Mother and baby fostering
Lucy Stevens - 24th September 2018
When people think of fostering, they often think of babies and young children. Not many people know that you can foster young mothers (or fathers) and their babies. What is Mother and baby fostering? There are some young parents who, for various reasons, may be ill-equipped for parenting. Indeed, they may have experienced chaotic, inconsistent parenting themselves as children and not have a positive role model from whom to se. Some young people are victims of sexual exploitation and may not be in a position to keep their new baby safe. Some young parents may have learning difficulties. Therefore, they need additional support to bond with and care for their children. In some cases, new parents have to overcome mental
Tags: babies, Eastern Fostering Services, fostering, fostering babies; #ProudToFoster, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering mums, fostering Suffolk, mother and baby fostering, teenagers
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The Fostering Assessment – why do we need to carry out checks?
Lucy Stevens - 26th July 2018
Eastern Fostering Services wants to recruit foster carers who can meet the individual needs of children; who can provide them with a safe and nurturing environment in which to grow. When they apply, all prospective foster carers undergo a fostering assessment which takes on average 4-6 months. Included in the fostering assessment · An initial home visit. · A medical report – carried out by the GP and paid for by EFS. · At least 3 personal references. · Identity checks including an enhanced DBS. · Previous partner references. · Health and Safety assessments. · 6-10 home visits and interviews including some with birth children and other household members. · A full Coram/BAAF form F assessment detailing the qualities, competences
Tags: applying to be a foster carer, Eastern Fostering Services, foster care, fostering, fostering agency, fostering application, fostering assessment, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk, skills to foster
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Do I get paid to be a foster carer?
Lucy Stevens - 18th July 2018
When it comes to fostering, money is an emotive and controversial topic of conversation. Nonetheless, in the interest of answering the questions we get about finances, it is a topic we’d like to address. Good foster carers are always motivated by a desire to make a positive difference in the lives of children. The best foster carers seek to nurture, love and advocate for the children in their care. In our experience, very few carers are ever motivated by financial gain and it is very important to us that they are not. However, one cannot escape the fact that it costs money to raise a child. It is for this reason that Local Authorities pay a fostering allowance to foster
Tags: do foster carers get paid?, foster care, fostering, fostering allowance, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering money, fostering Suffolk, money for foster carers
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Showing Affection
Lucy Stevens - 4th July 2018
“I was told you can’t cuddle a child or sit on their bed to read a story!” This is a comment we get all the time and in the majority of cases, it couldn’t be further from the truth. In the fostering household, we want to replicate all the positives of growing up in a nurturing family. We want children to feel listened to, cherished, nurtured and advocated for. In lots of families, this sense of security and being valued comes from physical affection too, something that many of us take for granted. One of the differences between fostering and parenting is that as a foster carer, you have to be a lot more intentional around things like physical affection.
Tags: applying to be a foster carer, becoming a foster carer, Cambridgeshire, Eastern Fostering Services, fostering, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering service, fostering Suffolk, how to foster, Suffolk, The Fostering Network
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Fostering and the spare room
Lucy Stevens - 29th June 2018
Do I need a spare room to foster? We've talked to many people interested in fostering in Essex, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. One of the most common questions is "Why do I need a spare room in order to foster?" The short answer is that it is a mandatory requirement to have a spare bedroom to dedicate to fostering when you apply to be a foster carer. Many people find this frustrating and we often get further questions asking us why this policy exists for foster carers. Would you move into a house and share a bedroom with a complete stranger? Moving in with a new foster family is a frightening and confusing time for children, no matter how young or
Tags: applying to be a foster carer, Cambridgeshire, Eastern Fostering Services, Essex, foster care, foster carer, fostering, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk, Spare room, Suffolk
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Your Fostering Questions
Lucy Stevens - 5th June 2018
When thinking about fostering, there are many common questions people ask. Speaking to people in Essex, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire about fostering, we've heard some common questions. Here are our responses to frequent questions about fostering. Am I too old to foster? There is no upper age limit for foster carers. There is a lower age limit of 21. Generally, in order to foster you need to be in reasonably good health with good physical and emotional resilience. Many foster carers have health conditions which they manage alongside fostering so don't let this put you off! Can I foster if I don't own my own home? Yes, as long as a secure tenancy is in place there is no need for
Tags: #ProudToFoster, Cambridgeshire, Essex, foster care, foster carer, fostering allowance, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering money, fostering Suffolk, how to foster, Suffolk
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Proud to be Fostering
Lucy Stevens - 21st May 2018
Our carers are proud to foster The Fostering Network estimate that the UK needs another 8000 foster carers. Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire reflect the same national picture. Our foster carers come from all walks of life. Some of them have had happy childhoods and others have been through tough times. Some of our foster carers are single while others are married with children. In fact, our foster carers are diverse - as they should be! Foster carers can be rich, poor, home-owners, tenants, gay, straight, male, female, of any faith or none. So, whilst all our carers are different, they all have one thing in common. This Foster Care Fortnight they are all #ProudToFoster. One of our foster carer's Paul
Tags: #ProudToFoster, becoming a foster carer, Eastern Fostering Services, foster carer, fostering, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk
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Foster Care Fortnight is here
Lucy Stevens - 14th May 2018
What is Foster Care Fortnight? Foster Care Fortnight starts today. Foster Care Fortnight is a national campaign run every year by the Fostering Network. It aims to increase awareness around fostering and promote its benefits in order to recruit more foster carers. This year the campaign slogan is #ProudToFoster and focuses on how varied a group foster carers are and so showing that people from any walk of life can foster. They have even produced a short film featuring one of our carers. Here at Eastern Fostering Services, we have asked our carers to produce their own short film and a blog. You can see these on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/EasternFosteringServices To celebrate Foster Care Fortnight we will be
Tags: #FCF18, #ProudToFoster, #ProudToSupportFostering, applying to be a foster carer, becoming a foster carer, Eastern Fostering Services, Essex, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk, Suffolk, The Fostering Network
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Becoming a foster carer
Lucy Stevens - 24th April 2018
What does becoming a foster carer involve? Do you live in Essex, Suffolk or Cambridgeshire? Do you want to become a foster carer? If so, we at Eastern Fostering Services are really keen to talk to you. If you call us on 01206 299775 or email us at team@easternfosteringservices.com we will call you back and talk through your questions. After we've visited you at home, we'll leave you to complete a fostering application form. Once this has been accepted, we'll assign you an assessor. This person will produce your assessment and take you through to panel. The process of becoming a foster carer takes around 4 months. During this time, the assessor will produce a report that assesses your suitability
Tags: applying to be a foster carer, becoming a foster carer, Eastern Fostering Services, fostering, fostering assessment, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk
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Becoming a foster carer – how do I apply?
Lucy Stevens - 16th March 2018
Becoming a foster carer. How do I decide who with? Once you've decided to foster, the next decision is which agency to foster through. We advise that you do your research and see which fostering agencies operate in your local area. If you live in Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk or Norfolk, you need to make sure that your Fostering provider is easy to get to and will be able to support you effectively. Eastern Fostering Services have a head office in Suffolk and are therefore able to support foster carers in Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. You need to get a good feel for the fostering agency. For example, how foster carer focussed are they? What do their foster carers say
Tags: applying to be a foster carer, becoming a foster carer, Cambridgeshire, Eastern Fostering Services, Essex, foster, fostering, fostering agency, fostering application, fostering service, Norfolk, Suffolk
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