Blogs
At the end of October we celebrated National Care Leavers week to help raise awareness of the challenges young people face when they leave the care system. Chief executive at The Fostering Network, Sarah Thomas, summarises some of the events that took place to support NCLW, including our annual #TickTheBox campaign.
Twin sisters Olivia and Candice grew up in a fostering household and they loved the fun and diversity it brought to their home. Now adults, they have reflected on the impact fostering had on them and how it’s shaped them into the people they are today.
Corinne Masheder is an occupational therapist who helps people overcome challenges so that they can live independently at home, at work and everywhere else, empowering people to participate in everyday life activities.
Whilst at university earlier this year, she started to think about how occupational therapy could help children in care who face unfair barriers to participation in activities. One taboo topic came into focus – menstruation. She explains how without the right products and education, periods can be a particularly debilitating part of the month for young people in care.
At The Fostering Network we are committed to becoming a more inclusive and diverse organisation, so we’ve signed up to The Black Care Experience Charter. Chief executive Sarah Thomas explains what this means for The Fostering Network and the next steps we’ll take towards honouring these commitments.
Dr Raja Mukherjee and Dr Alexandra Carlisle are experts in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). They are leads at the National Clinic for FASD – the only specialist clinic in the UK for assessing children and adults for FASD.
In this blog they explain how understanding of the condition has changed over the years and key advice for helping someone with a diagnosis.
This blog is written by Dr Ro Rossiter, Consultant Clinical Psychologist. It aims to introduce PELI CAN (Promoting Emotional Literacy in Children With Additional Needs). This is a free web-based framework with story guidance and resources for foster carers to use at home.
Meet James and Sarah, who over the past year have created the ‘Replenish’ box, filled with products to look after the hair and skin of black children in foster care. We learn more about Replenish and the meaning behind it.
Reece, 18, has been living with his foster carers, Jim and Jem, for the past seven years. We had a chat about his experience of foster care and his plans to pursue his dreams in studying drama.
Ever met someone so kind, they had a statue made in their honour? Neither had we, until we met foster carer Jo from East Yorkshire. She chats to us about winning the #myKINDhero award and the story behind it.
On 21 June 2023 Professor Ray Jones published his final report as Chair of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in Northern Ireland. The report sets out a plan to transform children’s services through a whole scale reconfiguration of children’s trusts and the creation of a new Northern Ireland wide independent agency. It also made some key recommendations on foster care to which The Fostering Network contributed, which Kathleen Toner, director for Northern Ireland will explore in this blog.
