Foster carers help change the lives of young people every day.

Children come into care for a variety of reasons. It could be a long term illness or a family breakdown. Sadly, in most cases, it is due to some form of neglect or abuse. TACT are currently recruiting foster carers to provide care and support to these children. You could join our Bridgend Fostering Team!

Whether you have been considering fostering for a while, or whether you are new to the idea – we have all the information you need to start making a difference to young people’s lives.

Watch a short film made by some of our young people in Wales:

 

How do I start fostering in Bridgend?

To start with, you don’t need any childcare qualifications to start fostering, as full and ongoing training will be provided. However we do ask for some experience of caring for children.

To begin a fostering application, we would just need to check some initial qualifying criteria. You would need to:

• Be aged 21 years or over
• Have at least one spare bedroom in your home
• Be a full time resident of the UK

If you fulfil all three points of the criteria, we would like to talk to you more about fostering. You can complete the enquiry form on this page to get started.

Why foster in Bridgend with TACT?

TACT is the UK’s largest dedicated fostering charity. We have been providing nurturing and caring homes for vulnerable young people since 1993.

We work closely with Bridgend County Borough Council to help find matched foster homes for vulnerable children. Being a charity, we do not ‘profit’ from foster care. Instead, we reinvest any surplus income into providing more training and support for our team of foster carers.

We have already reinvested in some unique additional support services, over and above what a fostering organisation is required to provide. These include a dedicated Education Service, Health Service – and an online foster carer portal. Our TACT Connect community ensures that when children leave our care, they have TACT’s support into adulthood and beyond.

This is why 98% of our carers would recommend us to others thinking of fostering.

---

“TACT have always been there to support us, and the Supervising Social Workers we’ve had have been second to none.”

– TACT Cymru Foster Carer

---

We cover a wide area in and around Bridgend, including Cornelly, Cefn Cribwr, Porthcawl and Merthyr Mawr.

We have a great team of staff who provide support to our foster carers in Bridgend. Mike Anthony, our area manager for the area, started working for TACT in 2003, and is passionate about achieving the very best outcomes for children.

We provide our foster carers with full training, 24/7 support and a generous Bridgend fostering allowance:

Bridgend Fostering Allowance

Foster carers are highly skilled people, and our Bridgend fostering payments reflect this.

The fostering allowance is made up of two elements:

• An allowance for each young person in your care: this covers outgoings such as food, clothing and travel for a young person.
• A foster carer fee: this is your carer ‘fee’, in recognition of your knowledge and skill and when caring for young people in your home.

The total allowance you will receive will depend on a number of factors such as the type of foster care you are providing, the number of children you are caring for, their age, and any additional needs.

There are also additional payments for children’s birthdays, holidays and religious festivals. We also pay long service awards and a Refer a Friend fee (if you recommend someone who then goes on to be an approved foster carer with us).

Here are some examples of the weekly Bridgend fostering payments you could expect to receive when you have a young person placed with you:

Full training

As mentioned above, you don’t need any previous childcare training as full and ongoing training will be provided.

The first training you will take is called Skills To Foster, which is delivered remotely. Attended by other applicants, the course is designed to provide an overview of foster care. There will be opportunities for you to ask questions, and share any thoughts and experiences. An existing TACT foster carer will also be present in the sessions – providing additional insight and knowledge.

If you go on to become an approved TACT foster carer, you will be allocated a full training programme to help you further your skills. This will enable you to care for more children with a variety of different needs.

24/7 support

For total peace of mind, we provide full 24/7 support. You will also be allocated your own Supervising Social Worker, who will provide most of the day-to-day support you will require. We also offer an out-of-hours support service – so there will always be someone on hand to help you.

We also provide additional support platforms, some of which are unique to TACT.

This is what we provide:

• Full 24/7 support. Provided by your Supervising Social Worker and our out-of-hours support service.
• Foster carer portal. An online information hub that provides advice and training to help with your day-to-day life as a foster carer.
• Education service. Ensures that all young people in your care receive the educational opportunities they are entitled to.
• Health service. Our health service was established in order to provide young people in your care with ongoing physical and mental health monitoring.
• Support groups. Our support groups operate in Bridgend and surrounding areas, and provide you with a local outlet to meet other carers in your area, share experiences and knowledge, and even make new friends!
• Support for young people. Our Children’s Resource Workers provide the children in your care with additional support, activities and events.
• Supporting your own children. We understand that your own children play an important role in the fostering household. As such, our Children Who Foster events provide your own children with an opportunity to socialise with other young people who make an amazing contribution to fostering.
• Peer support. In some areas, peer-to-peer support may be available. These work by pairing newly approved foster carers with experienced TACT carers to provide another level of support.

Transferring to TACT

There are many reasons why current foster carers may wish to transfer from their local authority or agency. If you are currently a foster carer in Bridgend, we can provide a ‘fast track’ application process to ensure that the transfer to us is straightforward and stress-free. You would also not be required to re-take the Skills To Foster course.

You can transfer to us with children already in placement, but we would just need to ensure that the wellbeing of the young people come first. We would work closely with you and your existing fostering provider to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of care.

If you are interested in finding out more about transferring to us, simply select ‘I am currently a foster carer‘ on our form. We will then be able to talk you through the process in more detail.

A fostering charity that goes above and beyond…

• Our foster carer perks include a number of exclusive memberships and special offers – many of which are available via our Foster Carer Portal.
• Our TACT Connect service ensures that our care leavers continue to receive help, support and guidance even after they have officially left our care.
• We advocate for young people, actively campaigning in order to instigate positive change within the care system.

Start your fostering journey in Bridgend today, and change a child’s life. Simply fill in the form on this page to get started!