The Fostering Network

It was A-Level results day last week, which may have got some care experienced young people thinking about what’s next. 📚 In October we'll run our #TicktheBox campaign, highlighting the importance of young people ticking the box that indicates they have care experience on their UCAS application form. This will make sure they can access all of the support available – including financial – when they start uni. Find out more ➡️ http://bit.ly/3YMIunN

In 2021 foster carers Debbie and Jason founded The Raft - a charity dedicated to empowering care experienced young people and their families. As they explored different forms of trauma-informed practice they came across Lego Serious Play – a series of structured exercises using Lego bricks designed to develop social connection, shared understanding and new ideas. Inspired by what they’d learned, they ran a pilot session with care experienced young people, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive: 💫Children who wouldn’t normally speak in front of others shared stories about their creations. 💞 A child who initially hid behind a table found the confidence to engage in the session. 🌻 One carer said the session gave her child the opportunity to ‘be herself’. 🌞A child who lacked confidence was able to express himself through Lego. In our latest blog we catch up with Debbie who tells us more about The Raft’s work and their vision for the future. ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/ggH_vJrf

Come and work at The Fostering Network! 🙌 We’re looking for a digital marketing officer to join our marketing and communications team. Applications close at 9am on Friday 23 August and interviews will be held on Tuesday 3 September. Find out more ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/eTDV8qh7

Training courses for members of The Fostering Network 📚 We have a series of courses coming up for foster carers and supervising social workers. ⤵ 🔸Problem-solve practice dilemmas as a supervising social worker -bit.ly/3LXmrDC 🔸Broaden your skills and knowledge as a Parent and Child Together foster carer – bit.ly/3YulCtk 🔸Increase your confidence as a fostering service panel member - bit.ly/3WtW2So

Closing soon ⏰ Applications for our financial controller role will close on Wednesday at 5pm! This is an exciting opportunity for a qualified accountant to join our fantastic organisation – find out more and apply here ⬇ https://lnkd.in/ejNWQpQd

‘I found solace in sport’ These are the words of Olympic javelin thrower Fatima Whitbread, who bronze and silver medals at the 1984 and 1988 games. 🥈🥉 Many will know that Fatima grew up in children’s homes before she was adopted by her javelin coach Margaret Whitbread at the age of 14. She has an incredible story to tell, and we caught up with her earlier this year to hear about her experiences of the care system and how sport was her saviour during challenging times. Read her story ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/e2BxAJ7p

It was great to support the Children's Minister Janet Daby's first meeting with foster carers this week. We started with a visit to the South East recruitment hub led by Bracknell Forest where we heard about good practice coming out of the hub. Then she met with some amazing Mockingbird carers, who talked about the support they receive through their constellation, and the impact this has on retention, sibling contact and preventing placement breakdown. We look forward to continuing to work with her! 🙌

The new government has been in power for almost four weeks. In our latest blog, policy officer Isobel Mintz has highlighted what’s been done so far to make steps towards improving the lives of children and young people. Read now ⤵

Welcome to the new Minister for Children and Families, Janet Daby. We’re looking forward to working with the minister to ensure fostering families are fully supported, so all children and young people can thrive in care. There is currently a crisis in foster care. More foster carers are leaving compared to those joining - action needs to be taken so all children and young people are given the right home for their needs. That’s why we’re calling for the new government to: 🔸 Focus on care experienced young people, ensuring they have the stability, protection and stability they need. 🔸 Support fostering families and recognise them has having a key role in decision making for the children they care for. 🔸 Invest and reform in the wider system supporting care experienced young people, so all families are supported at the point of need, before their needs escalate. 🔗 Find out more -

We have an exciting opportunity to join the leadership team here at The Fostering Network! We are looking for someone to join our team in England as an assistant director, who will work with the CEO to deliver on our organisational strategic objectives. Closing date for applications is Thursday 18 July at midday. ⏰ You can find out more about the role and the application form here - bit.ly/4eYU4lo