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Monday 8:30am - 5pm Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm Thursday 8:30am - 5pm Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Bristol City Council Fostering

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Bristol City Council Fostering

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Finding foster homes for children in Bristol. By providing a stable and welcoming home for a child you’re giving them the chance for a better future.

Fostering is a rewarding way to make a positive difference to a child’s life and a wonderful way to enrich your own. We welcome people of any ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion. It doesn’t matter whether you’re married, in a civil partnership, or single, whether you have a job, or if you have a disability or long term health issue. There’s no typical foster family, just as there’s no typical child.

27/10/2026

Sarah and her Husband, Mark primarily foster babies for Fostering Devon

When speaking about the support she receives from Devon County Council, Sarah says "The support we have as foster carers is great. I think this can be a really lonely job, especially at my age looking after a baby... So, having that support around is vital. We've got the support of the social workers... but the biggest support comes from the other foster carers."

Bristol needs people like Sarah to foster babies in our city. They would receive a similar level of support to Sarah, and would be providing young people with the best possible start in life.

You can watch Sarah, in her interview with Fostering South West, here:

🎙️ About this episodeWelcome back to Season 2 of the Fostering So...

17/10/2026

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a foster carer?

In this article, Shalene Lemmie, a social worker explains that they're just looking for human beings with good hearts.

Read the article, here: https://orlo.uk/jos2c

10/10/2026

It's Kinship Care Week, so we're shining a light on the vital role of kinship carers who step up to raise a child.

Across England and Wales, more than 141,000 children are being raised in kinship care, growing up in loving and stable homes that keep them connected to their families, roots and community.

Kinship carers are grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings, and family friends who take in children often at a moment’s notice and with little to no preparation. They may be caring under a legal arrangement like a Special Guardianship Order or as a kinship foster carer or be raising children informally without a legal order. Whatever their situation, they all play a crucial role giving children, most of whom would otherwise be in the care system, safety, stability and belonging.

This Kinship Care Week, we’re celebrating the unbreakable bonds at the heart of kinship families – and the communities they build to support one another - while highlighting the realities of stepping up to care for a child who has had a difficult start in life.

This Kinship Care week we want the experiences of kinship families to be seen, heard, and better understood.

Learn more about Kinship Care, here: https://orlo.uk/BAcy0

29/09/2026

If you're a foster carer with Bristol City Council, you can get up to £500 when you refer a friend to foster with us.

For more information on the refer a friend scheme, visit: https://orlo.uk/JUf05

27/09/2026

Could you look after an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child?

You'll:
✅ support them while their asylum claim is considered
✅ help them make links within the community
✅ help them access services to overcome any trauma they may have experienced

Visit https://orlo.uk/vxENQ for more information.

26/09/2026

Could you become a parent and child foster carer?

Parent and child foster carers provide support and guidance to parent(s) and help them develop parenting skills.

Visit https://orlo.uk/QRk8L for more information.

24/09/2026

Could you foster siblings?

Too often siblings get separated. If you can support a child and their brother or sister it means that both of them will find it easier settling in.

One Bristol child said "My sister is braver than me, she is not scared of the dark like me. When I was left alone in a big house, all I had was my sister to keep me company till someone returned."

To learn more, visit: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/foster-with-bristol-city-council/our-children/brothers-sisters

23/09/2026

We'll be at the Careers that Care event at the M Shed tomorrow (Thursday 24 September) between 10am and 4pm.

We hope to see you there!

18/09/2026

You do not need to already have children to be considered for fostering.

If you've got relevant life experience, commitment, or just a desire to care, fostering could be for you.

Visit https://orlo.uk/6REHC to start your fostering journey.

Address

1 Smeaton Road
Bristol
BS16XN

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 5pm
Thursday	8:30am - 5pm
Friday	8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+441173534200

Website

https://www.bristol.gov.uk/web/foster-with-bristol-city-council/home

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