The National Fostering Agency is one of the most experienced and long established independent fostering agencies in the UK. They explain how you could help.
Can you remember what it was like to be young?
A mix of possibilities, opportunities, hormones and boundaries, homework and exams, people to see and places to go. Learning to be independent can be hard enough. If a child or young person has had a distressing or troubling home experience, it can just add more stress to an already difficult mix.
Foster carers need particular skills to carry out what can be a very varied and challenging job - sensitivity to situations, patience, tolerance and understanding. A foster carer needs to provide stability, safety and secure boundaries to keep a child safe, while also encouraging them to spread their wings and experience different things.
It can be a hard balance to strike, but there are great rewards in drawing on your own abilities to help a child or young person develop confidence and self-esteem, resolve their problems and make plans for the future.
Some children enter foster care for short term care, sometimes because of a crisis in their relationship with their family and your role will be to provide them with safety and security, whilst supporting them in trying to resolve their difficulties with their family so that they can return home. Enormous progress can be made whilst in foster care and many children appreciate the support they have received from their carers and stay in regular contact with them for many years after leaving foster care.
All you need is to have some childcare experience probably from your own experience or through having significant contact with children for example through work. More importantly, you need to be there for them, have a spare bedroom, have good communication skills, provide consistent boundaries, negotiate effectively when difficulties arise and have a sense of humour! -------------
Find out more contact us today, Alison is waiting for your call 0845 434 5767.
You can Foster – Make a difference today.
Vist the website for further details.
