Fostering Service

Quarriers offers a unique, specialised fostering service for children and young people with complex needs and disabilities.

Our seamless service means that the young people can remain with their carers in the longer term by enabling the foster carers to be re-registered as adult placement carers.

Foster carers play a vital role in providing a safe, secure and stable fostering environment for looked after children and young people which encourages positive and brighter futures.

Fostering Service

Contact Details

Service provision

Quarriers Fostering Service provides placements for children and young people until their 19th birthday who have a learning disability and/or additional support needs that may arise from a medical condition or Autism Spectrum Disorder. The service also offers continuing care placements for young people up to the age of 21.

The following services are available:

  • Permanent placements
  • Short break placements where possible
  • Day support

Quarriers Fostering Service makes every effort to find suitable placements. However, the suitability of each placement is considered and assessed on an individual basis and depends on the availability of carer families.

  • the experience of family life
  • physical wellbeing
  • emotional stability and support
  • fulfilling and meaningful lives in the community

We provide a high level of support to every placement and positive relationships have been established between staff and every family. We have a very strong sense of working in partnership for the good of those who need our care and support.

An important aspect of support is the provision of respite care. We work with respite carers and match them to people who use our services. They offer short breaks for individuals throughout the year and clients are offered up to six weeks respite every year. This is usually broken up into weekends or a week at a time.

What we do

Working in partnership

Quarriers Fostering Service provides the following support for all placements:

  • Regular contact and support from a designated Quarriers Supervising Social Worker
  • 24-hour on-call contact
  • Attending child/young person’s reviews or other meetings as appropriate, and supporting the carer(s) to plan for the child/young person’s future needs
  • Annual review of all carers
  • Appropriate training opportunities
  • Carer support meetings

Quarriers Fostering Service recognises the demanding and complex work that carers do and seeks to work in partnership with them and others who work with the children and young people supported by the service.

The role of the Supervising Social Worker is to provide support and supervision for carers. The Supervising Social Worker will also provide regular contact and support to respite carers and volunteers.

In February 2020, the Care Review published seven reports, with The Promise narrating a vision for Scotland’s children, families and young people to ensure children grow up “loved, safe and respected”. Quarriers supports and promotes the principles of The Promise, and our Fostering Service provides bespoke support for young people to ensure they feel loved, safe and respected at all times.

Fostering is a way of providing a family life for children and young people in your own home when they cannot live with their birth family. Fostering can make positive and lasting differences for people we support.

Fostering can be used to provide short-term care for children and young people while their parents get help to deal with their problems.

Some children and young people may be able to return home once the problems that caused them to come into foster care have been resolved and it is clear that their parents are able to look after them safely.

Meet the team

Nicole Docherty

Nicole Docherty

Supervising Social Worker
[email protected]

Rachel Sawyer

Rachel Sawyer

Service Manager
[email protected]

Helen Stewart

Helen Stewart

Project Manager
[email protected]

Holly Carlton

Holly Carlton

Supervising Social Worker
[email protected]

Tricia McHugh

Tricia McHugh

Supervising Social Worker
[email protected]

Ruth Newman

Ruth Newman

Supervising Social Worker
[email protected]

Floyd Robinson

Floyd Robinson

Supervising Social Worker
[email protected]

Always with yoU
never without yoU
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