Reach Out Care, Newton Aycliffe’s Ofsted “outstanding” fostering agency, is holding Skiils to Foster sessions for people who are interested in fostering.
The agency, which also holds Investors in People Gold and Investing in Children accreditations, is based in Burnhope.
“Several families from the town already foster with us,” said fostering manager Lynne Brown. “Some have been with us many years and others are new to the agency. They come from all walks of life – some are married, some are single, some rent their own home while others own theirs. The two things you really need are a spare bedroom and a desire to make a difference in the life of a child or young person.
“People tend to come to us through personal recommendation or because they have read articles like this. We’re really passionate about helping children and young people achieve their potential and we are really good at training and supporting our foster carers.
“We treat our foster carers as professionals in their own right. We hold an annual awards afternoon tea in a local hotel where we recognise the achievements of everyone in the fostering family household – not just the foster children but birth children and carers as well.
“The ongoing support and training means that our carers receive really positive feedback from the local authority social workers throughout the region.
“There is a real need for people who can look after teenagers, groups of brothers and sisters, children with disabilities and parents and babies. Every month week we receive dozens of referrals from local authorities who need to find placements for children and young people.”
Skills to Foster consist of three Saturday sessions where people are given a real understanding of what fostering entails. They hear from social workers, agency foster carers and a young person who can share experiences of being in foster care.
The first session is Saturday March 29th. If you are interested in attending, please call the team on 01325 310009 option 2 so we can take your details and give you details of time, venue etc.
