Types of fostering

Children who arrive in the UK are often fleeing war or conflict and have often been affected by traumatic experiences.

They have fled without the protection of parents or family members and often arrive in the UK without documentation.

Unaccompanied or trafficked children are often highly vulnerable, with complex needs in addition to those faced by looked-after children in the UK more generally. Such children will be cared for by the local authority due to there being no identifiable adult or guardian to care for them.

In Hounslow, the largest number of unaccompanied children come from Afghanistan and Albania, followed by Eritrea, Algeria, Iran and Iraq. Other young people have also come from India, Sudan, Ethiopia and South Africa, with numbers increasing fast.

Hounslow is a vibrant and cultural borough. As a council, we will provide a safe refuge for vulnerable children fleeing danger in their own countries.

Requirements to foster

While qualities such as patience, compassion, and understanding are necessary to foster these young people, there are extra requirements.

You will need specialist training and an understanding of the child’s culture. Foster carers may need to:

• support the child through the process of applying for permission to stay in the UK
• help them integrate into life
• prepare them to return home if it is safe to do so

Many unaccompanied children seeking asylum will also have emotional, practical, language and cultural needs that their foster carers must also consider. 

Support we offer

See: Benefits to fostering with Hounslow

If you think you may have the qualities and willingness to look after a young person who has arrived in the UK unaccompanied, we would love to hear from you.

Information in other languages

We have leaflets about fostering unaccompanied asylum-seeking children available in other languages:

• Albanian version (PDF)
• Arabic version (PDF)
• Kurdish version (PDF)
• Pashtu version (PDF)
• Tigrinya version (PDF)