Barnsley Specialist Foster Carer Scheme

Providing stability, safety and connection

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Attuned care. Professional support. Long term stability. 

Some children and young people need more than a standard foster placement. They need a calm, predictable home with adults who can offer emotional availability, patience, and consistency – alongside a strong, therapeutic network of professional support. 

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About the scheme

The Barnsley Specialist Foster Carer Scheme is a therapeutic, trauma informed fostering role for children and young people who have often experienced significant adversity, disrupted attachments, and instability in their early lives. 

Children may: 

  • be stepping down from residential care into a family home, or 
  • be at risk of residential provision or placement breakdown without intensive, relational support 

The home is the primary intervention. Carers are supported to provide attuned, nurturing, and consistent care, helping children to feel safe, regulated, and able to build trusting relationships. 

Specialist Foster Carers are recognised as professional partners, working closely with a multiagency network to support stability, recovery and long term progress. 

 

 

Why the scheme matters

The Barnsley Specialist Foster Carer Scheme reflects what children and young people in this level of care need most. 

For children who have experienced trauma, loss and disrupted relationships, this type of specialist fostering offers: 

  • a secure base they can rely on 
  • adults who remain emotionally available during challenge 
  • a calm, predictable home that helps them feel safe and regulated 

The scheme also reflects the role of the foster carer – offering attuned, nurturing, and consistent care, while being firmly supported by a strong professional network around them. 

 

 

What support you'll receive

You'll never be expected to manage alone. Carers within the Barnsley Specialist Foster Carer scheme receive a wraparound, multiagency support package, proportionate to the complexity of the role. 

Professional and therapeutic support 

  • Reflective supervision with a dedicated supervising social worker 
  • Increased contact and support, particularly during the early stages of placement 
  • Access to specialist therapeutic input tailored to the child and carer 
  • 24/7 out of hours advice and emergency support 
  • Multiagency working with children’s social care, education, and health professionals 
  • Access to a Mockingbird constellation, including planned overnight breaks where required 

Training and development 

  • Specialist trauma informed and therapeutic parenting training 
  • Ongoing professional development and reflective learning opportunities 
  • Workshops focused on relational practice, regulation, and resilience 
  • Opportunities to connect with and learn from other specialist carers 

Fees and allowances 

  • Enhanced professional fostering fee of £1300 per week
  • Age related fostering allowance for the child 
  • Retainer payments during agreed vacant periods £650 for a maximum of 2 months 
  • Additional payments for mileage, equipment, and holidays 
More about allowances

 

 

Specialist Foster Carer profile

Specialist Foster Carers within the Barnsley Specialist Foster Carer Scheme provide fulltime, therapeutic care for children and young people with complex emotional and relational needs. This is a skilled, professional role that goes beyond standard fostering, recognising the level of commitment, emotional resilience and reflective capacity required. 

Specialist Foster Carers: 

  • offer a stable, nurturing, and predictable home 
  • remain emotionally available during periods of distress or challenge 
  • work in a trauma informed, relational way, responding to behaviour through understanding and curiosity 
  • commit to long term stability and staying alongside the child through change 
  • work closely with a professional network to support progress, learning and wellbeing 

Carers are recognised as professional partners and supported through enhanced supervision, training, and a professional fostering fee. 

 

 

Minimum requirements for this scheme

All fostering requires commitment, care and resilience.

This role has additional expectations, so we want to be clear about what is essential. You'll need to:

  • be available full time to care for a child
  • offer a solo placement arrangement
  • have no other children under 16 living in the home
  • be willing to care for a child or young person identified by us as suitable for the scheme
  • be able to maintain the placement until a longer term plan is agreed
  • be approved, or willing to be approved, for a child aged 8 or over

The enhanced fee reflects the nature of the role and the criteria the carer must meet.

 

 

FAQs

Take a look at our frequently asked questions for more information.

What is a Specialist Foster Carer?

A Specialist Foster Carer provides fulltime, therapeutic care for a child or young person with complex needs. The role includes enhanced training, wraparound support, and a professional fostering fee, reflecting the level of skill and commitment required.

Do I need previous fostering experience?

Not necessarily. We welcome applications from:

  • experienced foster carers
  • kinship carers
  • residential childcare workers
  • professionals from education, SEND, mental health, health, emergency services, or youth work

The most important qualities are empathy, patience, emotional resilience and a commitment to therapeutic, child centred care.

Do I have to be available full time?

Yes. Children in this scheme need consistent, reliable availability and emotional presence. At least one carer must be available on a full time basis to meet the child’s needs.

Why do children need solo placements?

Many children benefit from a quieter, more predictable home where they can receive focused, individualised support. Solo placements help children to feel safe, regulated, and able to build trust. There should be no other children under 16 living in the household.

What if a child struggles in education?

Carers support children and young people to stay connected to learning and skills development, working alongside schools and professionals to re engage at a pace that feels safe and achievable.

How long do placements last?

Placements are designed to be stable and long term, prioritising continuity of relationships and emotional security over time.

 

 

Join the scheme

If you feel ready to offer stability, safety, and connection – with a team behind you every step of the way – we would love to hear from you.

Complete an expression of Interest and a member of the fostering team will guide you through each step of the assessment and approval process.

 

Express your interest to join the scheme
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