Transferring to Lighthouse
"Children feel safe and secure with their foster carers. One child said, ‘We feel safe, and we love them very much". (Ofsted report, 2023)
Transferring to Lighthouse
Regardless of whether you currently have a foster child in your care or not, you will be able to transfer foster agencies
Lighthouse is highly experienced in managing the transfer process on your behalf. However, we know from experience that you will be anxious about changing. You may be apprehensive about having to go through the approval process again, or you may be worried about how it might affect the children already in your care.
At Lighthouse, if you have been willing to devote your time to caring for young people in your home, we ensure that you receive our very best support. This starts from day one, with us working as quickly as possible to transfer you to our agency so you can continue to do the job you love, fully supported by our brilliant team.
All fostering agencies subscribe to the Fostering Network's Transfer Protocol, which states: The transfer of carers Protocol is based on the assumption that carers have the right to freedom of movement between fostering services; the principle that, in all circumstances, the welfare of any child must be paramount.
The process of transferring to Lighthouse is always discussed on an individual basis
However, on average, it takes around 4-6 months.
Your current fostering agency is obliged to provide a range of information as part of the transfer, including access to your existing file. This does reduce the amount of work needed before you are ready to be registered by Lighthouse and it will undoubtedly be far less intrusive than your first assessment. We promise to make the process as simple, efficient and swift as possible so you can continue fostering your current children without too much disruption.
Here are some of the reasons you might choose Lighthouse:
- Lighthouse Fostering was founded by care leavers and foster carers.
- We are an Independent family friendly agency where each carer matters to us.
- We are not owned by a large corporation
- We have a Child First ethos putting children rather than profit at the centre of all that we do.
- We have professional staff with a significant amount of experience and expertise.
- We believe that foster carers should be listened to, respected and supported.
- We offer 20 nights’ planned breaks and we reimburse you if you do not take all of your planned breaks*.
- Your fostering experience & skills transferrable to our Reward Pathway Scheme*.
Even more reasons you might choose Lighthouse:
- We pay a child holiday allowance.
- We pay a school clothing support allowance
- We pay a birthday support allowance
- We pay a Parent and Child initial placement allowance
- We run social events through the year for the whole family and support groups for all carers to meet up.
- We have excellent rates of pay and believe in tailoring the fee to the complexity of the young person.
- We provide 24 hour support 365 days a year from trained staff.