Fostering: the simple things change lives
Lucy Stevens - 26th February 2021
Lai and Barrie, Essex We would really recommend fostering. If you are thinking of making the first step, we can testify that fostering changes lives. We took our first step 6 years ago; over that time we have looked after a range of children. Our first child was a teenager. Our role was really to prepare her for independence. She is a lovely girl and just needed gentle guidance and a loving, non-judgemental family. She stayed with us for a year and made so much progress in that time. She continues to be a close friend to our daughter and now has a good job in a hospital and a child of her own! What’s it all about? For us,
Tags: fostering, fostering agency, fostering Essex, fostering support, independent fostering agencies
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Fostering – Taking the high road and the low road
Lucy Stevens - 10th February 2021
A foster carer’s perspective The UK is suffering a severe shortage of foster carers. One of the many reasons for this is that people generally don’t have a full understanding of what fostering looks like. So, why do people foster? What do they love about it? Where do they find the joy in it? We’ve asked some of our foster carers across Essex, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire what they love about fostering and what they find difficult. This week we’ll be hearing from Julie, Nigel and Lesley. Julie, Foster Carer, Suffolk I love fostering and get real enjoyment and satisfaction from bringing out the best in a child. Fostering makes a huge difference in the life of a child but these
Tags: foster carer perspective, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk, independent fostering agency
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All is Calm, All is Bright?
Lucy Stevens - 14th December 2020
How to manage Christmas when you foster. Fostering the Christmas Spirit… Children all over the world love Christmas. The lights that transform the usually dull, dark streets, the houses lit up, the decorated tree, the jangle of Christmas tunes. The magic of an empty stocking on Christmas Eve that will be bulging by morning. Feeling loved and safe in the heart of a family who is in celebratory mood. But for many children living in foster care, Christmas is a really difficult time. In the bleak mid-winter For young people in foster care, the traditions that so define this time of year can act as triggers for children who have had adverse childhood experiences. These triggers could be anything from
Tags: christmas, covid fostering, fostering Essex, fostering service, fostering support
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Fostering Information Evening: 21st September, Southend
Lucy Stevens - 21st September 2020
Come and us ask your questions about fostering Are you interested in fostering? If so, we imagine you have lots of questions. We will be at the Holiday Inn in Southend on 21st September between 6 and 8pm to answer your fostering questions! Contact us at info@easternfosteringservices.com for further information.
Tags: essex foster care, Essex fostering, fostering Essex, fostering in Southend, Southend
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The Virtual Reality of fostering
Lucy Stevens - 26th February 2020
Virtual reality and fostering, why? Independent agency, Eastern Fostering Services are using virtual reality in their fostering training. But why? And how? In reality, fostering is hard. Foster carers are expected to be able to cope with a range of challenges within their own home. Children come into foster care with all manner of grief, pain and damage and this can manifest itself in many ways. Virtually anything can happen... Challenging behavioursAttachment issues or disordersPost Traumatic Stress Disorder AnxietyDepressionSelf harmDrug and alcohol misuseViolence or aggressionSleep disordersMental health problemsConfusionDelayed developmentHypervigilance The list goes on. Indeed, foster carers need to be able to cope with whatever fostering throws at them. Many foster carers will say that they are prepared for any eventuality!
Tags: Eastern Fostering Services, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk, fostering training
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The Fostering Assessment – Step 4 in becoming a foster carer
Lucy Stevens - 16th September 2019
What is the fostering assessment for? Your Fostering Assessment will be carried out by one of our friendly, experienced assessors. Once you have completed your application form and we have carried out the necessary checks, we will begin your fostering assessment. A fostering assessor will be assigned to you and your family. All of our assessors are friendly, keen to put you at your ease and experienced in producing fostering assessment reports. The job of your assessor is to provide a detailed report on you, your partner and your family. This report will look at your life experiences, motivation, strengths and qualities . It should also flag up training opportunities. In addition to this, the report will give your fostering
Tags: becoming a foster carer, foster carer, fostering, fostering assessment, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering form f, fostering Suffolk
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The Fostering Application form
Lucy Stevens - 12th September 2019
The next step in becoming a foster carer. How do I proceed with the Fostering Application after the home visit? Completing the Fostering Application form is not difficult...just a little time consuming. Last week we shared a blog about the home visit. Once you have had your home visit and you, your family and the fostering provider are keen to go ahead with your fostering application, you are ready for the next stage of the process. The fostering application form. What information does the fostering application form require? We need quite a bit of information from you in order to proceed with your fostering application. The assessment will consist of information gathering both behind the scenes and directly from you
Tags: becoming a foster carer, becoming a foster family, becoming a fostering family, fostering, fostering application, fostering assessment, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering Suffolk, how do I become a foster carer
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5 steps to becoming a foster carer
Lucy Stevens - 28th August 2019
Step 1 - Register your interest Thinking of becoming a foster carer? How do you find out which fostering providers to approach? As with anything in life, when it comes to becoming a foster carer, you should do your research. As a foster carer, you will need excellent support so you should look for local fostering providers who offer quality, 24 hour support. Smaller agencies are often better placed to offer quality, tailored support. The Fostering Network have a tool on their website that allows you to search for local fostering providers. Moreover the internet is an excellent source of information. However, you need to know what you are looking for when deciding which fostering provider might best suit you
Tags: becoming a foster carer, becoming a foster family, becoming a fostering family, foster care, fostering, fostering agency, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering in Peterborough, fostering near me, fostering service, fostering Suffolk
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Independent Fostering Agencies: right to reply
Lucy Stevens - 27th August 2019
On Tuesday 27th August, the BBC covered a news story relating to fostering, and in particular, to the role of independent fostering agencies in fostering. Radio 4’s Today programme devoted a large swathe of their air time to the subject and a written article can be found on the BBC News website. Eastern Fostering Services, as a small, independent fostering agency, were disappointed to find that the independent providers were yet again vilified as cash counting mercenaries who are only working in the fostering sector for financial gain. Such broad-based assumption feeds in to the negative associations that are held in relation to fostering more widely. The private and public should be able to work together to provide the best
Tags: fostering, fostering agencies, fostering agencies near me, fostering Essex, fostering service, fostering Suffolk, independent fostering agencies, private sector fostering
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Fostering Refugee Children
Lucy Stevens - 12th June 2019
What should carers know when it comes to fostering refugee children? When it comes to fostering refugee children, carers must learn to navigate a whole new world. Let's start with semantics. The language people use when discussing the needs, provision and challenges associated with fostering refugee children is specific and fluid. In the UK we tend to brand all migrant children as refugee children or vice versa. In fact, whether someone is a refugee or not is specified in law. Moreover, it often directly relates to that child's legal status at the time. It is highly likely that if you are fostering a refugee child, you are actually caring for an Unaccompanied Migrant Child. But you could equally be looking
Tags: fostering, Fostering Cambridgeshire, fostering Essex, fostering refugees, fostering Suffolk, Fostering unacomapnied asylum seeking children, Refugee Week
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