Ready to Welcome: Our Fostering Emergency Bed Scheme

We are excited to announce the launch of Ready to Welcome, our Emergency Bed Scheme, on 15 April 2026. This innovative initiative ensures a dedicated carer is always available to provide immediate, short-term care for children and young people in an emergency, helping to prevent crisis situations.

What is the Emergency Bed Scheme?

The Ready to Welcome scheme consists of a rotating roster of carers who commit to being available from Monday through to the following Wednesday (9 nights) and receive a paid retainer for their availability. Every Monday, a new carer will be on the rota, giving a crossover of 3 days to avoid last-minute arrangements in the 9-day period. A hard end on Wednesday is strictly respected, and carers will not be asked to extend the arrangement unless they believe the care arrangement is working for their family and wish to extend the care period. In that case, this can be explored.

Benefits for Children and Carers

By introducing Ready to Welcome, children will be able to receive emergency care when they really need it. Meanwhile, this will allow more time for our fostering team to assess each child’s needs and develop the best possible care plan for that child or children.

Find out more about offering Emergency Care

If you’re already a carer with us and would like to find out more about offering emergency care for local children, please speak to your Supervising Social Worker, who will be able to discuss the suitability for you and your family.

If you foster for another agency and would like to know more about the support and initiatives we offer at Fostering West Sussex, please Contact Us and a member of the team will be in touch.