Types of Fostering in England: Short-Term, Long-Term, Emergency and More

When people first enquire about fostering, they often have a vague sense of what it involves — caring for a child whose birth family cannot currently look after them. What most agency brochures do not explain up front is that "fostering" in England covers at least eight distinct roles, each with different intensity, duration, and skill requirements. Understanding these distinctions matters before you begin the approval process, because they shape which agencies are a good fit and what your terms of approval will specify.

Short-Term Fostering

Short-term fostering is the most common entry point. A child is placed with you while a permanent plan is being developed — whether that means returning home to birth parents, moving to a Special Guardianship arrangement, or being adopted. Short-term placements can last anywhere from a few weeks to 18 months or more.

The term is somewhat misleading. "Short-term" describes the placement's purpose, not necessarily its duration. Many carers approved for short-term fostering have placements that extend for years while courts and social workers work through complex family proceedings.

The practical reality of short-term fostering is significant uncertainty. You may care for a child for 12 months and then see them returned to parents whose circumstances have improved, or moved to an adoptive placement. The emotional management of endings is part of the role — and it is explored explicitly in the Skills to Foster training (Session 6: Transitions and Endings).

Long-Term Fostering

Long-term fostering is a permanence option for children who cannot return to their birth family but for whom adoption is not appropriate — often because they are older, because the birth family relationship is important and should be maintained, or because they themselves do not want to be adopted.

A long-term placement means the child considers your home their home until they reach adulthood. The child remains a looked-after child — the local authority retains its duty of care — but practically, you function as their primary family. Under the Staying Put duty introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014, a young person can remain in your home until they are 21, with a continuing allowance paid to you.

Carers approved for long-term fostering are typically assessed specifically for that type of placement. The Form F assessment will include a section on your understanding of permanency and your capacity for a sustained, evolving relationship with one child over many years.

Emergency Fostering

Emergency foster carers provide a safe haven for children at very short notice — sometimes within the hour. A child may be removed from a dangerous home situation late at night, taken into care following a parent's arrest, or need immediate placement when a previous arrangement breaks down suddenly.

Emergency carers must be available and prepared to receive a child with minimal warning and minimal information. The child may arrive distressed, with few possessions, and with only fragmentary records. The placement is typically brief — a few days to a few weeks — while a more planned arrangement is set up.

Some emergency carers operate on a retainer basis, receiving a weekly payment to remain available even when no child is placed with them. Manchester's Buzz Carers scheme is one example of a structured emergency fostering model. Emergency carers are among the most consistently needed in England's fostering system and are never in oversupply.

Emergency fostering is not typically recommended as a starting point for new carers. The unpredictability and intensity require experience. Most agencies approve carers for short-term or respite fostering first, with emergency approval added as carers build experience.

Therapeutic Fostering

Therapeutic fostering is a specialism designed for children who have experienced severe or complex trauma and require a "therapeutic environment" rather than standard foster care. This does not mean the carer is a therapist — it means the placement is structured around a therapeutic model, supported by clinical professionals.

Agencies such as ISP (Integrated Social Partners) have built their entire model around therapeutic fostering, providing carers with access to psychologists, clinical practitioners, and intensive training in frameworks like Dan Hughes's PACE model (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy) and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy. These agencies typically pay higher professional fees than standard IFAs in recognition of the skill and commitment involved.

Approval for therapeutic fostering usually requires prior experience in fostering or related professional backgrounds (nursing, mental health, education), though this is not absolute. The assessment is more demanding, and the ongoing training commitment is significant.

Respite Fostering

Respite carers provide planned short breaks for primary foster carers and the children they look after. A child stays with you for a weekend, a week, or during school holidays, giving the primary carer time to recover.

Respite is a formal placement — you must be fully approved as a foster carer, the child's Care Plan and Placement Plan apply, and Ofsted standards govern the arrangement. It is not an informal babysitting arrangement. But it is lower in intensity than primary fostering, and it is a common pathway for people who want to contribute to the care system without the full commitment of a long-term or short-term placement.

The Mockingbird Family Model, now adopted by dozens of local authorities and IFAs in England, formalises respite within a constellation structure: an experienced "hub home" carer provides informal respite for a cluster of six to ten "satellite" foster families. Research shows this model improves placement stability and reduces carer burnout.

Parent and Child Fostering

Parent and child fostering involves caring for both a parent — usually a young mother — and their baby or young child. The carer's role is to observe, mentor, and support the parent, and to provide a detailed assessment to the local authority and the courts about that parent's capacity to care safely for their child.

This is one of the most complex fostering specialisms. It requires advanced observational skills, the ability to maintain clear professional boundaries while building a supportive relationship with the parent, and comfort with the legal process. Most agencies do not recruit specifically for parent and child placements at the point of initial enquiry; carers typically move into this role after gaining experience in standard placements.

Kinship Fostering

Kinship fostering — formally called "Connected Persons" fostering in England — occurs when a child is placed with a relative or family friend who is then formally assessed as a foster carer. This could be a grandparent, aunt or uncle, older sibling, or family friend with an existing relationship with the child.

Kinship carers go through a simplified but still formal assessment process. A viability assessment is completed first (typically within weeks), and a full Connected Persons assessment follows if the viability assessment is positive. The legal framework is the same as for standard fostering — the Children Act 1989 and the Fostering Services Regulations 2011 apply.

Financial support for kinship carers varies significantly between local authorities. Some pay the same allowances as standard foster carers; others pay considerably less. A 2025 pilot scheme has seen some LAs move toward equalising kinship and standard fostering allowances, but this is not yet universal.

Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC)

UASC fostering involves caring for young people who have arrived in England alone, without family, often fleeing conflict or persecution. These young people require high levels of cultural sensitivity, support with the immigration process, and help navigating a care system in an unfamiliar country.

UASC placements are managed by local authorities and some specialist IFAs. They carry specific additional considerations — contact with immigration solicitors, attendance at Home Office appointments, support with education where English is an additional language, and awareness of the psychological impact of displacement.

What Your Terms of Approval Specify

When the Fostering Panel approves you, they set terms of approval — the type, number, and age range of children you can care for. Your initial terms might be "short-term fostering of up to two children aged 5 to 12." Over time, as your experience grows and your annual reviews are positive, these terms can be broadened.

The England Fostering Approval Guide explains how the Panel sets terms of approval, how to request a change in terms through your annual review, and what the Form F assessment covers for each type of fostering.

See more United Kingdom guides →