Blogs
The nights are drawing in but we never stop campaigning to improve foster care! Welcome to the latest campaigns blog.
The Fostering Network is a member of the Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum.
The Anti-Bullying Week 2017 theme this year is "All Equal, All Different, and All Together". It aims to support schools and youth organisations to celebrate difference and diversity; bring children and young people together to celebrate what makes them and others unique; and help create welcoming and inclusive environments both off and online for children and young people.
As part of Anti Bullying Week, The Fostering Network is raising awareness among foster and kinship foster carers on how they can support the children they are looking after, if they are affected by bullying incidents or behaviour.
[This blog by our chief executive, Kevin Williams, first appeared on Huffington Post.] One of the biggest changes in working with looked after children over the 30 or so years that I have been working within the sector is the recognition that we must take their mental health as seriously as their physical health. This is a hugely welcome change and one that I have personally been very passionate about. That's why, when I was asked to sit on the Department for Education's expert working group with a focus on looked after children and mental health and wellbeing in England, I jumped at the chance.
My children were nine and seven when we started fostering. Like anyone who decides to foster, I was worried about the impact our decision might have on our family but particularly on my children.
This blog, by our chief executive Kevin Williams, first appeared on Huffington Post. It has stimulated a lot of interesting discussion on our Facebook page.
Read the latest blog from our campaigns team, featuring campaigns news from across the UK. Don't forget to also check out our new podcast, All About Fostering, which features our campaigns manager, Vicki Swain.
Mark Kerr is lead partner at the Centre for Outcomes of Care and lectures at the University of Kent. Predominantly he is a researcher and strategist who specialises in the development of evidence based service designs and associated outcome frameworks. Mark has a distinct focus on outcomes for looked after children and care leavers regularly challenging policymakers and practitioners to improve their use of evidence. He also supports organisations to incorporate programme outcomes in to evaluation at a national and local level as well as service delivery improvement.
Mark will be speaking at a number of our conferences, including Salford on 19 October. One delegate at a previous conference said: 'Mark is such a dynamic and passionate speaker.'
