It is not unusual for there to be adults, apart from the foster carers, in the fostering home. There may be the foster carers’ grown-up children or young people who have remained living with their foster carers after turning 18 (and they may have partners), or a foster carer may have a new partner.
The usual expectation is that when there is an adult living in the fostering home, or visiting the home regularly, they will undertake a criminal record check. If the adult was living in the home at the time of the initial foster carer assessment, that will be taken into account as part of the assessment.
Underpinning principles
- Safeguarding and the welfare of children is paramount.
- Foster carers, and those in the household, are entitled to have committed, intimate and personal relationships.
- From application through assessment and approval, relationships - and their impact within the household - should be considered.
- Foster carers are required as part of their foster carer agreement to inform their fostering service of any change in personal circumstances such as a new birth, marital status/divorce, a significant change in their health and a relationship with a new partner.
- Every fostering service should have a transparent and accessible policy about reviewing a foster carer’s approval where there has been a change in circumstances which should be available in the foster carers’ handbook.
Foster carers’ new partners
Our new partners practice information note sets out some considerations in relation to a new partner to ensure that single foster carers can have a relationship while safeguarding children. In this context, ‘partner’ means a significant person with whom the foster carer is having/intending to develop an intimate relationship, which is committed and serious.
Local guidance from the fostering service should also help foster carers to navigate changes to their household and the impact this may have, and the service expectations at every stage need to be clear.
Members can download our new partners practice information note.
As the UK's leading fostering charity we offer practice support to member fostering across the UK.