Preparing a young person for adulthood

One of the most important parts of fostering teenagers is helping them to prepare for adulthood and independence by teaching them the life skills they will need to succeed. In our latest post, Dean shares his thoughts on helping a young person prepare for independence. 

Why I enjoy fostering teenagers

Dean has been fostering for five years and joined the St Christopher’s team six months ago. In our latest post he explains why he and his wife decided to foster and what he finds rewarding about fostering teenagers.

The time was right to foster

In our latest blog post, Karen talks about why she and her partner thought the time was right to foster, how St Christopher’s has supported them and how her previous childcare experience has helped.

Don't be put off by the F-word

Guest blog post by Sally O'Neill (@sallyone), St Christopher's Trustee

Most of us went to school with one. Many of us count them amongst our friends. Most of us admire them but think “I’m not qualified to do that”.

January 2010 - It's on!

Jeanne, a St Christopher’s foster carer, is going to share her highlights of fostering since she started in 2010. She starts with her first year and meeting her foster child. 

Why I am running the British 10K for St Christopher's?

Jessica Levoir is taking on the challenge of running the British 10K to raise funds for St Christopher’s. As a daughter of one of our foster carers she has seen first-hand the positive impact fostering can have on a young person.

Can I foster if I have young children?

St Christopher’s receives a lot of questions around potential foster carers’ birth children. These include: Can I foster if I have young children? What affect will fostering have on my children and what support does St Christopher’s provide?

This post looks at some of the answers to these questions.

Fostering as a single mum

This year’s Foster Care Fortnight is themed “guess who fosters”. One of the most commonly asked questions is “I am a single mum -- can I foster?” The answer is: “Yes. Please get in touch today.”

“I am a single mum and I foster,” is the message that foster carer Jackie always reinforces to potential foster carers and in our latest post she explains why.

Imparting my knowledge on a foster child

Fostering is a rewarding role, one that sees foster carers prepare young people for adulthood and this is what Anna, a St Christopher’s foster carer, finds rewarding.

Top tips for helping a young person at school

When we asked Dawn and Roger last year how they felt they had made a difference to their foster child’s life, they were both in agreement that education was a massive area. That is why they agreed to share with us some top tips for helping a young person do better at school.

How we listen to our young people

As a part of Foster Care Fortnight’s theme of “guess who fosters”, we wanted to share with you the experiences of some of the wider team that helps provide the best service for our young people. This includes our Participation Officer ,Vanessa Bell, who makes sure we listen to and include our young people in everything we do.

St Christopher's foster carers share their stories

Four St Christopher’s foster carers from the West Midlands team have shared their fostering stories in a new video for Foster Care Fortnight. The video looks at why they decided to foster, what they did before they became foster carers and what their fostering highlight has been.

Happy birthday to Fostering Network

Day Two of Foster Care Fortnight and we wanted to wish the organisers, Fostering Network, a happy 40th birthday. A lot has changed in fostering over the last year, including their recent achievement to increase the age foster children will be able to remain with foster carers to 21.

Foster Care Fortnight has arrived

Fostering Network’s annual Foster Care Fortnight (May 12 to 25) has begun and this year’s theme is “guess who can foster”, looking at many of the myths and misconceptions about who is suitable for fostering.

Never say goodbye, just see you later

In Connie’s latest post she shares her experience of moving a foster child on, staying in touch and always being at the end of the phone.

Find out more about fostering

During May we are getting out and about in the community with our information stand to talk to you about fostering. Come along whether you have questions about who can foster or the training and support we give our foster carers. We want to see you.