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Medway Council Fostering

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Medway Council Fostering

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Welcome to Medway Council’s Fostering service; working as a team around our children and young people

Being a great foster carer is about wanting to do your best for a child/young adult in your care. Regardless of whether you're a single person, married, divorced or in a civil partnership, if you're in your own home or renting, male or female, whatever your sexual orientation, with or without your own children, what's important is that you have the desire to provide a looked after child with a secure, non-judgemental, welcoming home. As well as a spare room, you need love and resourcefulness to help a child with whatever needs they may have. A positive mindset with provide a vulnerable child with the stability, nurturing, safe and secure environment the they require. If this is you, we have a welcoming and friendly team ready to help you become a professional Foster Carer; from your very first enquiry with us, through to taking on a child, then the rest of your fostering career. We have children of all ages who need a loving home, from babies to teenagers. No matter what your family type, we will match you with the right child and make sure you receive excellent training and support every step of the way. If you want a rewarding career that can positively impact a child's life, making a real difference, we want to hear from you. Please contact us for a friendly, informative chat to find out more about fostering with Medway Council:

Telephone – 01634 335726
Email – [email protected]
Website - www.medway.gov.uk/fostering

02/11/2026

Wednesday is Private Fostering Awareness Day. We will be at the Sunlight Centre in Gillingham tomorrow with a stand to raise awareness of private fostering and give out useful resources about private fostering arrangements. An arrangement could be a child being looked after by their neighbour or family friend, where that arrangement has taken place for a period of more than 28 days. As a Council, we need to know about any arrangements taking place to keep children safe, but also to help you.

If you are looking after someone else's child, we are here to support you, and some arrangements may mean you are eligible to receive financial support. Email us at [email protected] for more information or to book in some bitesize training for yourself or your colleagues.

02/11/2026

November is National Care Leavers Month.🙌

Care leavers can face difficulties and personal struggles when entering their adult lives. As a Local Authority we are committed to supporting our care leavers. One of the ways we do this at Foster for Medway is through our Supported Homes Scheme, a way care leavers can enter adulthood safely and have a trusted adult looking out for them, who they can go to if they have any questions or need advice, even if that's just how to use a washing machine or apply for a job.

Being a supported homes host is not the same as being a foster carer. The responsibility is less, as the care leaver in your home will manage their own finances and diaries, meaning you can continue to work full-time or meet other commitments you may have. It's still a rewarding role where you can be a mentor and help someone who may not have had a simple or easy journey so far. We pay our hosts £330 a week as a thank you.

Go to https://orlo.uk/jmOSB to find out more about Medway's supported hosts service.

23/10/2026

In this week's One Minute Medway, Cllr Adam Price talks about adoption and fostering for National Adoption Week, and also talks through what's to come for half term week next week. Watch the full video below.

22/10/2026

You may be ready to foster without realising.

We are proud to have an inclusive assessment process and we welcome applications from people in Medway and Kent from all walks of life.

Enquire today and start your journey towards an immensely rewarding role.

21/10/2026

Well done to our Foster for Medway colleagues Karen, Sarah and Tuuli who attended Westminster last week for Coram Baaf's session sharing their finalised 'Propensity for Care' research.🙌

The session was an insightful look at this research into the patterns of foster carer recruitment and how those working in fostering recruitment might look to reassure families who would consider fostering but have ruled themselves out or are anxious to take that step. The session also provided an excellent networking opportunity with those working in fostering recruitment across the UK, and discussions were had around the Government's new national campaign aimed at recruiting 10,000 new foster carers, which has received national media coverage and is driving an interest in fostering as well as raising awareness of the important and very rewarding role of a foster carer. The work of local councils will be shaped by and feed into the Government's campaign and Coram Baaf's research.

We are proud to be part of this work and were grateful to have been invited for the opportunity to hear the research first-hand, network with colleagues and take away learnings that will help us in our aims and ultimately improve the service we offer to children in Medway. Great work!

20/10/2026

This week is National Adoption Week, a celebration of the loving families formed or grown through adoption.

Fostering is different to adoption, and the decision of whether to foster or adopt will be personal to every individual or family. However, fostering the same child for a long period of time can lead to adoption of that child further down the line.

If you are interested in fostering a child where adoption later may be possible, let us know at the time when you make your enquiry. During the matching process that takes place once you become an approved foster carer, we will take your preferences into consideration and look to match you with a child for a longer period of term. The possibility for adoption will be dependent on how the match is going, and the child's individual circumstance. If it is an option for you and your child, we will support you through this process.

19/10/2026

It's National Adoption Week!

Did you know fostering a child could be a way of starting a family? Fostering the same child for a long period of time, where both you and the child are happy and thriving in your home, has the potential to lead to adoption, and we will support you through this process.

Where adoption may not be possible (as it is entirely dependent on the individual child's circumstance) we will look to support you towards something we advocate for called permanency, which is when your child will stay with you until they reach adulthood. Many children who are with their foster carers permanently see them as 'Mum' and 'Dad'.

You can of course also explore adoption as the path for you rather than fostering. Enquire today for a conversation about fostering and how it differs from adoption. We would love to hear from you. https://orlo.uk/dsnvF

15/10/2026

Children of Foster Carers Week is celebrated 12–18 October. It's a week that recognises the very important role that children of foster carers make to helping their foster siblings thrive in their new homes. Here is a quote from a child in Medway about what it's like being in a foster family.

Children of foster carers share their toys, homes, the time of their parents, and their hearts with their foster siblings, and often play an important role in welcoming their foster siblings into the home and, where there has been trauma, begin to heal. The bonds formed between children can be lifelong, and many children of foster carers talk about the positive impact fostering had on them, helping them build skills, grow their empathy, and become the individuals they are today.

For information about fostering and how you could make a difference, and the support we give to you and your children throughout your journey, go to https://www.lafosteringse.org.uk/.

15/10/2026

This Black History Month, in the Local Authority Fostering South East partnership, we're celebrating heritage, culture and identity. Every child deserves to feel like they belong. We take time when matching children to our foster carers because we want to make sure our children are with the people who will best help them thrive, and we want our matches to be successful, whether they are for a short or long period of time.

Foster carers can play an important role in helping children stay connected to their identity, culture and community, while giving them the support and encouragement they need.

Could you make a difference to a child’s life? You may already have what it takes to foster. Find out more at https://orlo.uk/WQSsE

15/10/2026

Fostering is a life-changing experience not just for the child in your care, but for you. We are pleased to support this national campaign to raise awareness of fostering as a role and to encourage more people to think about whether they could offer a child love and a home. Many people will be ready without realising.

Address

Gun Wharf, Dock Road
Chatham
ME44TR

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+441634335726

Website

https://www.medway.gov.uk/fostering

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