Fostering communities in Halton

The theme for this year’s Foster Care Fortnight TM is #FosteringCommunities

“Foster care is at the heart of our communities, enabling children to stay in their local community, close to everything that is familiar to them. This Foster Care Fortnight we want to celebrate all the fostering community does to ensure children are cared for and supported to thrive.” The Fostering Network

In Halton we have 80 approved mainstream foster carers and 395 children in care. We need foster carers to look after children of all ages and level of need. As a foster carer with Halton Borough Council you would have local children placed with you. This generally leads to much more positive outcomes for the children as they are able to remain in their community and keep close to their friends, family and school.

Support for carers

Being a foster carer is an incredibly rewarding role, you’ll receive training and support from the fostering team to help you in your new role and build your own network of foster carers through attending events and support groups.

Chris has been a foster carer with Halton Borough Council for 45 years. Chris says “support is essential and you need to access it, in Halton the carers call us a fostering family and you can guarantee there will always be a carer you can call on. I run the support group which is very well established and attended by a large group of carers and everyone is welcome to drop in.”

Each new carer is linked with a carer mentor, an experienced foster carer to act as a ‘buddy’ to support you through the early stages of your fostering career and beyond. Once approved as a foster carer you will have the same Supervising Social Worker as a number of other carers and you will all have an opportunity to meet together regularly in ‘team meetings’. They invite speakers, discuss topics that are relevant to you as a specific group of carers and tailor sessions to your bespoke needs and interests.

Foster Carers Forum take place twice annually which is an opportunity to input into the development of the service and there are often guest speakers to further inform you of the support you can access.

Frances, 59 has been a foster carer with Halton Borough Council for almost 3 years he says “I have been supported to a high standard throughout my time as a foster carer, I personally couldn’t fault it. Having other foster carers there to support you is also a must. My mentor has been amazing. Very funny.”

Support Groups

In Halton we offer 5 support groups for foster carers which take place on a monthly basis. This allows carers plenty of opportunities to access support, if they wish, in their local area.

• Foster Carers support group
• A Children Who Foster support group for your own birth children
• A Caring for Teens support group
• An Under 5’s Carer support group
• A Family and Friends support group

Kate has been a foster carer with Halton Borough Council for 8 years. Kate says “the Under 5’s Fostering Support Group is invaluable for support and advice from others who know exactly the challenges you’re facing, as well as practical support and help.”