Blogs
Next month sees one of the greatest migrations of young people across the UK as hundreds of thousands leave home to begin their university education. Empty nest syndrome is well documented, and many foster carers reference a quiet home, missing the hubbub of young people and, genuine quote, "someone to make me a nice cup of tea" as a reason to consider fostering!
By James Foyle on August 22nd, 2014
The Fostering Network’s Sons & Daughters campaign coordinator Catherine Holland has been speaking to Gemma from Stockton Borough Council about their participation in last year’s campaign.
By Kieran McGuire on August 20th, 2014
No summer is complete without at least a couple of picnics outside but sometimes it’s difficult to think what to include. I had to give the matter a lot of thought last year for the book I was asked to write - Happy Mealtimes For Kids. Here are a few suggestions, some old favourites and some new. I hope you find them useful.
By Cathy Glass on August 4th, 2014
I feel a touch bereft this morning. While I know a number of you will be grateful for TV returning to relative normal, for me, the summer of sport so far has been incredible. Wimbledon and the British Grand Prix have come as standard, but this has of course been a football World Cup year. We’ve also had the Grand Départ from Yorkshire for the Tour de France, which was breathtaking. There is the small matter of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow so all is not completely lost.
By James Foyle on July 21st, 2014
The Fostering Network occasionally receives poems, pieces of fiction and other work produced by young people in foster care. While we can't publish everything, we did feel that this piece from Danielle showed a maturity in tackling some very big issues.
This work does including content and themes which young readers might find distressing.
Danielle is only 12 years old, and this is her work of fiction.
By media on July 8th, 2014
I regularly receive emails from young people who are in care, or adults who have been in care system. I would like to say that these people emailed me to say how positive their experiences had been but sadly that is not the case, far from it. The majority of care leavers who have emailed me felt that they’d had a bad experience in care: let down by the system, their social workers, and even the foster carers who looked after them, whom they felt simply didn’t care.
By Cathy Glass on July 1st, 2014
And breathe… or maybe not if you’re part of the team processing enquiries, doing home visits and more. But this is a good thing. Hopefully you’ve achieved your expectations and received enquiries from people who could become just the type of foster carers you need. If not, get in touch and tell me why.
By James Foyle on June 20th, 2014
World events are now so accessible and immediate – coming into our homes through live television and the internet (as well as radio and newspapers) – it is as well to remember the impact that seeing a disaster can have on our children. At one time, before live coverage of world events, the most shocking pictures we saw were stills of starving children in Africa, usually shown to raise money for famine relief, which were shocking enough. Now, through satellite television, we can witness disasters across the world as they unfold, with the effect that we are closer, more involved, than we ever used to be and they have greater impact and stress on us. Censoring of the news is usually left to the carer or parent.
By Cathy Glass on June 2nd, 2014
Although most of us would agree that feedback is an important source of learning, we often lack the time and space to truly establish a culture of constructive feedback giving. In the rush of day-to-day life, well intended comments can sometimes be misunderstood or misheard and lead us to become defensive rather than embrace them as an opportunity for recognition and learning.
By Martina Elter on May 30th, 2014
There seems to be no let-up in the pace of this year’s Foster Care Fortnight activity, typified by the excellent work you’re doing in your local communities. Our media monitoring systems are reporting over 700 pieces of coverage across the UK. Many of you have been in touch telling me of activities still to come, so we may hit and surpass the magical 1,000 mark!
By James Foyle on May 22nd, 2014
