Lorimer Fostering Fostering in Liverpool Office 0161 972 7760

Liverpool · Merseyside

Could you give a child in Liverpool a home?

We are a small, family-run fostering agency. We have supported foster carers across the North West for over twenty years, and Merseyside is one of the areas we cover.

Message Rachael on WhatsApp07938 575 738 · call or text too Email usfoster@lorimerfostering.com

No application form to fill in first. Just a friendly conversation about whether fostering could work for you, with no obligation either way.

I don’t know how they did it, but it’s like I’ve found my people.
A child living with a Lorimer foster family, speaking to inspectors during our Ofsted inspection in November 2023.

Yes, we cover Liverpool

Merseyside is one of the four areas we recruit and support foster carers in, alongside Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Lancashire. If you live in Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens or the Wirral, you are inside our patch.

  • Merseyside
  • Greater Manchester
  • Cheshire
  • Lancashire

Our office is Lorimer House in Sale, on the south side of Manchester, and our social workers travel to you. If you are not sure whether we reach your postcode, ask. It takes one phone call to find out.

What you get when you foster with us

Your own social worker

A named supervising social worker who knows you and your family. We keep caseloads protected so they have the time to.

Someone at the end of the phone, always

Support twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year. Nights, weekends and bank holidays included.

Training that keeps going

Preparation training before approval, then ongoing learning on trauma, attachment and everyday practical strategies.

A carer who has done it before

Our mentor scheme pairs new carers with experienced ones, so you can ask the questions you would rather not ask an office.

Breaks that are actually built in

A flexible respite, holiday and days-out allowance, used in the way that suits your family rather than a fixed formula.

Fostering allowances

Competitive allowances, paid so that you are never out of pocket for caring for a child. We will talk you through the figures openly.

Five stages, about four monthsFrom first call to first placement

  1. 1

    A conversation

    Same week

    You call, text, WhatsApp or email. We talk about your household, your space and what fostering would mean day to day. Nothing is committed.

  2. 2

    We visit you at home

    Within weeks

    An informal visit, so you can ask everything you did not think of on the phone and we can see the home a child would be living in.

  3. 3

    Assessment

    Around 4 months

    A dedicated assessor works through your life story, your health, your references and your checks with you. It is thorough, and it is meant to be.

  4. 4

    Fostering panel

    One meeting

    You meet our independent fostering panel, who make a recommendation on your approval. Your assessor is there with you.

  5. 5

    Your first child

    Matched, not allocated

    We match carefully rather than quickly. Your supervising social worker is alongside you from the first day and stays there.

How we work with children

Our carers and staff work to the Secure Base Model, developed at the University of East Anglia. It is not a slogan. It gives everyone the same five things to think about when a child is struggling.

  • AvailabilityHelping a child trust that someone is there
  • SensitivityHelping a child manage feelings
  • AcceptanceBuilding a child’s self-esteem
  • Co-operationHelping a child feel effective
  • Family membershipHelping a child belong

Who you would be fostering with

Lorimer Fostering was set up by Dr Jonathan Khan and Rachael Khan, who still own and run it. It is small enough that the people who make the decisions know the carers by name. Our registered manager is Leanne Berry, a social worker with a particular interest in therapeutic and trauma-informed care.

Ofsted registered
July 2004
Ofsted URN
SC059742
Registered office
Sale, Manchester
Latest inspection
November 2023 report

Start with a conversation

Whichever way suits you. Rachael is a director here and one of the people you would speak to.