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Around 150 foster carers and fostering professionals came together to share best practice and help further improve fostering services for Wolverhampton’s looked after children.

The annual Foster Carer Conference, at the Ramada Park Hall Hotel, brought together carers and professional to specifically focus on working with adolescents and working with children from a diverse background.

Guest speaker Lemn Sissay MBE received a standing ovation after opening the conference with a thought-provoking motivational speech about his own journey through the care system. Other speakers included Leon Reid, the Commonwealth 2018 200m bronze medallist and care leaver, and Gareth Rafferty, Wolverhampton care leaver.

Professionals also took part in workshops and listened to a series of other keynote speaker on teenager resilience, emotional coaching, moral development and working with teenage asylum seekers.

Councillor Paul Sweet, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: "We are constantly looking at ways in which we can improve fostering services and outcomes for our looked after children and young people.

"This important event was a brilliant opportunity to have foster carers, social workers and other professional in one place, learning together, sharing best practice and helping to develop new ways in which we can support children and young people in Wolverhampton.

“As well as an opportunity to reflect and build on the skills that our carers have in safeguarding young people and providing them with a safe and loving family, the conference was a chance for us to say a massive thank to our many foster carers who do a challenging job, day in, day out, to give children and young people the best possible start in life.”

Adoption in the Black Country & Adoption Focus, the regional adoption consortium has been selected by the BBC to support them in developing an adoption storyline in a leading soap-opera.

Long running Radio 4 soap The Archers are planning a significant story around characters adopting and have approached Adoption in the Black Country & Adoption Focus to help them ensure the portrayal of the process is as accurate as possible.

Ian Groom from the regional adoption consortium said “we are delighted that the BBC has chosen Adoption in the Black Country & Adoption Focus to help them ensure the story truly reflects what the adoption process today looks like. It’s great to be approached and shows how well respected the consortium is on a national scale”

“We’ve been asked not to say too much about the script at the moment but we are really pleased to see the needs for more adopters highlighted in such a positive way”

To find out more about adopting one child or more go to www.adoptionblackcountry.co.uk or come along to the regional adoption information events on 17th August  at The Village Hotel, Dudley.  No need to register, just come along at 6pm

Have you got room in your home and your heart to foster? Haringey Council is marking foster care fortnight with a series of sessions aimed at encouraging more people to take on the inspiring role.

Foster carers are urgently needed in the borough to look after children who, for a range of reasons, can no longer live with their families. There are around 432 children in care in Haringey, and we particularly need foster carers for teenagers, as 37 per cent are aged 15 – 17.

At one of our information sessions, residents can find out more about what being a foster carer involves, what training and support they receive, and get the chance to chat with a foster carer.

As a foster carer in Haringey you receive:

•    24-hour expert advice and support all year round

•    Monthly supervision and regular support from your personal dedicated supervising social worker

•   Up to £427 per week per child

•   Close working with professional support teams, including child social workers, health and educational specialists

Jan is a Haringey resident who has been fostering for three years. She said:

“I’m really pleased I made the decision to become a foster carer and would urge anyone who is thinking about it to give it a go.

“Of course it has been demanding and challenging but I have really enjoyed it, I’ve learned a lot about myself as well as lots of new skills.

The rewards far outweigh any challenges.”

Sandwell Council is urging private foster carers or anyone who knows about a private fostering arrangement to get in touch.
 
The call comes during Private Fostering Week (03 to 07 July) as part of the campaign to raise awareness of private fostering as a safegarding issue.
 
Private fostering is when a child aged under 16, or under 18 if disabled, is cared for by someone who is not their parent or a close relative for 28 days or more.
 
A close relative is classed as a step-parent, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt. Although this is a private arrangement, legally the parent and the carer must notify the local authority where the child is going to live so that the local authority can ensure that the child is being properly looked after.
 
This could apply, for example, to children with parents or families overseas, so-called “sofa surfers” or children attending language schools.
Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for Children’s Services Councillor Simon Hackett said: “Children’s Services has a legal duty to assess private fostering arrangements, so that we can make sure support is offered if required and that children are safe in Sandwell.
"We want to make sure people in Sandwell are aware of the requirements around private fostering. This can involve children being in a range of different situations, from staying with friends or extended family members due to a disruption in their family home, to children who arrive in the UK as overseas students."
 
The national campaign has the backing of former athlete Kriss Akabusi, who said: "Many private foster carers do an excellent job, but not all are good.
"I know personally how awful things can be when they go wrong. I encourage people working with children to work with local authorities to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children."
The council’s Children’s Services is legally obliged to assess private fostering arrangements and it is an offence for parents and carers not to disclose a private fostering arrangement.

Wolverhampton has officially thanked dozens of dedicated foster carers for the vital work they do looking after vulnerable children and young people in the city.

The City of Wolverhampton Council's Fostering for Wolverhampton team recognised the service of 46 foster carers at the ‘For the Love of Fostering’ awards evening at the Ramada Park Hall Hotel on 7 December 2017.

Leigh Beech, Sue and Bill Collett, Faye and Michael Downes, Stacey and Ken Jordan, Greer O’Connor, Denise and Stephen Sharp, Shaun and Deborah Webb received awards for 10 years' service, while Linda Bristow, Gloria Corke, Michael and Dorothy Humphries and Mildred Williams were commended for completing 15 years.

Awards for 20 years' service were presented to Sandra and Graham Cox, while Taru and Parveen Bal, Cheryl Jackson, Kathleen Smith and Linda and Graham Walker received awards for 25 years’ service. Susan Carless and Heather and Geoffrey Fox were commended for 30 years’ service and Rita Dickenson who retired after fostering for over 30 years.

This year’s awards event also included six new special awards. The first, New Foster Carers award was won by Kenta and Mike Haran and highly commended in this category were Mark Tidmarsh, Monica Evans, Natasha McIntosh, Rena Patel, Steve and Laura Bayliss and Dee and Karl Welsh.

The second category, the Permanency Carers Award was won by Emma and Stephen Goodwin and highly commended were Ursula and Anthony Wastall, Kathleen and Roy Shayler and Christine Jones.

The third category, the Kinship Carers Award was won by Dawn James and highly commended were Doreen and Steven Platt, Yvonne and Robert Webb and Paula and Ronald Tranter.

The fourth category, the Teenage Foster Carer Award was won by Enza Sprio and highly commended were Elizabeth and Trevor Jones, Kathleen Smith, Yvonne Taylor and Rita Dickenson.

The fifth category, Outstanding Commitment to Fostering Children with Disabilities Award was won by Gill and Andy Small and highly commended were Gemma and James Wright and Lesley and Kevin Clarke.

The final award, Outstanding Contribution to Fostering was won by Emma-Jane Kisby and highly commended were Brian Fraser and Tracy Kenny, Yvonne Taylor, Karen and Christopher Young and Brian and Mandy Saunders.

The evening was opened by Deputy Mayor of Wolverhampton Councillor Phil Page and awards were presented by the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Children and Families Councillor Val Gibson and Emma Bennett, Director of Children’s Services.

Councillor Gibson said: "We are very lucky to have so many fantastic foster carers in Wolverhampton who combine a desire to help children with a commitment to providing the best possible care and support for them.

“I was delighted to be able to present awards to these very special people and to have the opportunity to personally thank them for their efforts on behalf of our city's children and young people.

"I would urge anyone who has considered fostering to speak to our Fostering for Wolverhampton team to find out more about this life-changing role.”

Foster carers can be sole carers, married or in a relationship. Placements can be anything from a few days to a number of years, and they receive a regular, tax exempt allowance to cover the cost of bringing up the child.

Help and support is available from the Fostering for Wolverhampton team 24 hours a day, while first-time foster carers also receive six months' "buddy support" from experienced carers who are there to guide them through the system.

Fosterline England has today launched a campaign to motivate people from all backgrounds to consider if they can care enough to become a foster carer.  The exciting new campaign to recruit foster carers entitled #OneMoreHome is commencing on May 8, 2017 and crosses all social media platforms.

It encourages everyone who comes into contact with the social media ‘Thunderclap’ campaign to support and share the message on social media, use the hashtag, download posters from www.onemorehome.co.uk, and to contact the service if they feel inspired to become a foster carer.

There are more children waiting to be taken into foster care now than in recent years.  In 2016, Ofsted uncovered that the number of applications to become a foster carer plunged by one-third. That’s a fall of over 5,400 applications, compared to the previous year.  Additionally, more foster carers are needed for those from sibling groups, teenagers, black and minority ethnic groups, those with disabilities and asylum seeking children.

Steve Stockley - Fosterline Manager, said: “In the last 12 months, Fosterline received over 12,500 contacts from people seeking information on how to become a foster carer, or find a fostering service.  We are asking for people to step forward who might consider fostering because of their own experiences, their inspiration by other foster carers, or by the stories of looked after children and young people, and add one more home to the growing numbers that require a stable environment.

“As a foster carer myself people say that they admire what I do, but feel that they couldn’t do it themselves.  Whether you think you could foster or not; you can assist by sharing our campaign among your social media networks.  Help us to help the fostering services, in finding foster carers to support our looked after children and young people.”

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