Everyone can "bring something to the table" to support children in care
Posted on Monday 8th January 2024
A new campaign aims to inspire people from all walks of life to consider fostering with their local authority.
There are more than 7,000 children in the care system in Wales, but only 3,800 foster families.
In Newport, there are currently 232 children in foster care and we have 134 local authority fostering households.
Today, Foster Wales - the national network of 22 Welsh local authority fostering teams - set out with the bold aim of recruiting more than 800 new foster families by 2026, to provide welcoming homes for local children and young people.
Foster Wales Newport has joined the new campaign, ‘bring something to the table,’ utilising their greatest asset – current foster carers – to share realistic experiences of foster care and explore the small but significant human attributes people possess that can make the world of difference to a young person in care.
Foster Wales has spoken to over 100 people to develop the campaign– including foster carers, social workers, teachers, members of the public, and care leavers.
The responses from these groups highlighted three key things stopping potential carers from enquiring:
- A lack of confidence in their skills and ability to support a child in care.
- The belief that fostering doesn’t fit with certain lifestyles.
- Misconceptions around the criteria to become a carer.
Armed with this knowledge, Foster Wales has drawn on real stories of carers in Wales to show that local authority fostering is flexible, inclusive, and comes with extensive training and professional development opportunities.
An advert for foster carers in the South Wales Argus back in 1972 caught Sylvia’s eye and she has been fostering children ever since.
“I decided to apply as I felt it would be lovely to give a child a loving home the same as my own two boys had. My first child was a three-year-old boy who stayed with me for thirteen years.
“Since then I have fostered many children over the 51 years that I have been an approved foster carer. I am now 77 and have no plans for retirement.
“I currently have a 2-year-old child who has been with me for six months and prior to that I had a newborn baby who was with me for ten months until she went to her forever family.
“Fostering can be challenging at times but it is so rewarding to be able to make a difference to the lives of those most vulnerable in our community.”
Maggie, another Newport resident, said: “I have lived in Newport for many years and have undertaken many jobs. These include being a carer, a cleaner and a healthcare assistant. I have also worked in property.
“I have been fostering for 12 years and would like to say that anyone from any background can apply. I do have my own adult children and grandchildren but also know foster carers who don’t have birth children of their own. I have family members and friends who are foster carers.
“I really enjoy fostering as it gives me a sense of purpose. I enjoy seeing the young people that I work with mature and blossom into young adults. I have worked with children of many different ages as well as those from different communities and cultures. I have learnt a lot from them.
“I personally enjoy working with teenagers but I know other carers who prefer younger children. The local authority provides a lot of support to their foster carers.”
Currently, Wales is in the process of a whole system change for children’s services.
The changes proposed in the 2021 co-operation agreement between Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru made a clear commitment to ‘eliminate private profit from the care of looked after children.’
This means, by 2027, care of children that are looked after in Wales will be provided by public sector, charitable or not-for-profit organisations, and the need for local authority foster carers is greater than ever.
The campaign begins on Monday 8 January across TV, streaming services, radio, digital, social media, and with various events in local communities across Wales.
For more information about fostering, or to make an enquiry.