You can foster in Wigan. 

In Wigan we would particularly like to recruit foster carers who are able to care for:

• Brothers and sisters
• Older children and teenagers
• Children with additional needs such as a disability or challenging behaviour

Wigan values the contribution of their foster carers and offers a generous support package. This includes:

• A competitive financial allowance which varies from £191 to £450 depending on your experience, the age and needs of the child you are fostering.  Additional payments are also provided for initial equipment (wardrobes, clothing etc.), Christmas, birthdays, holidays and mileage.
• Comprehensive training programme including the ‘Skills to Foster’ course and ongoing development opportunities. As part of your preparation training and assessment you will have an opportunity to shadow existing carers, as well as meet some of our young people who are involved with the training delivery.  Once approved as a carer you will have access to over 50 classroom based training courses in addition to over 200 online e-courses.
• A social worker specifically allocated to you. You can expect to receive regular meetings which are a chance for you to talk through any problems and share information about children in your care.
• Support groups facilitated by other carers, as well as ‘Kids who Foster’ – an activity group for birth children of foster carers.
• Vacancy coffee mornings to share referrals and profiles of children and young people with foster carers.
• You will be allocated a foster care “buddy” who can provide advice local to you.
• Out of Hours support provided by trained and experienced workers.
• Regular newsletters.
• You will be provided with a ‘Max Card’ which gives discount to approximately 800 theme parks and family days out.
• Access to activity groups for the children in your care.

Staying local also includes additional benefits such as:

• Lower travelling distances, for example to school and meetings with birth families.
• Links with Children’s Centres, schools and other professional services.

• The benefits of your local authority’s knowledge and experience as our teams have often been working with the child’s families for a long time. Local authorities have a lot of important background knowledge which they can share with you. This also helps us to match children with the carers who are most suitable for them and their circumstances.

If you’d like to foster for Wigan please complete this form and your enquiry will be emailed to the local authority you have selected.