Blogs

As the daughter of foster carers, Nicole Conlan has been part of a family who fosters for the past eight years. She shares her thoughts on what her experience has been…
By media on May 20th, 2014
What a start to this year’s Foster Care Fortnight. I’m thrilled to see so many of you using this year’s guess who fosters theme out and about, in the media and online.
By James Foyle on May 13th, 2014
Our oldest fostered child Emma is coming up to GCSEs and people ask us if she will go to university, but everything the school says goes over our head. How do we talk to her and advise her about the possibilities when we don’t know anything about university? Mary and Jeff, mid Wales
By media on May 7th, 2014
As foster carers we often look after children who have been diagnosed with ADHD or exhibit the symptoms of this condition.
By Cathy Glass on May 1st, 2014
I start this month’s blog the day after April Fools’ Day, so rest assured that this month’s AKC blog is wind-up free… although I'm sure some will beg to differ!
By James Foyle on April 14th, 2014
A security flaw now known as the Heartbleed Bug, because of the specific feature it exploits (called Heartbeats), was discovered by the security community recently. In this post I will give a brief explanation and a list of some vulnerable sites that you should be aware of, but first, thankfully, I can provide some reassurance.
By Kieran McGuire on April 10th, 2014

We often hear talk about life story work, and as foster carers we are expected to contribute to a life story book, sometimes without fully appreciating what it is or why it is so important.

By Cathy Glass on April 2nd, 2014

The success of the Fostering Network’ Don’t Move Me campaign means that 2014 will become known as a landmark year for care leavers across the UK. With children’s matters being a devolved issue, it has required separately-focused efforts in England, Wales, and Scotland to convince politicians of the merits of young people in care being able to stay with foster carers after their 18th birthdays.

By Policy and Campaigns tFN on March 19th, 2014

We are all familiar with the naughty step which may also be a naughty chair, spot, or corner. It is a designated area where the child is made to sit alone for a set period of time (usually one minute for each year of the child’s age), until he or she is ready to rejoin the family or group and behave. Many parents, carers, childminders and nursery schools use the naughty chair and find it works well. It allows the child to take time out to calm down and reflect on his or her bad behaviour. It also reinforces in the child’s mind that he or she has been naughty and their behaviour is unacceptable.

By Cathy Glass on March 7th, 2014