Fostering in Oldham

Welcome to Oldham Council's Fostering Service!

If you have ever thought about fostering there has never been a better time to get in touch!

What is fostering?

Fostering is helping a child or young person by looking after them in your own home, at a time when their own family is not able to. Children need fostering for all sorts of reasons and for different lengths of time.

Want to know more? Read on...

• What are the different types of fostering?

• Could you foster?

• Who are the children who need foster care?

• What support would I receive?

• How do I become a foster carer?

We desperately need long-term foster carers for children aged 8 and over who are in our care.

Most children who are fostered will return home to their birth families. Where this is not possible, some children have to live with a foster family until they are grown up and are ready to live on their own.

Could you offer a child a permanent home?

Contact Carol Mellor on 0161 770 6619 or email carol.mellor@oldham.gov.uk

Up and coming events:

Want to know more? We have just the event for you!

Come along and meet the team on the Highway to Opportunity Bus. It is your chance to find out what is involved in fostering, ask us questions in an informal environment and meet Oldham foster carers.

When: Wednesday 22 October to Friday 24 October, 9.30am to 4.30pm
Where: The Highway to Opportunities Bus outside Spindles shopping centre, Oldham (facing Primark).

Breaking news...

Oldham Fostering Team has just been awarded 'outstanding' in a recent Ofsted inspection. Oldham is only one of nine local authorities in the UK to have been awarded outstanding.

Oldham Fostering Service is run in line with the Government’s National Minimum Standards and Fostering Regulations. To see the latest Ofsted report visit www.ofsted.gov.uk

We hope we have answered most of your questions. If you need more information, please contact the Fostering Team on 0161 770 6600 or email fostering@oldham.gov.uk

Fact sheets

For more information about fostering a child or young person please see our detailed fact sheet: Are you thinking of fostering? Information for prospective foster carers. This fact sheet is also available in EASYREAD format.

If you are a child being fostered please see our children's fact sheet Facts 4 U 2: I’m going to be fostered – what does it mean? A children’s guide to the fostering service (for under 11s).

If you are a young person being fostered please see our young person's fact sheet Facts 4 U 2: I’m going to be fostered - what does it mean? A young person’s guide to the fostering service (for over 11s).

You may alternatively be privately fostering a child or young person. Private fostering is a private agreement between a parent and another adult to care for a child or young person for 28 days or more. The other adult is not a relative of the child like an uncle or a grandparent and has no parental responsibility. Private fostering only applies to children under 16 or under 18 if the young person is disabled  We have a number of fact sheets about private fostering:

• Private Fostering: Information for Children, Families and Carers
• Private Fostering: Private Arrangements for Fostering Regulations 2005

If you are a child or young person being privately fostered please see our fact sheet Facts 4 U 2 Private Fostering Information for Children Families and Carers

If you are a foster carer you may also find the foster care handbook useful.

Oldham Family Link is a scheme that supports disabled children and their families by giving them the opportunity to have a break. It works by linking families with people who can care for a disabled child in their own home for a few hours a week, maybe overnight, at weekends or occasionally for a full week.

For more information about Oldham Family Link please see our fact sheet Could you help to care for a disabled child? (Oldham Family Link Scheme) this is also available in EASYREAD format here.

If you would like more information about how Oldham Family Link could support your family please see our fact sheet Would you like support to care for your disabled child? (Oldham Family Link).

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Oldham Council, Civic Centre, West Street, Oldham, OL1 1UT.
Telephone 0161 770 3000