Luton Borough Council

How to become a foster carer

Your journey – how do I become a foster carer with Luton Council?

Initial expression of interest – let us know you are thinking about starting your fostering journey, a member of our team will be in touch with you within 24 hours
Information event – You may have seen us at an event in-person or joined one of our information sessions online. This is about ensuring you have all the information you need to make a next step.
Expression of interest to foster – You will have a discussion with a member of our friendly team, where we will ask some questions about you and your family circumstances
Initial home visit – A member of our team will visit you (and your partner if you are living together) at home to talk about your family circumstances and explore your potential to be a foster carer. It is a great opportunity for us to begin to get to know you and to answer any questions you may have. If you wish to be assessed as a foster carer, we will ask you to complete an application form. From this visit, we will review what you have shared with us and confirm if we are able to proceed with your application
References and checks – This is often referred to as Stage 1 of the assessment process. With your consent, we will begin to request information about you to help us with the assessment. It is important that we ensure that foster carers can provide a safe home

DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service). This process involves you providing information about yourself such as your name, date of birth and previous addresses. You will also be asked to provide identification documents. Having criminal convictions and cautions (spent or unspent) will not automatically exclude you from becoming a foster carer but it’s important that we discuss it at the beginning of your assessment and that you are open and honest
Local Authority checks
a medical through your GP
ex partner references. This is where you have had a significant relationship or have had children together. We understand that this may be a worry for some people and we are happy to discuss this further. We are also aware that in some cases the references returned may not be a true reflection of your relationship so very much welcome you to discuss this with us if you are concerned.
a reference from your employer
school or nursery references for your own children
references from your adult children who are over 18 years of age
references from any voluntary organisations you have or are volunteering for. This is for organisations who work with children or vulnerable adults
personal references. These are a mix of family members and from friends or people who know you well. We would talk to your referees about their thoughts on you becoming a foster carer

assessment – This is often referred to as Stage 2 of the assessment process. This part of the process will usually take around 16 weeks but this will depend on your circumstances. You will get to know your social worker and they will get to know you over time. Your social worker will complete the assessment, which is called a Form F. Your social worker will visit you at home a number of times and they may complete some virtual discussions with you – we will work with you to find times that suit. They will talk to you about your own experiences and history, what fostering would mean for you and your family and think about the type of fostering which will suit you

Once your social worker has completed your form F, this will be shared with you and your views and comments taken on board.

Within Luton, we may run Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the assessment process at the same time. However, you must successfully progress through Stage 1 to be able to present to fostering panel

Within the assessment, we will invite you to attend training including skills to foster preparation training, first aid and safeguarding.

The skills to foster training course will provide you with key knowledge to support you in becoming a foster carer. Within the training course we cover areas such as: Why children become looked after, child development, what children need from their foster carers, what foster carers do, attachment, understanding behaviour, safe caring and supporting transitions.

New content for skills to foster has been launched in 2025, with the course being run over weekly three hour sessions (six sessions in total). You will be encouraged to complete home learning via a workbook. We will work with you to identify the best times to access these sessions with others within the assessment period. All foster carers within England would be expected to complete preparation training.

Fostering panel – Once your assessment is completed, this will be presented at fostering panel. Fostering panel is made up of individuals from a range of backgrounds, such as social care, education and health or individuals who have their own experiences of fostering such as foster carers or care experienced young people. The panel would be chaired by somebody independent of the Local Authority. Your social worker will support you to attend and our fostering panel are very friendly. The panel will consider whether they agree with our recommendation as to whether you are suitable to be a foster carer

Agency Decision Maker – The Agency Decision Maker, who is a senior manager within Luton Children’s Services, will make a decision as to whether they agree with the recommendation of fostering panel. If they agree what you are suitable to be a foster carer, you will receive a letter to confirm this

Handover – Your assessing social worker will complete a handover visit where you will meet your new supervising social worker – your supervising social worker will support you throughout your journey as a foster carer

Your journey – how long will it take to become a foster carer with Luton Council?

If you are new to fostering, the whole process from expressing your interest to foster, to being approved as a foster carer can take around 6 months, however it can sometimes take longer. Once we have accepted your application and your assessment begins, we aim to complete your assessment within 16 weeks.

Can I transfer to Luton Borough Council from another Fostering Service?

Foster carers have the right to foster for an Authority or Agency of their choice. We welcome existing foster carers to make contact with us to find out more about transferring.

If you are an existing foster carer transferring to Luton from another agency, we will work hard to reduce the time to progress to fostering panel by collecting all of the information already known about your fostering journey.

The benefits of fostering a child with your local council are:

we know our Luton children and it is our role to find safe and loving homes for them
we work directly with the team around the child – there is no middle agency
as a Local Authority, our priority is to always to find safe and loving homes for our children with our own carers. You are unlikely to ever have a vacancy unless it’s your choice

Contact us

Please reach out to us if you have any questions at all. Our team are available to answer your questions 8:00am to 8:00pm Monday to Sunday

Phone: 01582 547633
Online: Express an interest: A member of our team will be in touch within 24 hours