What can I learn about fostering in 20 minutes?

We’re celebrating Foster Care Fortnight from 16-29 May and the theme for 2016 is Time to Foster, Time to Care.

Every 20 minutes across the UK a child comes into care in need of a foster family. This year over 9,000 new foster families are needed to provide safe, loving homes for vulnerable young people.

Kerryann O’Brien, Carer Recruitment Officer, explains what you could learn about fostering in 20 minutes and how your time can make a huge difference to a child.

What is fostering?

Most people have heard of fostering but they don’t usually know what’s involved. Fostering is when you welcome a child or young person into your home and support their development. You’ll provide a caring, safe home and work with their social worker, school and other professionals to make sure they reach their full potential.

What do people usually want to know when they get in touch?

When people get in touch about fostering they are usually just looking for reassurance that they can do it and that they’ll have help along the way.

Most carers have had experience with children before applying whether this is raising their own, working in a care-giving role or babysitting for friends and family. Fostering is very different, so they want to know how they’ll be supported to make the transition to caring for a vulnerable young person in their own home.

If you only had 20 minutes to talk about fostering, what would you say?

The first thing I would talk about is getting ready for fostering. It’s a big step for a lot of people so preparation is key – once a young person has moved in you can’t decide that fostering isn’t right for you and give up.

Explaining about our training is really important too. During the application process you’ll receive initial training where you learn what’s involved in fostering and how a carer fits into a young person’s life. After this you can access online training on young people’s development and will receive further in-house training throughout your fostering journey.

The final thing I talk about is the support carers receive from our social workers. Before a young person comes to live with you, you’ll receive as much information as possible about them so you know what to expect. With your social worker you can plan how to help that young person settle in, whether it’s through introducing a familiar routine or buying ingredients for their favourite meals.

Welcoming that first young person into your home can be nerve-wracking but remember your foster child probably feels even more nervous than you!

There’s a full list of Frequently Asked Questions available on our website.

What’s it like to foster with St Christopher’s?

We’re a small fostering charity, so there’s a real family feel to what we do – our staff know each of our carers and children by name. Our carers are valued members of a team looking after a young person and they have 24/7 access to our experienced staff.

Unlike with larger agencies St Christopher’s has a proper fostering community. Each month our carers can attend a support group where they can meet each other and share their experiences.

We also hold annual achievement awards to celebrate the young people in our care and the milestones they’ve reached in the past twelve months. It’s at these events where you truly recognise the amazing impact that carers have.

What difference can a carer make to a child in 20 minutes?

Tiny things can make a really big difference to a child in care. Listening to stories about their day, playing games and helping with homework all help a child to feel valued. These activities don’t take much time at all but will boost their self-esteem in the long term.

Using 20 minutes to advocate for a child’s rights by sorting out specialist support at school or arranging contact with their siblings is another way you can actively change their life for the better. Children in care often don’t have the confidence to speak up for themselves so foster parents need to be on their side.

Teaching them how to look after themselves properly or how to cook their favourite meal might take only 20 minutes but the skills they learn will benefit them for the rest of their life.

Making a child feel like part of your family goes such a long way. Use 20 minutes to get your relatives on board with fostering – not only can they offer you support in challenging times, it’s lovely for a child to have an extended family that they can spend time with.

How can I find out more?

Visit our website now to learn more about fostering.

We are recruiting carers in Essex and the West Midlands. Find out more about fostering in your area today.

What skills do carers think you need to foster?

When we ask our fostering teams to think about what qualities and skills you need to be a great carer, they always say you need to be patient, compassionate and supportive.

However we wanted to know what characteristics our carers think are essential for fostering – after all, they’re the ones doing the job. Here are some suggestions from our carers in the West Midlands:

Someone you would feel comfortable leaving your own children with
Fostering is when you look after someone’s child in your own home, which is a big responsibility. It’s really important that you can be natural and authentic when you interact with a young person so that you can build up a strong, positive relationship.

Someone willing to get their own family involved
Having the support of your relatives, friends and neighbours can make a huge difference when you’re fostering. Everyone in your life should treat your foster child exactly like your own child so that they feel a sense of belonging and have the chance to experience a normal childhood.

Someone with a big heart, who can show genuine love
Children in care have sometimes lacked stability in their life and can be wary of becoming too settled with one family. If you can show them that you truly care about their life and their decisions, it will make a huge difference to their self-esteem.

Someone who has coped with challenges in their own life
Going through difficult periods and coming out on the other side gives you greater empathy and understanding. You can use these experiences in fostering by reflecting on what helped you during these times and offering the same support to a vulnerable young person.

Someone with self-awareness and the ability to reflect
Fostering is a really challenging job and sometimes everyone needs a bit of a break. It’s OK to take a step back and ask for help, whether it’s from your social worker, family or friends.

Someone who is willing to break out of their comfort zone
St Christopher’s offers regular training sessions to make sure you’re the best foster carer you can be because we think this gives better results for children and young people. Our carers all agree that they come away having learnt something new each time.

Someone willing to work with lots of other people as part of a team
As a foster carer you’re part of a team looking after a child or young person. You will have to be open to everyone’s ideas and suggestions, keeping the young person at the forefront of your mind.

Someone who is confident enough to advocate for the child in a professional way
Sometimes young people can find it challenging to express their opinions, particularly if it goes against the decisions that adults want to make. A carer should be able to speak up on the child’s behalf and make sure their voice is heard.

Someone open-minded and able to think outside of the box
Looked After Children often have different experiences to the majority of young people. Even if you can’t relate to these experiences personally you should be open-minded, non-judgemental and empathetic.

Someone fun with a sense of humour
Above all, you need to know how to have fun!

Do you know anyone with some or all of these skills who you think would make a good carer? Ask them to speak with Kerryann O’Brien, Carer Recruitment Officer, via email or on 0800 234 6282 today.

How can I prepare to be a foster carer?

Kerryann is our Carer Recruitment Officer. She follows up every enquiry we receive about fostering and can advise potential carers on how to prepare themselves for the journey ahead. She's come up with some top tips that can help you get ready to welcome a child into your family.

Becoming a foster carer is a big decision. We know that it will impact on every part of your life so we want to prepare you as much as possible for the journey ahead.

If you’re not quite ready to start the application process, there are lots of things you can do to get extra experience that will make all the difference once you are fostering. To give you an idea of what we’re looking for, we’ve put together this guide on preparing to foster.

Get in touch
Speak to our friendly enquiries team to find out if there are any specific things they want you to achieve before progressing with your application. You can learn about the requirements to foster and ask us questions about the approvals process.

Research fostering

Our team can provide you with lots of information about what to expect from fostering, but we understand that talking to real life foster carers is one of the best ways of learning. Reading about other people’s experiences on our blog is a great way to find out how our carers feel about fostering. You can also visit internet forums like The Fostering Network or Mumsnet for extra information.

Get experience with children

Volunteering in schools, kids clubs and support groups is a useful way of getting experience interacting with children and young people, as is babysitting the children of your friends, relatives and neighbours. You can also consider mentoring young people from challenging backgrounds, which will teach you about the types of experiences foster children have.

Build your support network

It’s really important to have a support network around you in difficult times, especially if you are planning on becoming a single parent foster carer. Talk to your family, friends and neighbours about fostering and make sure there are people you can rely on at all hours of the day.

Decorate your spare bedroom
Moving into a new home is scary for any child or young person, especially if they have left their family behind. One way of making their new room welcoming is by decorating it so that it’s easier for them to settle in. Remember to keep the room non-gender and non-age specific as you might be looking after children from all sorts of backgrounds.

Adapt your employment situation
You can still work if you foster, as long as your job allows you to meet the needs of the child or young person. Discuss your plans to foster with your employer to see if they can offer you flexibility around working hours and taking time off.

Let us know if your circumstances change
Changes in your life may affect your eligibility or application to foster. Remember to contact us if you get a new job, meet a new partner or now have a spare bedroom available. Even if you’ve decided that fostering isn’t for you, keep us informed about your decisions so that we can update your record.

Apply to St Christopher’s
We recruit carers from across London, Essex and the West Midlands. You can enquire about fostering or apply with us via our website or on 0800 234 6282.

Please do get in touch if you have any queries about fostering.