National Fostering Agency London South is a well-established agency covering a diverse area across South London. Being part of the National Fostering Group gives it access to the resources, skills and expertise of a large organisation, however, the agency has worked hard to retain a small family agency ethos and involving its foster carers in its development plans is part of this. Foster children also have the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings and influence the direction of the agency.

Most of our foster carers have been with us for years, some since the agency started 20 years ago. We believe in taking care of our foster fostering families, which is how we’ve been able to build such a high level of stability and longevity. Our foster carers are an integral part of our development plans for the agency. We provide opportunities for them to tell us what is working and what needs to change, via our carer representatives and forums. We take their feedback on board and, wherever we can, we respond.

Support and Training

The agency’s fostering families receive weekly contact from their supervising social worker and monthly supervision, as well as 24/7 telephone support from the Out of Hours service. There is a busy schedule of events and activities throughout the year to bring fostering families together to recognise and reward achievement. The annual Children’s Achievement Awards acknowledge all kinds of different achievements and there are also events for birth children. Foster carers are offered many different training courses, both online and face-to-face, enabling to develop their skills and expertise.

Stability

The agency has its own Mockingbird hub, offering enhanced support to a group of fostering families in and around Bromley. The idea behind the Mockingbird programme is to improve placement stability by creating an extended family model. Called a ‘constellation’ it consists of a group of six to 10 fostering families with a hub carer at its centre. The families meet regularly and support each other, while the hub carer offers peer support, sleepovers and short breaks. There are plans to expand the scheme into Croydon in the near future.

Dedicated team

There is a dedicated team, comprising of supervising social workers, team support workers, placement teams and administrative staff, led by the Agency Manager.

The manager operates an open-door policy for staff and foster carers, and can be contacted directly with any queries or concerns.

Our values:

• We place children at the heart of everything we do. When they thrive, we know we have done our job.
• We listen and learn from those on the frontline – our foster children and carers.
• Despite being a well-established agency, we are very much a learning agency, committed to continuous improvement.