What is a specialist foster carer?
All of our children in care have experienced some degree of trauma, and deserve the opportunity to be loved and cared for. While many of our children thrive in ‘general’ fostering placements, we’re able to identify when some children require a higher level of support and dedicated care.
Cue specialist foster carers.
Specialist foster carers provide an extra level of structured, intensive care to the child in their care, which allows the child to thrive and reach their full potential – whatever that may look like for them.
Who would specialist fostering suit?
Our specialist foster carers have prior experience of working with children and young people either through their previous work experience or through voluntary work. Industries that provide excellent transferable skills include youth work, education, or social work.
We think all our foster carers are special and offer a great deal of expertise and dedication, but some of our children just require a bit more. Specialist foster carers are experienced, and are able to provide this dedicated care through their professional knowledge, skills and experience.
Can’t commit to being a full-time foster carer? Don’t rule yourself out! If you still have a desire to make a meaningful difference, we have part-time opportunities as well as full-time.
Who does specialist fostering benefit?
The short answer to this is some of our most vulnerable children and young people in care.
No two children or young people in our care are the same, and their requirements vary. However, all our children requiring specialist care have several things in common; they all need more dedicated time with a foster carer, and their outcomes are likely to be better if they grow up in a specialist family as opposed to residential care.
As of August 2025, we have 13 children under the age of 13 who are living within residential settings where we have identified that they would be better suited in a family setting. This is where you could come in!
A comprehensive support package offering
In recognition of the hard work and dedication of our specialist carers, we’re proud to offer a fully comprehensive, wrap-around support package.
As well as ongoing and targeted training opportunities, support will always be available through an allocated social worker, a mentor and an out-of-hours support team.
They’re also able to access support from our Dedicated Placement Support Team; a team of placement support workers who are highly skilled at providing practical solutions and additional support (should it be needed) to ensure placements remain strong and sustainable.
Generous financial payments and allowances, which are reflective of the time, skills and experience needed, are also available; in-depth information on these can be found on our website.
What’s next?
If you feel that you have the skills, experience and drive to offer a stable placement for our children and young people, or if you have any questions about fostering with Leicestershire County Council, we have an experienced team who would be delighted to hear from you.
If you would like to find out more about fostering, contact the team directly on 0116 305 0505, or fostering@leics.gov.uk.