Managing Self-Harm as a Foster Carer: A Guide to Compassionate Support
Mia Winfield - 15th September 2025
As a foster carer, you’re often called upon to provide safety, stability, and unconditional support to children and young people who have experienced trauma and adversity. Some of the children you care for may have lived through situations that lead to coping mechanisms such as self-harm. Understanding how to manage self-harm as a foster carer is essential to providing the emotional care and healing that these children need. This blog will guide you through strategies for supporting young people who may engage in self-harm, offering compassionate insights, practical advice, and resources for managing the situation in a way that promotes their well-being and healing. 1. Understand the Root Causes of Self-Harm Self-harm can be a response to emotional pain, overwhelming
More Info
August Round-Up: Sunshine, Summer Fun & Celebrating Progress
Mia Winfield - 29th August 2025
As the summer holidays come to a close, we’re looking back on what has been a truly fantastic August here at EFS. With sunshine, seaside trips, sweet treats, and plenty of shared laughter, we’ve packed the month full of connection, creativity, and community. Summer Adventures and Smiles We made the most of the brilliant weather this month with a series of fun-filled outings and events for our children and carers. In Thetford, we hosted a joyful day packed with activities including our very own Bake Off, the ever-popular Cheerio Game, and plenty of sunshine-fuelled fun. Meanwhile in Walton, nothing says summer quite like fish and chips by the sea—and that’s exactly what we enjoyed! It was a wonderful chance for
More Info
The Essential Qualities You Need to Become a Foster Carer
Mia Winfield - 19th August 2025
Fostering a child is one of the most rewarding and impactful roles a person can take on. It requires an immense amount of love, patience, and dedication, but the reward is immeasurable - offering a vulnerable child a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment to grow in. However, it’s not a decision to be taken lightly. Becoming a foster carer requires specific qualities and attributes that will ensure the well-being of the child placed in your care. If you’re considering fostering or simply curious about the qualities needed to succeed in this role, here’s a look at the key characteristics that make for a great foster carer. 1. Patience Patience is perhaps the most important quality for any foster carer. Children
More Info
Fostering with a Young Family: A Journey of Love, Growth, and Learning
Mia Winfield - 11th August 2025
Fostering children is a beautiful and transformative experience, one that involves giving children in need a safe, loving, and supportive environment. But when you have a young family of your own, the journey of fostering can feel like a unique and daunting challenge. From balancing the needs of your own children to understanding how fostering can change your family dynamic, it's important to recognize that while fostering with a young family can be challenging, it is also one of the most rewarding things you can do. 1. The Heart of Fostering: Providing Stability and Love Fostering is all about offering children in need a sense of stability, love, and support during difficult times in their lives. With your own young
More Info
What is it like to be part of a family who fosters? – TJ’s story.
T J - 14th October 2024
I’m TJ. I was 7 years old when my family and I started fostering. It’s mad to think that that was over 7 years ago. A lot has happened in that time! It takes some getting used to at first. When we first started fostering, everything was new. I had to get used to having another person in the house when it had always just been Mum, Dad and my brother. When my foster brother arrived, he needed a lot of help and support and so I suppose we had to share my parents much more. I never really minded this because I always knew that Mum and Dad had enough time and love to go round. Most of the
More Info
Fostering children who have experienced domestic abuse
Lucy Stevens - 7th October 2024
A high proportion of children who are looked after by foster carers have witnessed some degree of domestic abuse. Exposure to domestic violence is one of the main factors leading to social care involvement in the lives of children and we have seen incidences of domestic abuse increase over the last year during the Covid pandemic. What is domestic abuse? The term domestic abuse covers a range of behaviours which are at their root violent, threatening, controlling or coercive. Often domestic abuse occurs between parents, partners, ex-partners or family members. It can also occur between children and includes: Physical abuseEmotional abuseThreatening behaviourIntimidationSexual abuseFinancial controlCoercion and controlling behaviourForced marriageHonour based violenceOnline or text/ non face to face abuse How does domestic
More Info
Embracing Diversity: The Vital Role of Foster Carers in Supporting Children from All Backgrounds
Lucy Stevens - 1st October 2024
October marks Global Diversity Awareness Month, a time to celebrate the rich tapestry of cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds that make our communities vibrant. It’s also a reminder of the importance of diversity in foster care. With thousands of children entering the system each year, it’s crucial that our pool of foster carers reflects the wide range of experiences and identities of the children who need support. The Need for Diverse Foster Carers Children in foster care come from a myriad of backgrounds, each bringing their own unique stories, traditions, and challenges. Many may require foster carers who understand or can accommodate their ethnic, religious, or cultural needs. This diversity not only enriches the foster care experience but also fosters a
More Info
Thinking of fostering? Good support is a must.
Lucy Stevens - 26th September 2024
We believe fostering has a huge role to play in society. Foster carers look after some of our most vulnerable children. It is massively rewarding but requires grit, determination, and commitment. Having good support from your fostering provider is essential in ensuring a successful and enjoyable fostering experience, not just for carers but for the children and young people too. If you’re starting out on your fostering journey, here are some things you’ll need to think about when deciding which fostering provider to go for. Children don’t stick to office hours. Support should be available whenever you need it. The life of a foster carer can be unpredictable at times. When you foster, you need to know that you can
More Info
Our Fostering Community: Meet Eastern Fostering Services’ Fostering Panel Member, Tricia.
Lucy Stevens - 19th September 2024
This week, we hear from Tricia who is a long-standing member of our Fostering Panel. She brings to panel a wealth of experience working with children and foster carers. Her personality and sensitive approach help all fostering applicants feel relaxed and comfortable when they appear at the Eastern Fostering Services Panel. We asked Tricia to give us some insight into how panel works and what people can expect when they appear at fostering panel. What is the fostering panel? I have been a member of the Eastern Fostering Services’ panel for over ten years. The purpose of the panel is two-fold, to read the application documents of the people who are applying to become new foster carers for Eastern Fostering
More Info
The future of fostering is intuitive….
Lucy Stevens - 29th July 2024
Eastern Fostering Services has just launched a significant service enhancement which really brings fostering into the 21st Century. Partnering with Intuitive Care we have introduced a new back office system which will improve child outcomes, simplify and reduce the time taken on paperwork for Foster Carers, assist in training and development, and allow easy access to information on the go. What is Intuitive Care? Intuitive Care have developed a fantastic app, accessible from any device, which consolidates all the paperwork that so commonly is the bane of Foster Carers’ lives! Many Foster Carers are used to having to work with clumsy, inflexible systems for loading and viewing key paperwork. Intuitive Care uses a simple app to reduce the time and
More Info
