Fostering in Walsall

As a locally based agency (Birmingham) we have good connections and relationships with our neighbouring Walsall Council. With that in mind if you are in the Walsall area, a really big benefit for you as an F5 Foster Carer is being so close to our headquarters – Our office has an open door policy so you are free to pop in whenever you like for a chat or to ask any questions, its also where we hold the majority of our training and support group meetings.

We are happy to share that we are an approved Foster Carer provider for Walsall Council (as well as for all local surrounding Local Authorities) which means that when children and young people from the Walsall area are in need of Foster homes, Walsall Childrens Services will forward us a referral to see what suitable homes we have for that child. As such we work with them closely to ensure we recruit and train the most suitable and well matched Foster Carers possible.

To give you an idea of the scope of fostering, specific to Walsall, please see below localised information that you may find helpful.

How many children are in care in Walsall?

It was reported 2021 that there were 671 looked after children within the Walsall area. This has seen an increase over the years of just over 5% since 2018. Of these children, the vast majority are placed with Foster Carers (504 children = 75%).

It is worth noting that where possible, and appropriate to do so, Walsall Childrens Services will always try to keep Walsall Children in Walsall, as this helps the child to continue with important aspects of their lives such as attending school and supervised family time etc, so when we are looking at matching children referred from this local authority to potential foster homes, our Walsall based Carers will always be a first point of call. Additionally, other neighbouring local authorities such as Birmingham or Wolverhampton for example, will sometimes reach out for Walsall based foster carers if they have been unable to find a suitably matched Foster Carer within their own Local Authority.

Why are the children coming into care in Walsall

The reasons that children and young people are entering care in Walsall is monitored by the Local Authority. You will see from the details below, that overwhelmingly over the last few years this due to abuse and neglect.

During your assessment and training to become a Foster Carer we will provide you training to understand what impact this may have had on the children that come into your care, their development, their understanding of boundaries or their ability to trust adults to keep them safe.

About the Children that Come into Care

There are Children and young people coming into care every day of all ages, however we do find that there are certain age groups that have higher numbers, in 2021 for example, children and young people aged 10-15 years account for the majority of children who are looked after In Walsall. There are of course other aged children that will be in need of foster homes with the next largest majority being in the 5-9 year old age group.

When you hear us talking about matching children and families, one of the areas that we will always try to match where possible is the ethnic profile of children and their Foster Carers. With that in mind this is important information to know as in order to be able to match effectively, there needs to be a foster carer base that reflects the demographics of the towns’s children and young people. Walsall Council reported that of the children in care  in 2021 around 72% of children and young people who are looked after are White British, 14% are from mixed ethnic backgrounds,  6% are Black British/African/Caribbean, 3% Asian and 5% are either form other ethnicities or the information was unknown.

What Foster Carers are needed in Walsall?

There is a real need at the moment to increase the number of foster homes available to children and young people throughout Walsall. As a whole, we need to recruit committed carers across the board for children of all ages, however, there is a clear and evidenced need to recruit additional Carers that are able to offer homes to children aged 10-15 as most of all fostered children in Walsall fall into this age group.

We are dedicated to keeping siblings together, where appropriate, and as such are in need of homes that are able to consider fostering more than one child. There is also an increasing demand for mother and baby placements and children with complex medical needs and/or life limiting conditions.

A key area for development is the need to find people who could become ‘specialist’ foster carers who, with intensive support and training, could care for children and young people (normally aged 12 and over) with a range of higher end complex needs, who may otherwise be cared for in a group or residential setting.

Full Training and support is provided to our Carers to ensure that they are able to offer the types of placements they would like and are considered suitable for. Click here to find out more about what different types of foster care placements you could offer to children from in and around Walsall. Alternatively use the contact form below to contact a member of our team or to request a copy of our fostering brochure.