CANW is a charity that’s been dedicated to supporting children and young people who need help.

We’ve been doing this for over 135 years and have provided fostering services for over 20 years.

We are here to inspire young lives and change their futures. We believe every child and young person can reach their potential and achieve their hopes and aspirations.

We work with over 10,000 children, young people and families in the Northwest of England every year. We are driven by our values and our collective passion to make a positive difference.

And we make a set of promises to every child and young adult we support.

Learn about our values

Why you should foster with CANW

Our foster care team strive to deliver the best possible fostering placements for young people to help them achieve their full potential. All our foster carers are part of Team CANW.

“The best thing about fostering with CANW is that they’re a team, a happy team. You feel as if everybody’s in it because their heart’s in it” – CANW foster carer

Our team supports foster carers in any way we can

To enable them to provide the safe and nurturing family environment that we believe is every child’s right.

CANW provides support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from qualified Social Workers who are always on hand so our foster carers are never alone. Our dedicated and knowledgeable fostering team is always available to offer support and guidance to our foster carers, and both practical and emotional support to the children and young people in placements. We also offer foster care support groups, and training and development to ensure our foster carers are fully equipped with the skills and confidence they need to provide a safe and secure environment for young people.

What our foster carers have to say

In a 2020 survey, 100% of our foster carers said that they would recommend CANW to anyone considering becoming a foster carer.

CANW support children and foster families by providing:

24 hour support, 7 days a week from qualified social workers.

Generous weekly allowances per child and additional funding for Christmas, Birthdays and Holidays.

Regular support meetings and a bi-monthly newsletter.

Regular support and access to a dedicated Supervising Social Worker.

Access to a Therapeutic team for children who have experienced trauma or who need counselling to deal with emotional and wellbeing issues.

2 weeks paid respite allowance each year.

Generous ‘Refer a Friend’ bonus scheme.

Activities for both birth and foster children during school holidays.

Ongoing training and development for those who want to support children with more complex needs.

A generous tax relief scheme means our foster carers pay no or minimal tax on their fostering allowance.

Access to online resources providing advice and support.

A well-established fostering service with a focus on family.

CANW fostering experiences

As a children’s charity, we make no profit from our Foster Care Service.

We reinvest any surplus back into supporting the children in our care and supporting and developing our team of foster carers. Being an independent charity allows us to make decisions that are best for all, delivering better outcomes and a brighter future for children and young people.

Change a life, be a lifeline.

Want to know more? Call us on 0800 634 5300.

Enquiry form

Please complete the contact form here. Fields marked with an * are required.

Key contacts

Tel: 0800 634 5300
Email: placements@canw.org.uk

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