Our registered office in Warrington and we serve 21 local authorities. Despite the large area we cover, we offer local support groups and training at local venues to foster carers. Our Helping Hands service provides invaluable peer support and we have two full-time sessional support workers who work with young people.

“The NFA Events Committee which is made up of children and young people we care for, our foster carers, NFA staff and children who live in a fostering family worked together to develop and coordinate a fun packed calendar of events for the year for all our families to take part in, this has included a trip to the zoo, a day at Crocky Trail, Jumpnation and many many more.

We also hold each year a Children’s Award Ceremony to celebrate and congratulate the children and young people of their achievements, this is a fun filled afternoon with a disco, face painting, quizzes.

We look forward to our Events committee working together to plan our activities for 2024!”

Michelle Davies, Registered Manager

Children and young people participation

NFA recently appointed a youth ambassador, as foster children and children who foster all play a key role in shaping policy and procedures. They are part of the panel for interviewing new social workers, attend regular events, and are planning to create their own newsletter. We hold regular events and activities for both children who are looked after and children who foster.

Support

Our team – consisting of the registered manager, two team managers, two advanced practitioners and 12 social workers – provides 24-hour, consistent support. We have highly experienced staff from a range of different backgrounds, including child protection, so foster carers benefit from working with people who have fully-rounded knowledge and experience. Two therapists provide group and individual support sessions for foster carers.

Above and beyond

Our foster carers particularly value the support they receive from their social workers and the close working relationships that develop as a result. During times of crisis or challenge, the team often goes above and beyond to support its fostering families. They might agree to visit during the evening or at weekends, for example, making themselves available to provide help, support, or simply to listen. 

During lockdown, for example, social workers helped foster carers with shopping and held socially-distanced conversations on their driveway to ensure that people were coping and their needs were met.

Core values

We see our primary role as being to meet the needs of children and young people in whatever way we can. To ensure we deliver this, we focus on treating our foster carers as professionals and equals, making sure they are well cared for and have access to all the support and training they need. 

Any problems are dealt with quickly and we are committed to learning lessons if things go wrong. A carer forum gives foster carers the opportunity to raise issues and discuss anything bothering them and we listen and respond wherever possible.

National Fostering Agency North West works in close collaboration with local authorities, advocating for them and doing whatever it can to raise their profile and the profile of fostering.

Good practice

Being part of the National Fostering Group enables us to share good practice and consult with other registered managers if we need to. Our children and young people benefit from access to schemes like the Duke of Edinburgh Awards and Britannica, which would not be possible within a smaller agency. For foster carers, the National Fostering Group offers a broader range of support and training; for example if there is no dedicated support group within their area, they can access groups run by the National Fostering Group.