Who We Are

An independent fostering charity with more than 75 years of experience.

A little bit about our fostering charity

In 1945 our founder Paul Field had a vision, he wanted all children to have the opportunity to have a home where they could feel safe, supported and loved.

As we have developed as an organisation, we have remained committed to providing a high-quality service which supports fostering households and puts children and young people first. As a not-for-profit fostering charity, we ensure that any surplus funds are directly re-invested into improving our services and enhancing the lives and futures of our looked after children.

Over the years, we have looked after many children and young people from diverse backgrounds with a variety of needs within our dedicated and committed foster families. 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.

How we're managed

As a Charity The CFT is managed by our Board of Trustees with the day-to-day decision making being delegated to the Chief Executive, Marina Mullholland. With this our Board of Trustees have an important role to play with respect to monitoring and regulating the functions of The Trust. Learn more about the role of the Trustees.

Reaching for excellence

The work we undertake is closely monitored and regulated and as such, The CFT is open to inspection and scrutiny from a range of various sources, both internal and external. As a Fostering Charity, our offices are evaluated individually by OFSTED.

In the work we do we endeavour to reach for excellence through regular consultation, involvement and engagement with our foster carers, children and local authority partners.

Annually The CFT carry out a ‘Continuous Improvement Survey’. This is commissioned by our Board of Trustees and allows all stakeholders (inclusive of our carers, staff and local authority colleagues) to be involved. This information informs our development and improves the services provided across the board and especially our children.

Have your say, click here

Local authorities

Although our ethos and values are to create ‘Family for Life’, we also provide a range of placement types including short term, respite and specialist placements such as parent and child placements and sibling group placements.

For more information on working with us please get in touch on 0300 111 1945 or click here to make an enquiry and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

When you work with The CFT, you can be assured that we:

Sets a particularly high standard for entrants to our Foster Carer team

Expects our foster carers to be professional in the work they do

Will visit foster carers a minimum of twice each month to provide Supervision and Support

Will support Carers in developing their knowledge and self-confidence through training and social work support

Undertakes a careful matching process

Encourages and support Foster Carers in gaining recognised qualifications

Encourages our Foster Carers to benefit from the wider support of local Foster Carer networks

Provides qualified social work staff with child care and child protection experience

Works in partnership with the Local Authority on each child’s care plan

Recognises the importance of education and support the child to achieve their true potential

Provides a round the clock Out Of Hours Service

Provides therapeutic support in agreement with the Local Authority where needed

Maintains and supports natural family relationships wherever appropriate and promote contact

The CFT work with and support children and young people from over 100 placing Local Authorities. The CFT have contracts with the all of these local authorities and more making us a ‘Preferred Service Provider’. The Local Authorities which The CFT works with are inclusive, but not limited to:

Barnsley

Bath & NE Somerset

Bedfordshire

Birmingham

Bracknell Forest

Bradford

Bristol

Calderdale

Coventry

Cumbria

Doncaster

Dorset

Dudley

Darlington

Durham

Edinburgh

Enfield

East Sussex

Gateshead

Gloucestershire

Hampshire

Hartlepool

Herefordshire

Kirklees

Lambeth

Leeds

North East Lincolnshire

Middleborough

Newcastle

Northumberland

North & South Tyneside

North Yorkshire

Oxfordshire

Portsmouth

Reading

Redcar & Cleveland

Rotherham

Sandwell

Sheffield

Shropshire

Somerset

Southampton

Staffordshire

Stoke

Solihull

Sunderland

North Somerset

South Tyneside

Stockton

Sunderland

Surrey

Swindon

Telford & Wrekin

Warwickshire

Walsall

Wigan

Wiltshire

Windsor and Maidenhead

Wolverhampton

Worcestershire

Fostering-Network
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.
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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.
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