Support communities
Lucy Stevens - 26th May 2023
This Foster Care Fortnight, we’re taking a look at Fostering Communities and celebrating the role they play in successful fostering. At Eastern Fostering Services, we recognise that one of the most important functions of all fostering communities is to offer support to foster carers and the children and young people they care for. So, today we want to look at take a look at the Eastern Fostering Services team and the role it plays as a vital Fostering Community. Who is the Eastern Fostering Services team? The team at Eastern Fostering Services is small but perfectly formed. In every area of the agency, we have been able to attract people who are passionate about children and the opportunities fostering can
Tags: becoming a foster carer, fostercare fortnight, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk
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Fostering Communities: The professional community
Lucy Stevens - 25th May 2023
It often comes as a surprise to prospective foster carers when they first realise the number of professionals that work with children in foster care. Often the first introduction foster carers get to the professional community is during the Preparation to Foster training, which takes place during the assessment process. “It was the first time, I fully appreciated just how many professionals are involved with the children and how important it must be to invest in these relationships,” said one of our recently approved carers. This was an astutely made point. It is indeed important to build good relationships within the professional community, to understand their roles, their objectives and how best to work with them to promote the well
Tags: becoming a foster carer, fostercare fortnight, fostering, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex
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Fostering communities: fostering social workers
Eleanor Newman - 24th May 2023
Reflections of an old Social Worker Today, I am reflecting on one of those life events that makes being a Social Worker for nearly 30 years worthwhile. I claim no credit for the achievements of this incredibly special woman, I am just grateful for being part of her journey. I first met ‘Belle” (she is a Disney fan, so we agreed on this as her pseudonym) in the 1990’s as her fostering Social Worker. She was a feisty, mixed-up teen, rightly angry with the world but also clearly possessing a strong and positive spirit. We immediately struck up a great rapport that has now stood the test of time, having just been to her wedding in 2022. As I write
Tags: becoming a foster carer, fostercare fortnight, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk
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The Fostering Community at Eastern Fostering Services
Lucy Stevens - 17th May 2023
Today we’ll be celebrating the fostering communities which exist within fostering providers. We at Eastern Fostering Services are a small team but we have a wonderful community of carers who support, encourage and motivate one another. Why is our fostering community so important? Foster carers know that being part of a wider group of carers is important for many reasons. A warm and supportive community of foster carers provides other foster carers with: A source of encouragement, particularly when times are tough. Foster carers have seen it all! When carers encounter difficulties or challenges with the children they are fostering, it is so important that they can seek the support and counsel of someone who knows exactly how they feel.Resilience.
Tags: applying to be a foster carer, becoming a foster carer, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk
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There’s more to fostering than you might think.
Lucy Stevens - 5th April 2022
What if everything you thought you knew about fostering was wrong? When thinking about fostering many people conjure up the image of a baby or toddler and are either attracted to fostering because of it or assume that it is not something they could do. In fact, there is increasingly a shortfall of carers for the children who really need them and who could benefit from the range of skills ordinary people bring to fostering. So, what does fostering look like in 2022? Since the Covid pandemic, we have seen the needs of children and young people shift. Undoubtedly, we are seeing the effects on children of poor mental health, domestic violence, substance misuse and poverty and the complex issues
Tags: applying to be a foster carer, becoming a foster carer, fostering Essex
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Becoming a foster parent
Lucy Stevens - 1st April 2022
What does becoming a foster parent mean? What does it mean to become a foster parent? It's a question with so many answers but we're going to try and dissect for you what it means to become a foster parent in the UK, what it entails and how it'll enrich your life fully. Foster parents provide a unique outlook on the world for a child or children in their care. If you provide a safe home for a child or children who, for many reasons, can't stay with their birth family then this is called foster parenting or fostering caring. You can foster a child in an emergency situation which may be for a very short period of time or
Tags: becoming a foster carer, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk
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Fostering good habits: the importance of record keeping in fostering.
Lucy Stevens - 8th March 2022
All foster carers who care for children through Eastern Fostering Services need to write a weekly report on the child/children they are fostering. These records are typed, protected with a password and sent to the Supervising Social Worker every week. These records are sent on to Local Authority Social Workers enabling them to fully understand what life is like for the children and how they can best support them at any given time. Why are weekly recordings needed? Good and regular record keeping is important for many reasons: Regular recordings as to the progress of the child in many areas of their development allow professionals to identify and advocate for the needs of the child. They may allow fostering professionals
Tags: applying to be a foster carer, becoming a foster carer, Cambridgeshire, Eastern Fostering Services, foster care, fostering, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk
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What Does It Mean To Be A Foster Parent?
Lucy Stevens - 3rd March 2022
Foster parenting in the UK can often seem like a complex and difficult thing to get your head around. From whether you can even foster in the first place (hint: check our FAQs and you might be surprised) to what it actually means emotionally to be a foster parent. To foster a child or children is a wonderful thing; not only are you providing love, care and support but you're giving young people the chance to have a stable and enriched upbringing, something they may have been lacking previously. So what are the main responsibilities when it comes to fostering a child? What does it mean to be a foster parent? There are challenges with looking after and raising any
Tags: applying to be a foster carer, becoming a foster carer, Cambridgeshire, Eastern Fostering Services, foster care, fostering, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk, Suffolk
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Could you foster a child with Autism?
Veronica Jones - 23rd February 2022
Fostering a child with Autism (Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)) can be an amazing and rewarding experience, but can come with certain challenges and it can therefore sometimes prove difficult to find foster carers who understand the best way to look after children with autism. What is ASD? Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition, which is characterised by difficulties with social interaction and communication and often includes repetitive behaviours. However, because autism is a spectrum condition it affects children in different ways. So, whilst some children will need intensive support others may just need clearer communication and a little longer to do things. Whilst no two children with autism are the same, there are some common characteristics including – Difficulty reading other
Tags: applying to be a foster carer, becoming a foster carer, Cambridgeshire, Eastern Fostering Services, foster care, fostering, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk, Suffolk
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Can I foster if I…?
Lucy Stevens - 8th February 2022
Last week we looked at some of the common misconceptions that people hold about who can and who can’t foster. This week we’ll look at some other things prospective foster carers ask us when they’re trying to decide if they are suited to fostering. Can I foster if I haven’t had my own children? You don’t need to have had your own children to be able to foster. It’s clear that having experience of caring for children and knowledge of child development is crucial when it comes to fostering. However, people gain experience of children and young people in many ways: through work, through volunteering, through family and friends. Can I foster if I have had a difficult childhood? Yes!
Tags: applying to be a foster carer, becoming a foster carer, Cambridgeshire, Eastern Fostering Services, foster care, fostering, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk, Suffolk
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