What is short term fostering?
You may have heard terms such as short term or long term fostering and wondered what they actually mean.
Short term fostering
Short term fostering is what a placement gets called while the long term plan for a child is still undecided. It can last a single night or several years. Plenty run a few months, which is long enough for a court to reach a decision, or for a local authority to find out whether a child can safely go back home.
The children come at short notice, sometimes the same evening you get the call. It might be a baby leaving hospital, a nine year old whose mother has gone into hospital herself, or a teenager who has already been moved twice this year and expects to be moved again. The referral arrives by phone with less history than you would like. You fill in the gaps over the following fortnight.
What changes at home is mainly the timetable. Contact sessions are usually in the child’s own town rather than yours, so you drive. Review meetings, school meetings, health appointments and the annual medical all get booked when it suits the professional rather than you. You keep a daily record. Your own children learn to share the sofa with somebody who did not choose to be there either.
People ask whether they can do short term only, and the answer is yes. It suits carers who want gaps between placements, or who would rather not sign up to the next fourteen years of somebody’s childhood. Plans move, though. A child who arrives for a fortnight sometimes stays, because staying turns out to be the best thing on the table.
The money does not change with the length of the placement. It is £479.50 a week for a child aged 0 to 10 and £507.50 from 11 up, per child, rising to £550 to £850 where a child has additional needs and £987 for parent and child. We put £330 to £1,500 a year towards your council tax, and most fostering income is tax free under HMRC’s qualifying care relief. Your supervising social worker visits at least every four weeks and sees the child at least every eight. Somebody answers the phone at three in the morning, 365 days a year, and it is our own out of hours team rather than a call centre. Ofsted inspected us in January 2026 and rated us Outstanding in all three judgement areas.
Support you'll receive from us
- 24/7 support from your supervising social worker
- £507.50 a week in fostering allowance and fees to foster
- Intensive training program to help you be the best you can be
Where are we recruiting?
We are recruiting short term foster carers across Southern England: Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Surrey, London, Berkshire and Wiltshire.
Short term placements are the ones that arrive at no notice, often in the evening, so what we need is carers who are already approved with a room standing empty. If that could be you, call 023 8235 2020.
What Is Short Term Fostering?
What short term fostering does for a child
A child who comes into care at short notice has usually just had the worst week of their life. Something at home stopped being safe. They arrive tired, often hungry, and half expecting the next adult to let them down as well.
The first job is deliberately dull. Meals at the same time every day, and a bed that stays theirs. School on Monday, even if school is now thirty minutes further away than it was. Children who have been living in chaos settle once the days stop surprising them, and you can watch it happen over three or four weeks.
While that is going on, the local authority is doing the work that decides where the child goes next. Parenting assessments, drug and alcohol services, housing applications, and often a court timetable that is meant to finish inside 26 weeks. None of it can happen while a child is unsafe at home. Your spare room is what buys the time for it.
Plenty of these children go home again. That is the intended ending for most short term placements, and it is worth being blunt about what it means for you. You get attached, you hand them back, and then you do it again. The carers who last are the ones who work out early that handing back is the job, not the failure.
Some do not go home. The placement turns into a long term one with you, or the child moves on to another family or to adoption. Either way you are the person who kept them steady while the adults argued it out, and the child leaves with a few months of ordinary life behind them.
Do you want to know more?
We’re only able to cover a fraction of how we support our carers with their learning and development. If you’d like to know more, and perhaps try some of our trainings, take one of the next steps.
We want to make it as easy as possible for you to contact us and ask us any questions, so you can either use the online chat button to start a chat – whatsapp us a question, or call us on 023 8235 2020
Next Steps
Depending on where you are in your fostering journey, we have a few suggested next steps.
Download Our Guide To Fostering
Arrange for a call back
Ask us a question via whatsapp
We keep your personal information safe, and only use it to contact you in the way you’ve asked us to.
Hi, I’m Sally, the Registered Manager at South Coast Fostering. My job is to make sure our carers feel supported and that the children placed with us have the best possible opportunities to thrive.
I’ve worked in fostering as a social worker for many years, and before that I was actually a foster carer myself. That means I really do understand what it feels like when you’re first thinking about fostering and wondering whether it might be right for you. I still remember how difficult it felt making that very first call to ask about fostering. Taking that first step can feel daunting. But I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and fostering has genuinely changed my life.
If you’re just starting to think about fostering, you’re exactly where many of our carers once were. The first step might feel like the hardest, but you won’t be taking it alone.
Common questions
What does short term fostering mean?
Short term fostering usually refers to placements where the long-term plan for the child has not yet been decided. The child may stay with a foster carer temporarily while decisions are made about their future.
How long does short term fostering last?
Short term placements vary a lot. Some last only a few days or weeks, while others continue for several months or even years, depending on how long it takes for long-term plans to be made.
Can a short term placement become long term?
Yes, this sometimes happens. A placement that begins as short term may become longer if it turns out to be the most stable and suitable home for the child.
Can I choose to only do short term fostering?
Yes, many foster carers choose to offer short term placements. We will discuss your preferences and try to match you with placements that suit your circumstances.
Why do children need short term foster care?
Children may need short term foster care while professionals assess family circumstances, while court decisions are made, or while longer-term arrangements such as returning home or adoption are being planned.
book a call about fostering:
We’d be happy to give you a 15-20 minute call to tell you about fostering. Don’t worry, there’s no pressure from us – it’s honestly a chance for you to ask us any questions you have about fostering, and your suitability. Just complete this short form
Why do you foster with South Coast Fostering?
We asked our foster carer Roberto why he fosters with us.
“I’d honestly say it’s because SCF feels like a family. I know that Sally and the team are always there to support me, and more than that, respect me as a part of the team.
I’ve had the chance to meet carers who foster for other agencies and I don’t think I’ve met anyone who is as happy as I am.
Even the little things matter, like if I have a question about finance, I know who to call, and I know they will take the time to look into my question”