New Year, New Start: Why 2025 Could Be the Perfect Time to Foster

How to choose a new career

Starting a new career may seem daunting, but when you take a step back, you’ll see that it’s actually an opportunity to go on a journey of self-discovery. It forces you to reflect and ask yourself whether your current career aligns with your values, goals, and the lifestyle you wish to lead. Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you decide on a new career and why fostering could be the perfect choice.

What matters to you?

What are you hoping to get out of your new career? Whether it be an improved sense of job satisfaction or a desire to make a direct difference, figuring out what matters most to you will help narrow down your career search.

A career that transforms young lives

If you’re looking for a career where you’ll make a significant impact, fostering could be your ideal vocation. There are currently around 70,000 children living in foster care in the UK and this number is predicted to rise in 2025. We urgently need more foster parents to provide safe, stable and nurturing homes for the most vulnerable children in our society.

What could be more satisfying than supporting a child's development and building their self-esteem, confidence and trust?

What transferable skills do you have?

Whichever career route you’ve taken up until this point, you will have gained transferable job skills that you can apply to your new role. Grab a notepad and write down the knowledge, experience, and skills you’ve gained in previous roles to see if they align with any potential new career paths.

Transferable skills include:

• Communication
• Organisation
• Collaboration
• Resilience
• Problem-solving
• Adaptability
• Patience
• Emotional intelligence
• Compassion
• Job specific training, knowledge and experience.

Transferable skills for fostering

If you possess any transferable skills mentioned above and are eager to develop them further, fostering could be the perfect next step in your career journey.

The role of a foster parent is extremely varied, involving everything from daily care and school drop-offs to managing behaviour, emotions and family time meetings. Not only will you utilise these skills on a daily basis, but with Fostering People, we’ll help you enhance them even further.

When you foster with us, we’re committed to your personal growth and professional development. We’ll equip you with the knowledge and local support you need to provide therapeutic foster care for children and young people who are living with the trauma of their early life experiences. Our comprehensive foster care training will also prepare you to face any challenges, transitions or barriers you or the child in your care may face along the way.

How do you want to work?

Some people thrive in a buzzing office environment, while others prefer the flexibility of not being tied to a single location. Many enjoy the structure of a traditional 9-to-5 working day, whereas others are energised by a more varied role with flexible hours. Similarly, some individuals prefer working from home, while others find comfort in heading to the same workplace each day.

Take some time to reflect on how you want to work and how it aligns with the lifestyle you envision for yourself, both now and in the future.

Fostering around your commitments

If you’re looking for a job role that’s rewarding and flexible, fostering could be the ideal profession for you. At Fostering People, we offer a wide range of fostering placements, enabling you to foster alongside your existing commitments.

When you apply to foster with us, we’ll take the time to understand your preferences and help identify the type of fostering that best suits your lifestyle. For example, if you’d prefer to start gradually or have other obligations that make long-term fostering difficult, you could consider fostering a child in an emergency or providing respite care for other foster parents.

The child's age can also be a factor in finding the right fit – young children often require more hands-on care, while teenagers tend to be more independent.

Our training works around your schedule, with many courses available online or delivered in your local community. Our support is also local. Our social workers live and work within the communities they serve, ensuring help is always close at hand. This prevents you from travelling far to access the support you need.

What are your salary expectations?

If you’re currently in a job role where you feel your hard work and meaningful contributions aren’t reflected in your pay, it’s the perfect opportunity to reassess your salary expectations before exploring a new career.

Sometimes, embarking on a new career path may involve a temporary reduction in salary. For many, this is a worthwhile step towards pursuing a career they're passionate about. Others may find this more challenging due to their financial commitments. However, with careful planning, this transition can still be rewarding.

If you possess experience, knowledge, and skills relevant to your prospective new career, this may not apply, but it is still worth considering.

Foster parent pay

If you’re keen to pursue a career where your hard work and commitment are truly valued and rewarded, 2025 could be the perfect time to consider becoming a foster parent.

At Fostering People, we’re dedicated to ensuring you feel appreciated for the incredible steps you take to improve the lives of children and young people in care. That’s why we offer a generous fostering allowance, currently averaging at £482 per week per child, which is typically tax-free.

You’ll additionally benefit from a range of perks, including exclusive discounts from hundreds of brands. Whether you want to treat the child in your care to a day out or a trip to the cinema, these discounts enrich your fostering experience and allow you to take every opportunity to make memories that last a lifetime.

Are you thinking about a post-retirement career?

If you’re post-retirement, you may wonder: Am I too old to start a new career? The answer is no – you’re never too old to embark on a new career. However, it’s essential to think about the types of careers that will best suit your individual circumstances. To help you make your decision, consider the following:

Do you want to work full-time or part-time?

• If you have any health issues, will they affect your ability to perform particular roles?
• How long do you want to continue working?
• Will working fit into your desired retirement lifestyle?

Many people choose to work after they've retired and bring a huge amount of life experience and knowledge to the world of work.

Fostering after retirement

If you’re exploring a new career post-retirement, fostering could be an excellent choice. There’s no upper age limit to foster, and at Fostering People, many of our foster parents use their retirement to make a meaningful difference in young lives.

Foster parents who start their journey in retirement bring a wealth of knowledge, experience and wisdom to the role, which can have a profound impact on the children they care for.

As part of the assessment process, you’ll undergo a health check to ensure fostering won’t negatively affect your well-being and confirm you can keep up with the demands of caring for young people. With our support, fostering in retirement can be a deeply rewarding and fulfilling journey.

Discover a new career in fostering

If you're ready to take your career in a new and rewarding direction by becoming a foster parent, here are the initial requirements you'll need to meet:

• You must be 21 or over.
• You must have a spare bedroom for a child to make their own.
• You must have the legal right to live and work in the UK.

Call us today to learn about fostering in more detail and take the first step towards making 2025 the most exciting and fulfilling year of your career journey yet. Together, we can help you build a career that will not only change the lives of children and young people but yours as well.