5 Things You Should Know About our Foster Carer Buddies

Foster carer buddies provide non-judgemental help and advice as and when needed, so you know what to expect from the process and the role. 

Here are five things you should know about our North East foster carer buddies, in the words of our buddy team and carers: 

1. You can ask for a fostering buddy at any time

You can ask to speak to a foster carer from your first enquiry for a one-off chat. If you decide to apply to foster, you can be matched with a buddy for a longer term so they can support you through your journey. 

"When I came into fostering 16 years ago, we didn't have that extra support of a buddy scheme.
I honestly think it's great having a buddy - you can just give them a call when you need to."

2. You can chat to your foster buddy or ask questions

Sometimes, people want to ask a foster carer a particular question or about their experience of an aspect of fostering. Our buddies share the realities of fostering and answer questions or signpost to further information as you need it. 

"I think people have a lot of preconceptions about why they can't foster. That's why the buddy scheme is here, to try and get people thinking differently."

"Age limits, questions about the financial side of things, how many children you are allowed in rooms when fostering; these are the kinds of things we get asked."

3. You'll be matched based on your circumstances

Anyone can chat with one of our on-call foster carers when they call through to the FWNE hub. However, for longer-term buddying, we'll usually try to match you up with someone in your local authority. Ideally, this would be with someone with personal circumstances or experiences similar to your own. 

"They were a single person looking into fostering, and because they work full time, they wanted to know about becoming a short break foster carer, fostering weekends and holidays. I explained my situation, how I was a single carer, and then explained a bit more about if she then chose to give her job up in the long run, how it would work for her. Hopefully it gave her a little help."

4. Your foster carer buddy will support you, not assess you

People sometimes feel nervous talking to social workers about concerns or asking questions. Foster carer buddies are non-judgemental, and their role is solely to support you, not assess your application. Like other Foster with North East team members, they do need to follow safeguarding regulations, which we will explain to you when you're matched. 

5. Buddies have been in your shoes

Time after time, our foster carer buddies tell us they would have loved having their own buddy when they took their first steps into fostering. As individuals from all backgrounds within our community who have been in your shoes and through the fostering process, they understand and can empathise with any worries you may have. 

"I think if I had somebody as a buddy, having someone to speak to who isn't a social worker would have been really helpful. Because we're doing the job exactly like they will be doing."

"When this scheme came along. I knew I'd like to help as many people as possible and let them understand a basic point of view on what fostering is all about. Because it is so overwhelming initially."

I've enjoyed being a buddy because I've always wanted to help future foster carers and let people know this is a great job."

Would you like to chat with one of our foster carer buddies?

Talk to us about fostering or arrange an informal chat with a local authority foster carer in your area through our foster care buddy system by calling or Enquire online. You can also read fostering stories to find out more about life in fostering families here in the North East.