and children currently in care.
 
There are many misconceptions that prevent individuals from considering fostering as a career and we’re here to debunk myths, demonstrate a tailored approach to foster care and the opportunities it can open to those looking for a flexible career with the highest quality training.
 

So, what’s stopping you becoming a foster carer?

No matter if you’re just considering fostering, are ready to start your journey or looking to transfer, fill in the form and contact your dedicated regional team.

We will guide you every step of the way, start your fostering career with The CFT.

Why foster with us?

Enquire today

Unlike big agencies, we’re a charity dedicated to ensuring the perfect match between carer and child, prioritising the well-being and needs of you and every child in our care. It’s about quality over quantity.

With this in mind, we have the resources to provide ongoing in-house support, guidance, and care for both our carers and our looked after children. This includes our own highly experienced psychotherapist.

Here at The CFT our ethos is ‘family for life’. This represents our commitment to any child within our care, regardless of how long they are looked after by us. The CFT strives to support our fostered child throughout their life, often into adulthood.

We're a charity.
A charitable organisation has a single aim – to operate exclusively for the benefit of the public and not for profit. A minimum of 85p in every £1 goes directly to improving our services to both our children and foster carers.
No shortcuts, no compromises.
Many agencies only reimburse mileage after the first 20 miles of a trip, meaning you can’t claim expenses on shorter trips, like school drop-offs and similar journeys. We cover the full mileage of every journey you need to make for your foster child.
You talk, we listen.
We regularly engage and conduct surveys for our carers and cared for children to understand how we can offer even more support. We prioritise listening to our CFT family because we believe in quality over quantity, and we’re committed to ensuring that everyone feels valued and fulfilled.

Fostering is a career and should be treated as such. We believe our carers should benefit financially for everything they do.

  • We pay our foster carers a highly competitive rate that is often increased
  • £750 bonus when approved as a carer, £750–£2,250 bonus following first placement, depending on experience
  • Any travel required regarding your role as a foster carer can be reclaimed in full
  • Take advantage of significant tax relief
  • Paid respite
  • Long-service payments
  • Child achievement payments

We deeply appreciate the dedication our foster carers put into creating a safe and nurturing environment for every child who enters their home. So we’re here to help, every step of the way.

  • All carers are linked with an experience Supervising Social Worker – who provides supervision and support for carers and their families
  • Supervising Social Workers visit our carers regularly to help and to talk through any problems
  • Monthly Foster Carer Support meetings, face-to-face
  • We have a 24/7 out-of-hours phone support service so you are always able to speak to a social worker when needed
  • We provide regular individual therapeutic consultations with our experienced psychotherapist for all of our foster carers
  • Become part of our friendly, local, supportive network, that meet regularly to share information and learn from each other
  • Planned days out for fostering families

Our mission is to create a lasting, positive impact for the children and carers we support across the UK.

We provide our foster carers with the skills and resources needed to offer therapeutic care, helping them make a meaningful difference in a child’s life.

  • Skills 2 Foster
  • Therapeutic Reflection Consultations
  • De-Esculation Training
  • Diversity in Practice
  • First Aid
  • Loss and Bereavement Training
  • Safeguarding & Child Protection Training

And many more optional courses…

If you’re considering becoming a foster carer, it’s important to understand the different types of fostering. Speak to us about your requirements and we can advise what is right for you.

  • Short break
  • Short-term
  • Long-term
  • Short notice
  • Parent & Child
  • Staying Put

Did you know you can transfer to us?

If you’re already an approved carer with another agency or local authority, you CAN transfer to us with your current foster child/children. 

A shorter assessment process means you can hit the ground running with a charity that cares!

For more information, check our page on transferring or send us an enquiry using the contact form

Become a CFT carer!

Get to know The Children's Family Trust

Get to know The Children's Family Trust

We are an independent fostering charity with almost 80 years of experience.

We aim to achieve stability and security for our children and young people, helping them to develop their talents and skills, achieve their potential and make the most of the opportunities available to them.

What our carers love about us!

Generous
Allowances

Paying our carers is important to us. Our generous allowances ensure carers receive recognition for their service. Along with bonuses for long service & referrals.

24/7
Support

A low turnover of staff means consistency in your social work team. We take time to really get to know our carers and young people personally.

Detailed
Assessment

Always handled sensitvely, a detailed and thorough assessment process means our carers are more prepared for the realities of care.

Engaging
Training

Training should be tailored, fun and most of all engaging! We pack our schedule full of the most informative, quality training courses on offer!

Your local office

East Midlands
Foster child playing around with her carer outside
North East
South Central
West Midlands
West Yorkshire
Mary and Dennis – Transferring to The CFT

Mary and Dennis – Transferring to The CFT

Hear from Mary & Dennis about their experience of fostering with The CFT, after transferring from Local Authority. We recently spoke with Mary and Dennis, who are foster carers with The CFT...
Simon and Charlie – Fostering in the East Midlands

Simon and Charlie – Fostering in the East Midlands

Hear from Simon & Charlie about their experience of fostering with The CFT. We recently spoke with Simon and Charlie about their experience of fostering at The CFT. As a couple, Simon a...
Diane and Andrew – Fostering in the East Midlands

Diane and Andrew – Fostering in the East Midlands

Hear from Diane & Andrew about their experience of fostering with The CFT. We recently spoke with Diane about her experience of fostering at The CFT, alongside her husband Andrew. As a ...

Up to £3,000 for you.
 Priceless opportunities for our children.

Up to £3,000 for you. Priceless opportunities for our children.

Learn more about this bonus

Rewarding newly approved and succesful transfers with a bonus for giving our young people priceless opportunities.

Your interview - What you need to know.
If you’ve been invited to an interview, it’s your chance to meet us, tell us about yourself, and take a step towards building your incredible career.
Your interview is your opportunity to learn more about us.
So come prepared with your questions. Plus its our opportunity to get to know you, understand your motivation to work in this sector and get a good understanding of your experience and background.
The first step.
Is either a face to face interview carried out in person or via TEAMS. If you’re successful, the next stage is a more formal interview with at least two members of our team. At least one of the interview panel will have been trained in the NSPCC safer recruitment standards.
You might be invited for a second interview.
Or we might ask you to prepare a presentation or other sample of work. Think about what the role requires and prepare to show you’re a great fit.
We’ll carry out a criminal record check.
Bring the necessary identity documents to your formal interview. The address on the documents should match the address on your application form. You’ll need proof of your right to work in the UK, you will be provided with a list of approved identification documents in line with The Disclosure and Barring Service and proof of your address.
Certificates!
Remember to bring any qualification certificates that are required for the role.
Be a successful candidate!
Read through our hints and tips and give yourself the best chance at a career with The CFT.
Do your research!
Look at our website and check that you match our outlook and culture.
Apply via our application form.
We require a fully completed application form, we’ll ask for your full employment history from age 16, include all job titles, employment dates and your reason for leaving – and if there are any gaps, please tell us why.
We’ll need contact details of referees.
Referee's should be people you’ve worked with during the last three years. One should be your most recent employer. We’ll also need a reference from any employer where you’ve worked directly with children and young people and a personal referee.
We’ll carry out a criminal record check.
If you’ve lived abroad within the last ten years, you might also be asked to complete an overseas criminal record check.
If your application is successful.
There may be some more pre-employment checks specific to the role, but a member of our HR Team will be in touch to talk you through what’s needed.