Christmas of course can evoke positive as well as traumatic memories, and it’s important to acknowledge both – the tricky part is how? Christmas when I was a child was a mixed bag of emotions and incidents. My parents, particularly my dad, loved Xmas. Every year, we would receive a large Xmas bag full of…
On the 22nd May 2012 the former Children’s Minister Tim Loughton made a speech at the ‘Celebration of Fostering’ Event hosted by the Fostering Network. Amongst the many points he made, one particular point about working foster carers brought about a little debate. “…..I know that some services require all their fostering families to have…
What does Mother’s day mean to you? Is it about you giving to your mother or is it about your children giving to you. Is it about the card bought, or does it mean more if it’s made? Do you expect your children to be good all day and do the chores or just to say…
As Staffordshire County Council launches a drive to recruit prison officers and ex military as foster carers the question being asked is what they expect them to do with challenging kids in care. On the face of it, it’s a fair question. We don’t want our foster homes to become extensions of youth custody establishments.…
Ian Dickson is a retired social worker who spent nearly 40 years working in variety of social work roles around children and young people. These included inspector, children’s home manager and field social worker in the inner city. He is also a care leaver, having spent 16 years in care as a child in a…
Fostering is not only a rewarding task, but it can also be very challenging, testing and at times energy draining. That is why it is very important that we focus on providing reliable support to foster families, which can really make a difference in solving problems, working through issues and keeping placements of children and…
It is a fact that children do go missing from home, whether they are in care or not. And that is a problem and a source for real concern. It is a problem because there are risks associated. Some of the risks are obvious and some not so. Most of us know what those risks…
An intention to become a foster carer is often carried around for several years, before actually being put into action. When we speak to people who contact us to find out more about fostering, or to apply to become a foster carer, they often say: ’I have been thinking about becoming a foster carer for…
Social Pedagogy at UK Fostering by Urs Bielmann, Director – UK Fostering How I came about it There are many different approaches to how we best support, guide and raise our children and young people. Social Pedagogy encompasses several elements which are particularly relevant and close to my heart. I studied Social Pedagogy in Switzerland…
Here is the second part to an article in December 2012 about Resilience in which we acknowledged how important this issue is for children in foster care. Why is resilience important Since resilience is about overcoming difficulties and ‘bouncing back’ it is obvious that, wherever resilience is asked for, something difficult has happened. For foster…