To become a Sharing Carer you do not need any formal qualifications but you do need to understand and like children, have plenty of common sense, patience, a willingness to learn, a sense of humour and the flexibility to adapt to different situations. You also need to be able to commit yourself for a minimum of two to three  years. It would be very useful for you to have had experience of caring for a child or young person with a disability. It is important that you would care for disabled children and young people on the basis that they are unique individuals, with the same dreams and aspirations as any other children. To care for a child from another family you must be willing to work in partnership with the child's family and Children's Services.

Step One

You will be sent an information pack and then a scheme worker will visit you at home to provide more information about the scheme.

Step Two

You will be invited to attend preparation sessions with other people who are interested in becoming Sharing Carers.  These meetings are an essential part of  preparing you to be a Sharing Carer and give you more detailed information about the scheme. These sessions take place over a number of  weeks and take approximately 14 hours.

Step Three 

You will need to fill in an application from so you can be assessed. Your assessment will involve:

• A sheme worker visiting you at home to talk to you and your family and discuss personal histories and ability to care for a child.
• Having a medical with your GP
• Providing two personal references.
• Giving consent for a number of statutory checks to be undertaken.

Then the Sharing Care worker will write a report that says how suitable you are to become a Sharing Carer. You have the right to see the report apart from the personal references.

Step Four

Your report will be presented to the panel made up of carers, parents, social workers and other professional and independent people. They will recommend whether or not you should be approved as a Sharing Carer and you will receive confirmation in writing.

Once you are approved as a Sharing Carer you will be allocated a scheme worker who will identify a child or young person suitable for you to offer a short break to.