Form F Assessment: Timeline, Checks and How to Prepare

Thinking about fostering is exciting—and a little daunting. The Form F assessment is where your story, skills and home life are brought together to decide whether fostering is right for you and which children you can best support. Below is a clear, practical walkthrough of what Form F is, how long it usually takes, which checks are involved, what assessors are really looking for, and exactly how to prepare with confidence.

What Form F is—and why it matters

The purpose of Form F

Form F is the structured report your assessing social worker compiles about you and your household. It summarises your background, motivation, skills, support network, home environment and suitability to foster. Agencies use the Form F at fostering panel to decide approval, including the age range and types of placements you’re best matched for. In 2025, CoramBAAF updated the England Form F to emphasise the child’s needs and the evidence carers provide to meet them, so applicants should expect a reflective, child-centred assessment.

How the 2025 update affects applicants

The revised framework still covers the fundamentals—safeguarding, parenting capacity, relationships, health and safer caring—but it asks assessors to draw a clearer line from your experience to the specific needs of children in care. In practice, you’ll be invited to evidence how you build trust, respond to trauma, work with schools, and record clearly.

The assessment journey at a glance

Stage 1: checks and screening

Stage 1 collects statutory checks with your consent. Expect enhanced DBS and barred-list checks, health/medical reports, local authority and employment checks, verification of identity and right to work, and references (including previous significant partners where relevant). This stage is largely paperwork and verification.

Stage 2: home study and skills evidence

Stage 2 is your home study—a series of meetings where your assessor explores your childhood, relationships, parenting approach, daily routines, understanding of safeguarding, and how you’ll provide stability. You’ll also complete pre-approval training such as Skills to Foster and begin drafting a safer caring plan. The assessor writes the Form F as you go.

Typical timescales and what influences them

A widely quoted range for a full assessment is around three to six months from formal application to panel, though backlogs, slow references and medical queries can stretch this. Proactive document gathering, quick form returns and being flexible with visit times usually speeds things up.

What checks are completed—and who they apply to

DBS and barred-list eligibility

Foster carers require an Enhanced DBS check with children’s barred-list information. Household members over 18 (and over 16 in Scotland) are also checked to protect children. Agencies must administer and evaluate DBS processes robustly and record their decisions.

Health and medical reports

A GP report and, where necessary, additional medical information help agencies assess fitness to foster. The focus is on your capacity to meet a child’s needs safely and consistently rather than on any single diagnosis.

References and verification

Expect personal references, employment references, local authority checks, and contact with previous significant partners where appropriate. Telephone verification of written references is standard good practice under the National Minimum Standards.

Home, safety and pets

Your assessor completes a health and safety check of the home, discusses bedroom availability and sleeping arrangements, and carries out pet risk assessments if you have animals. The goal is sensible risk management, not perfection.

Finances and motivation

You’ll discuss budgeting and financial stability to ensure fostering won’t create unmanageable stress. Assessors are also interested in why you want to foster and how you’ll sustain motivation when things are tough.

What assessors look for in your evidence

Caring experience and reflective capacity

You don’t need a childcare degree. Assessors want real-world examples where you kept a child safe, set boundaries, worked with parents or professionals, or adapted to behavioural needs. The updated Form F values reflection—not just what happened, but what you learned and how you’d handle it next time.

Safeguarding understanding and safer caring

You’ll explore how you balance warmth with safe boundaries, from bedroom/bathroom rules to social media use, visitors and recording incidents. Your safer caring plan should be clear, realistic and tailored to your home.

Support network and resilience

Reliable friends or family who can help with school runs, respite or listening ears are a major protective factor. Assessors also look for how you manage stress and ask for help—a big predictor of placement stability.

Building a strong portfolio as you go

Documents to gather early

Make life easier by compiling proof of identity and address, right to work, driving licence, home insurance, pet vaccination records, and contact details for referees. Early organisation helps avoid avoidable delays that often hold up Stage 1.

Training: Skills to Foster and core learning

Pre-approval training introduces trauma, attachment, safeguarding and teamwork with professionals. National Minimum Standards expect appropriate training and supervision to underpin safe, effective care. Take notes and reflect; those reflections become gold in panel discussions.

Recording practice and reflective notes

Get used to daily logs that are factual, concise and child-centred. Practise separating observation from interpretation and write as if your notes might be read in court or by the child later in life.

The fostering panel and the decision

What the panel reads and asks

The fostering panel—a group with social care, education and health experience—reads your Form F, may ask questions, and makes a recommendation to the Agency Decision Maker. Questions often explore boundaries, contact with birth family, teamwork, and how you’ll manage challenges.

Possible outcomes and next steps

Outcomes typically include approval (often with an age range and placement types), deferral for more information, or non-approval. If deferred, you’ll be told what’s needed. If not approved, there’s a representation/appeal route depending on agency policy.

Common reasons for delay—and how to avoid them

DBS and medical backlogs

DBS turnaround can vary; submit promptly and complete identity steps correctly to avoid rechecks. If your GP report is slow, give the practice polite consent forms early and check progress. Agencies are expected to evidence timely, robust administration of DBS.

Incomplete or unreachable referees

Warn referees in advance, confirm contact details, and choose people who can speak in detail about your caring capacity. Standards expect checks and verification, including telephone follow-up.

Home adaptations not finished

Simple issues—window restrictors, stair gates for younger placements, safe storage for medication—can stall your sign-off. Ask your assessor for a written action list and send photo evidence once completed.

Practical preparation you can start today

Digital safety, bedrooms and routines

Review online safety controls on household devices, agree screen-time boundaries, and prepare a calm, welcoming bedroom. Think about arriving routines, school mornings, homework time and clear house rules that balance warmth and safety.

Talking to birth children and household members

If you have your own children, involve them early. Explore feelings about sharing space, changes to routines and how to ask for help. Panel members often ask how you’ll support everyone in the home during the transition.

Work and availability planning

You can foster while working, but availability for school runs, meetings and contact visits matters. Map your weekly diary, line up backup childcare within policy, and discuss flexibility with your employer before panel so answers are realistic and reassuring.

What a strong Form F sounds like—page by page

Background and motivation

Offer a concise, honest narrative about your life, including how you handle conflict and stress. Connect your motivation to meeting specific needs of children, not just a general wish to “give back.”

Parenting capacity and safer caring

Describe how you set limits, repair relationships after conflict, and keep records. Explain how you’ll handle contact with birth family and balance empathy with clear safeguarding boundaries.

Working as part of a team

Give examples of working with teachers, social workers or health professionals. Show you can challenge respectfully and keep children at the centre of decisions.

After approval: your first few weeks

Supervision, standards and ongoing training

You’ll get a supervising social worker, regular supervision visits, and access to training. The Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards set expectations for supervision, records and continuing development—treat these as your quality checklist from day one.

Matching and saying “yes” safely

When referrals arrive, read them carefully, ask clarifying questions, and be prepared to decline if the match isn’t safe for your household. Good matching protects children and carers and is explicitly encouraged in guidance and practice.

Quick checklist to stay on track

• Submit DBS identity documents and medical consent immediately; keep a simple tracker for every check and reference.
• Gather documents—ID, address, insurance, pet records, referee details—before Stage 1 calls begin.
• Keep reflective notes from training and home study visits; tie each note to a child-centred need highlighted in the 2025 Form F focus.
• Prepare a practical safer caring plan that fits your home and household routines, not a generic template.
• Brief your referees so they expect calls and can speak to your strengths with examples.

Final word

The Form F assessment is thorough because the stakes are high—but it’s also incredibly supportive. If you approach it as structured preparation for real life in fostering, not just a hurdle to clear, you’ll produce a richer, more confident application and step into panel ready for the next chapter. With your documents organised, your support network engaged, and your reflections anchored to children’s needs, you’ll give panel everything they need to recommend approval.