Foster Care Fortnight takes place from 11 to 24 May 2026 – a two week celebration of the vital role played by foster carers, and a chance for anyone interested to find out more about the role.
Foster Care Fortnight is the UK’s biggest awareness raising campaign for fostering, and this year’s theme is “This is Fostering” – focussing on sharing diverse stories from the fostering community, showcase real-life experiences to dispel myths and highlight the impact of foster care.
Throughout the fortnight, Knowsley will be celebrating the many ways relationships transform the lives of children and young people and inviting people to find out more about fostering for Knowsley Council.
Foster carers make a significant difference in the lives of fostered children and young people, helping them to flourish and achieve their full potential.
Each week in Knowsley, carers provide a safe and loving home for children of all ages who are, for a variety of reasons, not able to live with their own family for a period of time.
Their care and support makes a huge difference to the lives of babies, children and young people, and the role of a foster carer is a really rewarding one.
During Foster Care Fortnight, Knowsley is hosting a range of special events to celebrate and thank its current foster carers, as well as providing opportunities for people who want to find out more about fostering to come along and speak to the team. This includes:-
Monday 11 May 2026
Foster Walk, Court Hey Park from 11am until 12.30pm – meet at the former café building
Saturday 16 May 2026
Knowsley Safari from 10am onwards
In addition, foster carers will be invited to take part in a workshop during Foster Care Fortnight that will review fostering support to identify if the offer can be further strengthened in any way.
What skills / background do I need to be a foster carer?
There are no special qualifications or experience needed to be a great foster carer. You just need enough room to accommodate a child, or children, and the love, care and patience that they need. Age, sexuality, wealth and marital status are no barrier to a rewarding career as a foster carer.
As a foster carer for Knowsley, you will receive fantastic support from a team of social workers, a package of ongoing training and round-the-clock support and advice when you need it.
All new Foster Carers in Knowsley also receive therapeutic support and training, as well as buddying and mentor support. You’ll also receive a generous allowance for the care you provide – making fostering a viable career option for anyone interested in working with children. You could choose to be a full time foster carer, or balance the role around your existing job, with many employers offering ‘fostering friendly’ policies.
You can even choose to specialise in a certain type of foster care – it could be babies or teenagers; children with particular needs or respite foster care (where you help out whilst other foster carers are on holiday). Perhaps you have enough space to help keep groups of siblings under the same roof when they need care. All these possibilities can be discussed as part of your foster carer journey.
In addition, we are also looking for Specialist Foster Carers to care for children with more complex needs. Full support will be provided along with a payment of £1,000 per week.
How do I find out more?
Go along to one of our Foster Care Fortnight events, call Foster4Knowsley for an informal chat on 03456 460098, email enquiry@foster4.co.uk or visit https://www.foster4.co.uk/knowsley/