Fostering and residential care

Fostering

Sunderland City Council provides foster care for children and young people who cannot live with their parents. Children and young people are looked after by Children's Services for a number of reasons. It could be for a short time during a family crisis, or they may be placed into Children's Services care because it is unsafe for them to live with their own family. There are some families who provide short break care for disabled children.

Whatever the circumstances, when a child comes into Children's Services care we share parental responsibility for a child’s welfare, health and education.

Sunderland have over 229 foster carers ( 28kb) who care for children of all ages in their own homes as part of their family on behalf of the directorate. Foster carers provide a wide range of care for children and young people who need to be looked after for different reasons. This could include young children who will move onto adoptive placements, children who will return to their families, and children who will live with them permanently.

Foster carers are paid an allowance for each child they care for which is to cover the cost of clothing, pocket money, personal and household expenses. Some foster carers are paid a fee for the skills, experience, and knowledge they have to care for children with very complex needs.

Your questions answered ( 33kb)

Information Events - for those interested in fostering or adopting a child ( 212 kb)

The Fostering Service Can be contacted at:

Penshaw House
Station Road
Penshaw
Houghton-le-Spring
DH4 7LB
Tel: 0191 566 3200
24 hour answer phone: 0191 382 3020

Adoption and fostering - information on the Directgov website

Residential Care

Children’s Services has eleven children’s homes, including two for disabled children (one for short breaks) and two on the Wellesley site in Blyth. As part of the Children’s Services Strategy the Wellesley site will close within the next twelve months.

The homes provide care for up to seven children each. Some children may need to be looked after in residential care for a short time, before they are reunited with their family or settled into a more permanent placement, which may include foster care. Most children however live in our homes until they are ready to move out into independence or adult placement. Residential care is seen as a positive choice for children based on their assessed needs.

Each home has a staff group, which includes senior staff and a manager who is registered with the Commission for Social Care Inspection. Each child living in the home has a link worker in the staff group who has a particular responsibility to ensure all the child’s health, education and social needs are met.

The homes are strictly regulated and monitored, both internally and by the Commission for Social Care Inspection to ensure that they meet and indeed exceed the Children’s Homes National Minimum Standards, to ensure that they provide the highest possible standards of care.

For more information contact:

Services for Looked After Children
Penshaw House
Penshaw
Station Road
Houghton-le-Spring
DH4 7LB
Tel: 0191 566 3200

Email the Fostering Service and Services for Looked After Children at: servicesforlookedafterchildren@ssd.sunderland.gov.uk

or

Services for Disabled Children
Gilpin House
Blind Lane
Houghton le Spring
Sunderland
DH4 5HX
Tel: 0191 566 2208
Email: CHILD.DISABILITY@ssd.sunderland.gov.uk

Children in care - information on the Directgov website

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