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Veronica has been a foster carer for almost 12 years. Together with her husband, she currently cares for two young women, one of which is an asylum seeking teenager who arrived in the UK all by herself when she was 16. In this blog Veronica tells us what this is like and why the two women are such a good match.
All names in this blog have been changed for anonymity.
Sunflower was only 16 when she came to the UK after being forced to leave her family, her home country and everything she knew. When she arrived, she was alone and didn’t speak any English. A year later she has learnt the language, settled in and started dreaming about the future. A testimony of young people’s resilience and the importance of foster care.
All names in this blog have been changed for anonymity.
FASD (Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) affects children in care disproportionately, but it's little understood.
Sue and Tony Sharp are long-term foster carers looking after twin 10-year-old boys with a diagnosis of FASD along with a number of other diagnoses - and all this on top of the trauma the boys experienced in their early years.
This interview with Sue and Tony is the first in a series of four blogs about FASD and trauma, based on a briefing that Sue and Tony developed in association with The National Organisation for FASD and the East Hertfordshire and Area FASD Support Network.
Read the other blogs:
Daisy Elliott, our policy and research officer, follows up with Professor Beth Neil about her research into facilitating contact during lockdown. Neil's research, funded by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, provides a valuable insight into challenges and benefits regarding contact and what is crucial when contact is moved to an online space.
My name is Elle. I am a 19 year old, currently in a ‘staying put’ arrangement and living the lockdown life. If I had to introduce myself I would tell you about my interest in fitness and sports (I am utterly mediocre at both) and I would tell you about my love of singing and dancing despite having stage fright. I’d say that I’m intelligent (only because my foster parents would tell you so) and I would especially tell you that I am funny. Because I am.
Educating at home poses a challenge to many families currently. Here Nuala Fitzpatrick, a qualified teacher and project worker on The Fostering Attainment and Achievement project in Northern Ireland, shares her top tips on how foster carers can support their 11-14 year old’s (Key Stage Three 3) learning at home during the coronavirus outbreak.
Colin Turner is the Director of The Fostering Network in Wales and himself a foster carer. He has written this blog for FCF20.
Caitlin is one of our Young Advocates in Scotland. Her family have been fostering for eleven years. Caitlin, age 19 and from Aberdeen, explains what it's like being part of a family that fosters during the coronavirus lockdown.
Emma Newey has been the recruitment and engagement officer for the fostering team at Bury Council for eight years. In this blog Emma writes about their ambassador scheme and how it benefits the service, foster carers and children in foster care.
When Walt became a foster carer in 2016 for Islington Fostering, fostering had been playing on his mind for quite some time. However, he had always worried that he wouldn't be approved as a carer because he is part of the LGBTQ+ community, doesn’t own a house and doesn’t have children of his own. Did you know that none of this matters? Walt fortunately found out and is now looking after teenagers. Here he tells us what makes fostering so special.
