Fostering babies without a spare room? What you need to know

Babies under the age of three can share a bedroom with their foster carers, meaning that a spare room isn’t always necessary. However, at Lika Family Fostering, we advise that children two and under can share with their carer, as it’s likely a baby will still be with their carer as they approach the age of three. After the age of three, sharing would no longer be an option, which could risk the young person needing to be moved.

Babies can sleep in a cot in your bedroom, allowing for close care and attention during their early months. This setup can actually be beneficial, as it allows you to attend to the baby’s needs more easily during the night.

While you can foster a baby without a spare room initially, you will need to think about longer-term plans, particularly if you wish to continue fostering the same child beyond their third birthday and it is planned for them to remain in foster care.

When fostering babies or very young children, the outcomes for their future care will be determined by their age, circumstances and who is best placed to meet their needs. Here are the typical outcomes for children of this age:

1. Rehabilitation home to parents

One of the primary goals in the foster care system, especially for babies and very young children, is reuniting them with their biological parents once the issues that led to them entering care have been addressed. During their time in foster care, parents often work with social services to make the necessary changes to safely care for their child. If successful, the child will be returned home.

2. Special Guardianship Order (SGO)

A Special Guardianship Order may be granted by a court to allow a family member or someone close to the child to care for them on a long-term basis, without severing legal ties to their birth parents. This is a common outcome when it’s determined that while the parents may not be able to provide adequate care, a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or close family friend can take on the responsibility until the child reaches adulthood.

3. Long-term fostering

If there is a possibility that a child may be able to reunite with their birth family later in life, they may remain in longer-term foster care. This option keeps the child in a stable environment while allowing time for further family assessments or rehabilitation. Long-term fostering may also be considered if family reunification is not immediately possible, but there is still hope for future involvement from the birth family.

4. Adoption

Adoption is another potential outcome, particularly if reunification with the parents is not an option, and there are no suitable family members able to care for the child. Once a child is adopted, they become a legal member of the adoptive family, with all ties to their birth parents being legally severed. Adoption is a permanent solution aimed at providing stability and permanency for the child.

Each of these outcomes is guided by what is in the best interest of the child, with the primary goal always being to provide them with a safe, secure, and loving environment, whether that’s through reunification, guardianship, fostering, or adoption.

While babies can initially share a room with their foster carers, space is still an important consideration when fostering. At Lika, we want to ensure that the environment is suitable not only for the baby but for the foster carer too. Here are a few key factors that agencies look for:

A safe and comfortable environment: You don’t need to have a large home, but the space you do have must be safe and comfortable. Lika will look for a home that is free from hazards, has adequate living areas, and can accommodate the specific needs of a foster baby. For example, you will need enough room for baby essentials such as a cot, changing table, and pram.

Future plans for space: While you may not need a separate room for the baby immediately, Lika will want to know how you plan to accommodate the child as they grow (if this is something that is in the child’s care plan and that you want to do). If you’re fostering for the long term, consider how you could create a private space for the child in the future, whether through moving to a larger home or rearranging your current living situation.

Emotional space and support: Beyond the physical requirements, fostering requires emotional space as well. Caring for a baby is demanding, and foster carers need to have the time, energy, and emotional capacity to provide the support and care that a foster child requires. Even in a smaller home, you’ll need to ensure that you can create a peaceful, organised environment for both you and the child.

When you’re approved as a foster carer, if needed, you’ll receive a set-up loan of £700 to help cover the initial costs of looking after a baby. Fostering comes with essential start-up expenses, such as buying a cot, wardrobe, pram, and bedding. You may also need to purchase items like sterilising equipment, bottles, and a car seat. Lika will assess each applicant’s needs and provide funding for the essential items required to get ready for fostering.

This loan helps ease you into fostering by covering those immediate costs. It is then paid back to Lika in £10 weekly repayments once you have a young person in your care. We understand that everyone’s financial situation is different, so we encourage anyone considering caring for a baby to speak with a member of our team. There is a shortage of foster carers in the UK, and Lika Family Fostering aims to support future carers in fulfilling their dream where possible.

Lika is a therapeutic fostering agency, rated Outstanding by Ofsted. Every decision we take is based on Systemic Family Therapy principles. That means relationships, openness and honesty are at the heart of everything we do. All Lika foster carers receive extensive training in Systemic Family Therapy principles and therapeutic parenting techniques.

It’s similar to the training a newly qualified social worker receives (although not quite as technical) — so you’ll be fully prepared for your first placement and be viewed as a professional foster carer in your own right.

Being a Lika foster carer means always receiving specialised and consistent support from our expert team of professionals.

Your support will include:

• 1 to 4 weekly supervisions with your supervising social worker to talk through and understand the needs of your young person
• 24/7 out-of-hours access to one of the Lika team, so you’re never unsupported if things feel difficult
• Access to Lika’s team of skilled and knowledgeable Systemic Psychotherapist Consultants and Systemic Social Work Practitioners, who are never stuck for ideas on how to support
• Virtual monthly foster carers support meeting, led and chaired by experienced foster carers
• Virtual fortnightly Therapeutic Family Consultations, facilitated by one of our psychotherapists and open to all our agency’s foster carers
• Membership to the National Association of Therapeutic Parents and The Fostering Network
• Life coaching for foster children, birth children and foster carers
• Our Mentor Support Scheme, which partners new foster carers with more experienced foster carers
• Free training for fostering support networks. (Your family and friends are welcome to join any of the training Lika offers.)
• Access to Lika’s support workers, depending on the level of need for the young person
• Access to Lika’s Educational Consultant, who can offer ideas and advocacy in supporting young people to achieve in education
• Help from Lika’s Systemic Social Work Practitioners/Therapists, who can undertake skilled direct work without waiting lists for the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
• 14 to 21 days of paid respite (depending on complexity) to recharge your batteries and have some space for self-care.

If you’re in south or east London and you’re interested in becoming a foster carer, give the helpful team at Lika a call on 020 3370 0987. We’re here to answer all your questions.

We’re currently in: Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Brent, Bexley, Bromley, Camden, City of London, Croydon, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing, Haringey, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, Westminster, Enfield, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames, Waltham Forest, Harrow and Essex.