Use your skills to help young people in Rotherham settle in a home environment.
A full team of social workers, training in therapeutic models and additional £200 a week
Some young people have previously lived or currently live in a residential care home. Many of these young people would thrive in a fostering family environment and they are ready to make this move. We have incredible foster carers who offer just that to these children and young people. They are known as Stepdown carers.
Stepdown is all about providing stability in a family environment to a young person who might have experienced a lot of changes in their life. We normally help young people who are 11 years or older, but some children in need of Stepdown support might be younger.
As a Stepdown foster carer, you offer:
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Warmth, care and stability for a young person who needs it most.
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Willingness to learn new skills so you can best support the child in your care.
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A closer working relationship with a network of professionals. This can include social workers, members of staff at the young person's school and our in-house therapeutic team.
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Therapeutic support both in the foster home and the young person's school setting.
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Full time availability to foster.
Stepdown care is part of a young person's journey from a residential home to a more long-term fostering arrangement. It is incredibly rewarding for an existing carer, or somebody who's worked with children on a long-term basis.
How do I know Stepdown is for me?
You might have experience of caring for and working with children, or have fostered before. Those skills can really help older children who have experienced some challenging times. We're always looking for experienced people to foster for our Stepdown programme.
You may come from a background working with:
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Children in a school or a pupil referral unit.
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Children and young people who experience mental health, emotional or behavioural difficulties such that they need specific care on a continuous basis.
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Children and young people during and after a challenging time in their lives, whether in a medical or residential setting.
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Older children and young people as a foster carer.
These young people have likely experienced a number of moves from one home to another, and they need stability and therapeutic care. We are looking for carers who are able to offer the help these young people need.
How we support our Stepdown carers
Being a Stepdown foster carer is a full time role. It is also incredibly rewarding with the right support around you.
Stepdown care means there's an increase in the demands on your time and skills as a foster carer. We offer additional support both in terms of our team members and our financial package.
We’re proud to offer our Stepdown carers access to our amazing in-house therapeutic team. Our therapeutic team can offer weekly support for both the young person in your care, and for you as the carer.
We can offer up to £838 a week for Stepdown care (based on a Skills Level 4 carer looking after a 16+ young person). This equates to £3,352 a month.
How this works
Stepdown carers can benefit from a complex payment of £200 a week. This is in addition to your carer fee, which will be paid at Skills Level 4 (£405). With your carer fee, children's allowance and complex payment you could receive anywhere between £764 and £838 a week. The only variation here would be around the child’s allowance so the skills level and complex care pay would be static at £605 per week.
Interested in caring for children with long-term health conditions?
Children with complex needs may have a long-term health condition or severe disability. Some children may have particular emotional needs that need extra care and support. We always recommend therapeutic support for complex care.
We appreciate that when caring for a child with very complex needs and/or disabilities, you will need an additional level of support. Our complex carers dedicate an incredible amount of time to helping these young people. To aid you, we offer your Skills Level carer fee and the child’s weekly allowance (which depends on their age), as well as a complex payment of £100 a week.