Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are still recruiting for foster carers from all backgrounds and walks of life.

There are currently 342 looked after children in Torbay and 68 fostering households. During Pride month we want to remind you that if you want to foster or adopt you can be from any background, gender or sexual orientation. There are a lot of myths around who can foster or adopt, and sexual orientation isn’t one of them. The most important thing is being able to support, love and provide some of our most vulnerable children with a safe home environment.

Our foster carers tell us that fostering is one of the most rewarding things you can do for yourself, and that it’s also your opportunity to make a real difference to a child’s life and wellbeing.

As a Torbay foster carer, you will be safe in the knowledge that you won’t be alone, and will have access to ongoing training, support and advice from Torbay’s fostering team social workers as well as access to other professional support, and we also offer competitive rates of pay.

Councillor Cordelia Law, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Torbay Council, said “Just like children, foster carers come in all shapes and sizes. Some of the most important qualities we look for in foster carers is the ability to accept children from other cultural backgrounds to your own, being non-judgemental and having a sense of humour. With this in mind I’d like to ask Torbay residents to answer the question ‘could I foster?’, if the answer is yes then I’d encourage them to get in touch with our wonderful fostering team”.

If you have time and space in your life to help a child grow and thrive, get in touch with our fostering team via fostering@torbay.gov.uk

For more information on fostering visit our dedicated fostering web pages.