During this year’s Foster Care Fortnight (8 to 21 May), Nottinghamshire County Council is appealing for more people to consider becoming foster carers to give brothers and sisters and children aged 11 and over a loving home.
Latest figures from Nottinghamshire County Council reveal that there are 546 looked after children in foster care across Nottinghamshire with 232 fostering households overall in the county.
The Council’s recruitment campaign during Foster Care Fortnight will showcase two videos featuring couples who encourage more people to think about fostering, explaining how they got into it and the personal rewards they get from the experience.
Noami Sills, the Council’s fostering service manager believes that if you’ve ever considered fostering, maybe now is the time to take that vital next step or to make an initial enquiry which will get you thinking about what it might be like to play an important part in transforming the life of a young person.
She pointed out that Mansfield and Ashfield are the areas where there was greatest need for more foster carers, but finding sufficient numbers of the right carers is a challenge faced by all fostering services across Nottinghamshire s and the Council was particularly looking for foster carers to look after sibling groups and older children to provide them with a loving, secure home and lots of love.
Naomi was also keen to get across that fostering is not something that should be considered lightly as it needs lots of hard work and tenacity but the rewards are high on a personal level when you see children thrive in your care. She has seen hundreds of examples where children with the right advice and direction can blossom in a loving home.
Foster families see building confidence and trust as key building blocks to achieving a strong relationship, once the trust is in place the relationship can flourish.
The County Council offers a wide range of support to potential foster carers and hold a number of events during the year where carers talk openly about their experiences.
If you would like to find out more about fostering, visit www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/care/fostering where you can also watch Rob and Bev’s and Clare and Alan’s stories, or call 0300 500 8080 to request an information pack.
Naomi Sills, Service Manager for Fostering