There are several important checks that we carry out alongside the fostering assessment:

• everyone in your household over the age of 16 will need to have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check

• we’ll contact every local council in places where you have lived for the past ten years

• we’ll contact every employer where you have worked with children, including all volunteer posts

• your doctor will give you a medical examination to check that you’re fit and well enough to look after foster children

• we’ll ask for contact details for several referees, including your current or last employer, and we will contact them for an interview