Every May, The Fostering Network run their annual fostering awareness campaign and each year
there is a different theme. This year, the theme is fostering communities. It takes more than one
person to help a child in need of foster care. In fact, fostering communities are needed to make sure
children, their birth families and their foster carers all get the support they need. Here at Focus
Foster Care, we have a tight-knit community of foster carers and our team here at our independent
fostering agency. We believe in the life-changing power of foster care and work hard as an agency to
support everyone in our community.

Welcome back to our Meet The Team series. Earlier this month our office administrator Jess left us pursue the next stage in her career. We wish Jess good luck in her new venture and we are happy to welcome our new office administrator, also called Jess! So, without further adieu, let’s get to know Jess a little better.

Have you been considering fostering for a while but are unsure of exactly how to become a foster carer? We understand, there are many myths and misinformation surrounding fostering and we have written this blog post to share some facts. We are a growing independent fostering agency in the West Midlands and we are looking for more caring and committed people to join our team. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about becoming a foster carer and joining our agency.

This year we have launched something very exciting here at Focus Foster Care. As of 2022, all of our approved foster carers will receive an annual membership to either the National Trust or English Heritage. Whether you have been fostering with us right from the start, or hope to join our fostering team in the future, if you are an approved Focus foster carer, this is a gift to you.

This year Safer Internet Day will take place on February 8th. Safer Internet Day is a day to raise awareness of internet safety and to provide children and adults with information on how to remain safe in the online world. The theme for 2022 is ‘All fun and games? Exploring respect and relationships online’. 

Safer internet day is celebrated in over 100 different countries and is coordinated here in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre. The purpose of the annual Safer Internet Day is to raise awareness of the dangers of the internet and encourage people of all ages to navigate the digital world responsibly, respectfully and creatively. To add to this year’s conversation, we are sharing tips on how you can discuss internet safety with the children and young people in your care.

Fostering is so much more than just a job. Foster carers have one of the most challenging yet rewarding careers there is, they care and love children providing safety and security while long term plans can be explored and secured for them. Fostering is a career like no other and this year there continues to be an urgent need for more foster carers in the UK.

A common remark we hear from our foster carers is that they wanted to foster for years before they decided to apply. At a time when there are not enough foster carers for all of the children in need of a foster family, if you want to foster then do not delay. In this post we have an interview with our newest foster carer. Lindsay is a first time foster carer and has kindly shared her experience of fostering since she joined our independent fostering agency in 2021.

If you want to foster in 2022, take the first step and get in touch with the team here at our West Midlands based independent fostering agency. In six months time you could be just like Lindsay, working hard in a career you love and positively changing the life of a child in need.

Every child is different and each child and young person in foster care has their own unique story. There are several reasons why children need foster care and no family circumstances are exactly the same.

Fostering is a rewarding career but it also comes with its challenges, many of which can stem from the reasons why the child needed foster care in the first place. If you are considering becoming a foster carer, it would be beneficial to know and have an understanding of some of the most common reasons children enter the care system. A child’s presentation and the way they respond to life in a foster family can often be influenced by their past experiences of family life.

It is The Fostering Network Sons and Daughters Month. Throughout the month of October, The Fostering network aims to shine a light on the children of foster carers and show appreciation for the role they play in helping looked after children to feel at home and happy in their foster family.

Being the child of a foster carer is not always easy. Children are asked to share not only their parents, but their home, their toys, their family and their lives with someone they have never met before. Happy foster families need all family members to be willing and eager participants in the fostering journey. Children of foster carers can play just an important role in looked after children’s lives as their foster carers do.

The minimum age to become a foster carer in the UK is 21 years old. However, there is no maximum age limit for people wanting to foster a child. If you are interested in fostering, and are fit and healthy, no matter what your age you are never too old to get in touch with us.

A Government study in 2020 found that the majority of foster carers in England between 2019 and 2020 were over 50 years old. The study found that of the 71,150 approved foster carers, 65% were over 50 years of age and 25% were over 60. If you want to foster but you think it’s just a job for the younger generations, these statistics show that you are not too old after all. In fact, if you decide to foster later on in your life you will be in the majority.

Fostering is more than a career, it is giving your home, your time and your love to vulnerable children and young people in need. You can be an excellent foster carer at twenty five but people in their sixties and seventies still have a lot to offer and can make fantastic foster carers too.

Are you considering becoming a foster carer but feel like your age is holding you back? Keep reading to learn why you should become a foster carer in later life.