A host of celebrities are backing a Barnardo’s Fostering campaign to highlight the importance of having someone to support you in aid of the charity’s urgent campaign to find thousands of foster carers to look after the UK’s most vulnerable children.
Singer Paloma Faith, former TOWIE TV stars Lydia Bright and Debbie Douglas, Cold Feet actress Fay Ripley, Love Island’s MarcelSomerville, Gogglebox vicar Kate Bottley (above) and gold medallist sprinter Jamie Baulch are using #wesupportfostering to share personal images of their families and the people who have supported them through thick and thin for Barnardo’s Fostering Campaign.
Dr Thomas Barnardo started fostering children more than 130 years ago and since then the charity has helped hundreds of thousands of the UK’s most vulnerable children to grow up happy and healthy.
Barnardo’s Scotland Fostering services, are calling for more people to consider providing caring, stable home environments to help transform young lives as there’s a pressing need to find more than 640* foster carers in Scotland in the next 12 months to support children desperately in need of loving families. (7,000 across UK*)
The foster carer drive comes as new YouGov research for the charity reveals nearly half (45%) of people think a lack of support from fostering agencies is likely to put people off fostering. While 66% say they think people may not be confident they can look after a foster child.
In stark contrast, a poll by Barnardo’s of their own foster carers reveals that more than 8 in 10 carers (82%) are happy with the level of support and advice they receive from their Barnardo’s fostering service and believed it was “excellent” or “good”, while three quarters (75%) said they would recommend their Barnardo’s fostering service to others.
Jon Duncan and his wife who have been fostering with Barnardo’s Scotland Fostering for six years, shares his experience of being a foster carer and the training he received:
“If you think you have the skills that are needed to develop a child Barnardo’s Scotland fostering will give you the support and help to bring those skills out.
“And when you need support, for whatever issue, Barnardo’s Scotland fostering is excellent. The Fostering team are there for every eventuality.”
Barnardo’s foster carers rate the support and training they receive highly; with almost 80 per cent telling us that our out of hours support was either good or very good. Almost 90 per cent of them also rated Barnardo’s supervising social workers as good or very good.
Jon continued: “Barnardo’s Scotland fostering training and ongoing support is second-to-none. If you are thinking about becoming a foster carer, go to the information events and do the training. And if you should become a foster carer there is continued support and training available.”
Barnardo’s support includes a dedicated 24-hour access to a qualified social worker, training, access to foster carer support groups, short breaks and a generous financial fee.
Mum-of-one Paloma Faith, who shares an archive image of her and her mum as a toddler (above), is keen to emphasise the importance of having support while bringing up a child.
She said: “Raising a child is so rewarding but it can also be a challenge, so knowing you have someone to help you when you need it makes such a difference. Barnardo’s is special because they provide their foster carers with continual support and advice, no matter how big or small the problem.”
Barnardo’s ambassador Debbie Douglas, who has fostered more than 200 children over the 25 years, said: “I would urge people to consider fostering as opening your heart and home to a vulnerable child is one of the most rewarding things you can do.
“It can be challenging but the satisfaction of knowing you have helped transform a child’s life for the better is wonderful.”
Debbie’s foster daughter Ellie (above) highlights how important it is for a foster child to feel supported by their foster carer. She said: “Being in care can be hard but having a loving and supportive foster family makes a huge difference. Life is so much better knowing that you have their support when you need it; someone to care for you, to love you, to help you solve problems and to help you grow up.”
Actress Fay Ripley believes it is important for parents and carers to know they are not alone. She said: “Caring for a child is wonderful yet all parents know it can also be challenging at times. No matter if you’re a parent or a carer, everyone needs someone to turn to when things get tough. That’s why the continuous support Barnardo’s Fostering Services provide to carers is essential during a foster carers journey – it gives them the tools to help children achieve the best possible outcomes.”
Barnardo’s Scotland’s Assistant Director of Fostering & Adoption: “Children who have been taken into care have sometimes experienced trauma or difficult circumstances making everyday challenges more difficult to overcome.
“Having a foster carer to support them through the difficult times can help enormously but our carers can only do this if they’re properly supported too. That’s why we ensure they have everything they need whether that’s advice, training or peer support, to feel confident they can help transform a young life.”
Jon, final words on being a foster carer: “There will be tough days, but for every tough day, there are great ones. Barnardo’s Scotland fostering offers, continual support for the child as well as the carer, they’re always at the end of a phone and the support network, for whatever issue, is excellent.”
“Being a foster carer is so rewarding, to see the children we have supported develop and flourish and know how much of our input has helped them.”
To find out more about becoming a foster carer with Barnardo’s Scotland North, or the support the fostering serviced can offer visit: www.barnardos.org.uk/fostering fostering in Scotland or phone 0845 894 9501
Barnardo’s Edinburgh Fostering Service Birch House, 10 Bankhead Crossway South, Edinburgh, EH11 4EP, Telephone: 0131 453 8420
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