Fostering Sanctuary-Seeking Children
Providing a safe and secure home for sanctuary-seeking children and young people.
Fostering Sanctuary-Seeking Children and Young People
Fostering sanctuary-seeking children is a compassionate and impactful way to provide support to young people who have fled their home countries in search of safety. These children often arrive alone and have experienced significant trauma and upheaval. By becoming a foster carer, you can offer them the stability, care, and support they need to rebuild their lives.
The need for sanctuary-seeking child foster carers is growing with 7,380 sanctuary-seeking children in the UK (as of 2024).
The Role of a Sanctuary-Seeking Child Foster Carer
Fostering unaccompanied sanctuary-seeking children and young people can have its challenges as children and young people have left their home, culture, family members, and friends, to a country, and often language, that is unfamiliar to them.
The child or young person may have fled their home country due to war, political violence, threats to life or fear of exploitation or abuse. As their foster carer, you may need to support the young person with the process of applying for permission to stay in the UK, including the legal right to study or work. An unaccompanied sanctuary-seeking child or young person will also need help to establish links within the community, including those that reflect their background or faith.
Above all, your role as their foster carer is to provide them with a safe and understanding home where their culture and faith are respected and supported.
The Local Authority, your social worker, and the wider Swiis fostering team, will work closely with you to support the young person in your care. All Swiis foster carers receive comprehensive training during their application process and following approval, from our team of experienced in-house trainers. For UASC foster carers, additional training is available on how to care for sanctuary-seeking and refugee children.
What Will Sanctuary-Seeking Children Be Like?
Unlike fostering a child from the UK, little may be known about sanctuary-seeking children who are arriving in the UK for the first time. They may speak little or no English and will need significant support to learn to read and write in English. This is particularly important for any child or young person who needs to attend school, college, or university, as this will be a barrier to their education.
Due to their experience in their home country and the journey to get to the UK, sanctuary-seeking children may require counselling or therapy to process trauma or grief and could exhibit more challenging behaviours.
Nicola and Gerald’s Fostering Story
Nicola and Gerald have been foster carers with Swiis for over 10 years. In that time, they have fostered children with disabilities and complex needs. Here is what they had to say about their rewarding fostering experience with Swiis.
Fostering with Swiis
There are currently over 100,000 children in the UK in need of foster care with an ever growing need for new foster parents.
To foster with Swiis, you will need to be over the age of 21, have British Citizenship or indefinite leave to remain, be medically fit to work, and have a spare bedroom within your home.
Swiis welcome prospective foster carers from many different backgrounds and cultures including single people, couples (unmarried and married), those who rent their homes, and those who identify as LGBTQ+. Providing you are medically fit to work, older age is not a barrier to becoming a foster carer.
Foster carers with Swiis can earn up to £625 a week (based on one child) which is equivalent to £32,500 a year, all of which is tax-free due to Qualifying Care Relief.
Fostering with Swiis Foster Care
Fostering with Swiis means joining the UK’s largest family-owned fostering agency. With over 20 years of experience, our dedicated teams across England and Scotland will support you at every step of the way on your fostering journey.
To learn more about fostering sanctuary-seeking children, or becoming a foster carer, please get in touch with our team.
