Foster children at a recent event hosted by FS South
Casey, a Carer Recruitment Officer based in Winchester, has spent a few days driving around her patch to deliver long service awards and enjoy countless cuppas with her foster carers. It’s a familiar routine.
“We have quite a few foster carers who’ve been with us for 10 years,” she said. “In fact, we’ve got more who’ve been with us for more than 20 years. Our foster carers are so special and sometimes they need reminding.”
These ‘reminders’ are ongoing and Fostering Solutions South recognises when their carers go above and beyond or persevered through a challenging time. “We give out a monthly Everyday Hero award with a £100 voucher,” Casey said. “A foster carer might have spent time caring for a sick child or advocating for a young person with the police.
“We’re big on celebrating achievements – and this includes the children. There’s no limit on the number of Stars of the Month we give to our foster children. We’ll jump up and down for small achievements because, for many of our children, they’re really big achievements.”
FS South, which supports fostering in Hampshire and other counties in the south of England, received an award of its own last year. One of their supervising social workers, Michelle, received the National Fostering Group’s Social Worker of the Year award.
She has worked tirelessly supporting one of our fostering families going through a very traumatic period with their young person being hospitalised for an extended period… Michelle remained on hand to the carers and the local authority 24/7 for the entire period, demonstrating her dedication and sense of duty to supporting her family. Even whilst on annual leave, she kept her phone with her to ensure her carers could reach her.
– Extract from Michelle’s nomination
“Our social workers each live in the communities they support,” Casey explained. “Our agency supports fostering over a large geographical area, from Swindon to the Isle of Wight and from Poole to Brighton. Having our social workers within their communities means they’re fully accessible to their foster carers.”
The Winchester office sits at the heart of FS South’s patch. The team includes two family support workers – one who covers coastal areas and the other who works within the ‘central’ inland areas. “We have island families, coastal families, city dwellers and foster carers who live and work in the countryside.”
FS South’s headquarters is a converted barn (shared with the NHS) that sits within a wraparound garden, which is used to host events. “There’s lots of land,” Casey said. “Our amazing family support workers, Cheryl and Rachel, put events on here. We bring foster carers together from across the south and we organise local events for them too.
“Here in Winchester, we do the big parties – Easter, Halloween, Christmas. We bring our own children to these events because we’re a family, a community,” Casey, who is the adoptive mum of 2 boys, added. “In spring, we do have to share the land with the lambs though!”
Another event that Cheryl and Rachel organise is the regular meeting of the youth council. “We’re a very child orientated agency, everything is about the children. We have about 10 children on our youth council. They meet to discuss how we run the agency and our legislation.
“They might suggest questions we need to ask potential foster carers, for example, and take on board their views on what makes a good foster carer. Children’s voices are important to us.”
Casey said that FS South foster carers are highly engaged with their fostering community. As in many areas, they can make friends and get support from other foster carers in their locale.
“The groups decide what they will do,” said Casey.
“Some have a Harvester breakfast every week without the children during term time. In the summer, they’ll put on events for the kids instead. Another group rents out a hall every week and holds talks and discussions.
“Children, birth children and even grandchildren are welcome to come and hang out, play with the toys and do other activities.”
“We have our roles, but we’re also an all-hands-on-deck team,” Casey said. “We dive in where we need to. Our foster carers and their families know all the staff and we know them. If they ring up for help or support, they’ll be speaking to someone who knows them and their situation.”
I have had fantastic support from my social worker. She is always prepared to talk when needed and is always proactive in dealing with any issues which arise. I find her easy to chat to and get along with.
– Foster carer feedback, FS South
“We are blessed with a diverse set of foster carers – which is great because our foster children have different needs,” said Casey. “Our foster carers give an amazing level of support for the children’s culture and religion, even if they themselves come from a different culture or religion.
“As a community, we support this diversity and meet everyone’s needs, including the foster carer’s right to practice their own religion. Everyone rallies round to make sure everyone gets what they need.
“We have cook-ups at head office for sharing tastes of our different cultures. One of the best ones was a request from two young lads from Afghanistan, who asked if we could have a cricket and afternoon tea event!
“Our carers use food to create a sense of home, identity and security. One Filipino foster carer bakes her traditional sweetbread and shares it with a new foster child placement to say ‘here I am – how about you?’
“Diversity and our size means our children can find a place where they feel like they fit. Some of our children are LGBTQ+, for instance. There’s mobility too – one boy needed to move from the countryside to a town with a college he wanted to attend.”
I have never felt so well cared for and valued.
– Parent feedback, Parent & Child placement, FS South
Foster carers can choose from a wide range of types of fostering in the south of England. Casey pointed out that they do have a shortage of foster carers in some areas. “We’d especially like to be able to provide more support for unaccompanied children [asylum seekers],” said Casey, “including more Muslim foster carers.
“Also, we need more foster carers who have an interest in Parent & Child fostering. This can be tricky because your spare room has to be slightly larger than usual – the new parent and the baby will be staying together.”
“Some of our foster carers are retiring, though they still help out with respite care,” said Casey. “They started with us in their late 50s, which is a common time to think about fostering, though we have someone in their 70s who is currently being assessed.
“We do need younger people to apply to be foster carers. Parents give great feedback about fostering while raising their own children. Single people can be foster carers. People from minorities, potential foster carers who are LGBTQ+. Tenants and homeowners. People with disabilities or health issues.”
If you’re interested in fostering a child, you don’t need experience, though some professions naturally lend themselves to a change of career and a move into fostering. Teachers, teaching assistants, carers, police officers and similar all have transferable skills.
Do you think you have what it takes to foster a child? If you want to check if you’re eligible to apply, try our quick Can I Foster? Q&A tool or contact your local team for a chat.
Halloween party 2022 at FS South
