Children’s charity Baranado’s recently revealed that the number of children being referred for foster care increased by 44% during the coronavirus lockdown. The Fostering Network had previously stated that over seven thousand more foster carers were needed in 2020 to meet the growing demand for foster homes in the UK, this was before the pandemic even began. Barando’s also found that the number of people applying to foster during the pandemic dropped dramatically, by approximately 40%. At a time when more children were needing a safe and supportive foster family, less people were enquiring into fostering.  As a result of the surge in children needing a foster home and the already desperate need for more people to foster, the fostering sector is now in a state of emergency. Vulnerable children across the UK coming into the care system need a supportive and loving foster carer now more than ever. We need more people with a genuine passion to help children through difficult periods in their lives to seriously consider fostering as a career choice. More foster carers are urgently needed post lockdown, could you help a child in need?

Focus Foster Care is a supportive and nurturing independent fostering agency. Our registered office is based at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire but we look after children from across the West and East Midlands and surrounding regions, with foster carers who live across these areas. We are excited about the opportunity to expand our existing team of dedicated foster carers who are committed to changing the lives of the children and young people they look after. Could this be you? To celebrate Pride month, we want to make members of the LGBT+ community aware that they are welcome to make an enquiry into joining out team of foster carers.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues across the world and here in the UK lockdown restrictions are slowly being eased, as a country we are more grateful than ever for our everyday heroes. The weekly applause may have stopped but key workers and NHS staff are still greatly appreciated and we all remain thankful for all the hard work they do. Foster Carers have been heroes during this pandemic and are during more normal times too. Foster carers help children get through some of the most difficult and traumatic times of their lives and help to give them the opportunity of a happier and brighter future. Foster carers can help biological families stay together in the long term and help children by providing a safe and loving environment.

At Focus Foster Care we have an inspirational couple who have been fostering for over 40 years, R&J. They have fostered for local authorities as well as independent agencies and have been working for Focus Foster Care since our 1agency was first established in 2017. When it comes to sharing advice and giving an insight into what life as a foster carer is really like, R&J were the perfect people to ask to share their wisdom. Whilst all children are different and no placement will be the same as the last, there is a lot to be learnt from people who have been fostering for several years. R&J have cared for over 100 children, including two of their own biological children, and have supported children and young people from many different backgrounds and family circumstances. R has shared seven pieces of important advice for new foster carers and for people thinking about pursuing a career in fostering. We hope this insight into life as a foster carer helps people thinking about fostering to understand more what it is really like….

It has been over a month since schools across the UK closed and parents and carers were given the task of educating their children at home. Whilst many parents may be thriving in their new role as teacher and their children responding well to the change from classroom to kitchen table, other families may be struggling.

The pandemic has changed so many aspects of daily life in such a short space of time and people looking after children are now being asked to do more than ever before. Parents must now juggle working from home alongside caring for and educating their children, all whilst dealing with the anxiety and stress that comes with living through a global crisis. The pressure and expectation to ‘do it all’ can be overwhelming and many carers and parents may feel as though they are not doing enough to educate their children at home. It is important for everyone to remember that children will find it difficult to learn in a stressful environment and anxious and overwhelmed parents do not make for the best of teachers. It is equally vital that parents do not put added pressure on themselves during this time and only do as much home schooling as they can without negatively impacting their own and their children’s mental health. Home should be a safe and happy space and the last thing children and their care givers need right now is to be arguing over school work

Coronavirus has changed the lives of millions of people across the world. Be it through contracting the infection, unemployment or the loss of normality and freedom through lockdown, people everywhere are being affected in many ways because of the pandemic. In the fostering sector, we are managing changes in the way we deliver our services due to the strict restrictions and guidelines put in place by the government to keep the population safe. For children in care and those living with foster families, the pandemic has caused many different challenges. At Focus Foster Care, our team, our carers and the children’s services we work alongside have all had to adapt so children are still being given the best care, their mental wellbeing continues to be protected, their learning promoted and everyone is being kept as safe as possible from Covid-19.

There are many things to consider when enquiring into fostering but one of the most important decisions is choosing who to foster for. Local Authorities (LA) assess and approve foster carers through the council to look after children needing homes in that specific local area. Independent fostering agencies (IFA), like Focus Foster Care, recruit, assess and approve people from various areas and work closely with several local children’s services to find the best placements for children. Focus Foster Care is an independent fostering agency helping children from many different villages, towns and cities in the West and East Midlands and surrounding areas. However, we are not the only Independent Fostering Agency in this area, so why should you choose to join our family of foster carers and not foster with a different agency? This blog post highlights the reasons to choose Focus Foster Care if you are considering a career in fostering

Life as a child being looked after away from home can be full of anxiety and uncertainty. A child may feel like what happens with their lives is out of their control and moving away from their birth families (even if just temporarily) can be a really scary time. With the current Coronavirus pandemic taking over our lives, I am sure many of us feel similar to these children right now: scared, anxious and overwhelmed. We wanted to write a short post today to update you on what is happening at Focus Foster Care during the Coronavirus outbreak and to share important information on how this crisis will likely impact on looked after children. We hope everyone is keeping safe and would like to remind our foster carers we are still available on the phone any time you need us.

Welcome back to Meet the team, our monthly feature where we introduce another member of the Focus Foster Care team. So far our registered manager Kevin, our social worker Fiona and our supervising social worker Emma have all introduced themselves. The purpose of our Meet the Team posts is to help all potential foster carers to get to know every one at Focus and feel more at ease when making that first phone call and having their first home visits with one of the team. We understand that applying to foster can feel overwhelming and perhaps a bit daunting and we hope these posts will reassure those wanting to foster with us that we are just people too and there’s nothing to worry about. For today’s Meet the team post, we are handing you over to our office administrator, Jess.