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Original poster

Fostering agency and Local Authority won’t accommodate one journey via taxi

58 replies

Fostering2025 · 11/08/2025 16:04

Hey everyone,

me and my partner have recently been accepted as foster parents. We’re with an agency who all along have said they have foster parents who work part time and even full time on their books.

As soon as we were approved we were sent two referrals of children from a nearby town, which we expressed interest in. However one evening my partner works until 5 and I’m working in London that day. That’s the only day he couldn’t pick them up but would be home in time for them (as he could drive straight home instead of driving 30 mins to pick them up). So we asked if we could put them in an after school club or arrange contact at that time and then have a taxi take them home as I’ve heard this is something they can assist with from both a friend who is a teacher and another who is a social worker.

However both the fostering agency and local authority were appalled by the idea of the child coming home in a taxi and said it would make them feel different from other children. We explained it wouldn’t be forever as me and my partner want to do the fostering full time eventually but just for now to give my partner time to become accustomed to fostering and make sure the child is happy with us.

I just want to check is this really the worst thing to ask for? We’ve been through the entire process of being approved, the room is ready and we’re so excited. My partner left his full time career to do fostering (and has a part time retail job to keep money coming in). We haven’t had a referral since and it’s been 2 months. Is this really that much to ask?

Would like to hear your experiences of being foster parents and working.

OP posts:
Viviennemary · 11/08/2025 16:22

It doesn't sound as if your present lifestyle is flexible enough to foster.

FunnyOrca · 11/08/2025 16:19

Birth parents may have reservations about the child using a taxi alone.

WhichPage · 11/08/2025 16:17

I suspect it is very unlikely they will accommodate your routine and needs unless they have no other options to place the child.

Ditto the regular supervision meetings and the training courses which will need to fit their diaries and timescales and you will be required to attend, reposts you will need to write and submit and reviews etc.

I don’t like the idea of a taxi either though, unless that is already part of child’s routine, so wait for a placement where you can definitely meet the needs.

Be aware though that assessment of needs and contact, which you may well end up supervising yourselves, will all be based on what the team and child’s family think best/can do at any point in time and you will be the flexible resource flexing around these things which will change regularly.

Ime one person needs to foster full
time and the working person will use all their annual leave and sometime lunch breaks on fostering commitments.

tonyhawks23 · 11/08/2025 16:16

I think it does sound too unreliable.school clubs aren't consistent,they get cancelled at short notice if staff are off for example,and contact very unreliable,so there could be a time window where no one would be caring for the kids?taxi itself not ideal either as leaving school can be a tricky time for kids and they may need support (and mine needs instant food upon leaving school).

AgentJohnson · 11/08/2025 16:15

It doesn’t sound like you are ready for the commitment of fostering.

IPM · 11/08/2025 16:12

I just want to check is this really the worst thing to ask for?

You're setting the bar too low if you're only interested in knowing if it's the worst thing.

It's clearly not ideal and the fostering agency and local authority have made this clear.

Fostered children are often very complicated for obvious reasons.

You should be looking at what's the best thing for them, not the worst.

GreenGodiva · 11/08/2025 16:11

Foster parents have to commit and then adapt around the child , always. It’s child vetted, not foster parent. I really don’t see how is ok to send them in a taxi, that just seems wrong.

RainbowBrighte · 11/08/2025 16:08

Did he try to change shifts or apply for a temporary adjuster or request flexi working arrangements through his employer? Did you? I think the expectation is they may need, at least at first, to be collected.
It would be viewed differently if you’d tried to find a solution, to if you didn’t. How would you manage meetings in the day, say school reviews, therapy etc? What if they have needs that mean you need to make flexi requests. Realistically most foster children require adapting to them, and have reduced capacity to adapt