Fostering stories

Chloe has very few family members and lost her mother when she was a baby. Like lots of teenagers she loves Justin Bieber and seeing her friends. She’s not keen on being found out when she’s been fibbing about why she’s back late or the spicy food her foster carers enjoy.

Jason Brooks and wife Nikki, recruited in the last fostering campaign in 2010, have fostered ten children since becoming foster parents. The couple, who have two birth children of their own, Declan and Ellie, are short term foster parents for children who come into care and need a short-term solution to domestic or parental issues.

Josh is part of a special sports club and enters competitions at a regional level. He’s been in foster care since he was little. When he arrived with his current carers he didn’t speak and had some challenging behaviours. His foster carers have received training to help them create routines and boundaries that give him a sense of security.

Josh’s foster carer says; ‘What stuck most were his eyes. They appeared dull like a candle with an odd flicker. Now over the years his eyes are shining bright and have a beautiful sparkle.’

Also teenagers will always remember you and the help you have given them when they become adults. That means a lot.
Letting teenagers into your home helps them to understand what it’s like to be in a loving family. The teenage years can be difficult enough as it is for young people, and those in foster care need to be shown a positive family experience to see how it can help them. As a foster carer myself, I think fostering teenagers is even more rewarding. Teenagers need as much love, care and protection as the little ones do.

Ian and Kevin applied to Leeds after attending an information evening. They had a positive home visit and undertook the fostering assessment process. Ian and Kevin were new to Leeds so the Assessing Social Worker introduced them to local carers and discussed how the council could support them. Ian and Kevin were approved at panel to care for one child of primary school age.

‘I enjoy their company from just having a chat to taking part in activities together.’ Susan is in her late fifties and has been fostering for five years.

‘We were concerned that our religious beliefs would mean we wouldn’t be approved as foster carers, but thankfully this is not the case. Because we have been especially non-judgemental, patient and firm but kind, young people who have some behavioural problems have been able to thrive and be happy in our home. It is a safe calm place away from school which helps those who struggle there.’

She is an incredibly caring little girl who loves playing ‘mummy’ to animals and younger children. Her carers’ two dogs are her ‘babies’.

Maya is much quieter and more serious than her brother Zak and is doing very well at school. She plays the viola and is even learning to speak Polish! Drawing and crafty activities keep her entertained for hours. Many of her pictures are displayed proudly in her carers’ kitchen. She loves playing outside with her friends and we’ve heard she can ‘swim like a fish.’

This LGBT Adoption and Fostering Week Alec and Kenny tell us why they're #proudtofoster

Alec and Kenny were inspired to become foster carers through Kenny’s work with children with behavioural issues, knowing that many of the children he worked with came from difficult backgrounds and now foster Matthew, a 16 year old with severe learning disabilities.

Susan combines fostering newborns with her job as a gym instructor. In the 15 years she’s been a foster carer she’s had around 10 placements, initially she fostered toddlers and but now mainly takes babies from birth; “It’s important that to develop their brain in that first year and rewarding seeing them meet all their milestones.”

‘We had a five bedroom house so had no excuse for not having enough room!’ Anne and Peter are foster carers for a brother and sister. Anne worked with children but felt that she wanted to do more with her skills.

‘We enjoy seeing the children develop and grow and knowing that the changes we are seeing in their behaviour, their attainment at school and their personal values are largely down to us and our providing consistent care.’

Olivia is 8 years old and is a bubbly character who is always laughing and singing. Olivia’s foster carers describe her as “very bright, sweet and beautiful”. They add that Olivia has a good sense of humour and charms them with her funny little sayings. Olivia enjoys music, singing and dancing and since being in foster care is becoming much more confident in trying new things, she has developed an interest in cooking since being with her current carers and enjoys spending time in the kitchen.

Conor takes a lot of pride in his appearance, but he doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty when it comes to cars.  Now he’s in Year 11 he’s keen to leave school and get trained up as a mechanic. He’s struggled growing up in an environment where his sexuality wasn’t always accepted.  Coping with bullying and depression has meant he has missed quite a lot of school and is no longer in mainstream education.

When Jack was six and Emily ten their mother died, their father became unable to cope and they were neglected. Jack and Emily went into foster care with a local family who already had a younger child. Their lives were turned upside down and they became shy and struggled at school. Neither of them was keen on trying anything new and they weren’t confident in their own abilities.

“You’re probably too young to remember but it was the plight of the Vietnamese boat people that first got my husband and I interested in helping children,” says Stockport foster carer Glenys. “Because they were repatriated rather than fostered or adopted we couldn’t help them directly.

“But the idea of children that were in desperate need certainly opened our eyes the idea of fostering as a way of making a difference.”

Hear about being a foster carer first hand; "You can achieve what you want to achieve!