đ đźđTo join in the festive spirit this December, we will be working our way through the letters of ‘CHRISTMAS‘, busting myths and shining a light on just a few of the vital elements that make Foster Portsmouth so special:
Children and young people we care for
âI feel like the service is child centred. All departments seem to work towards what the children want or need, making sure they have the right support.â – Louise, foster carer
Fostering is an incredible and inspiring vocation. One that allows children and young people in need from our city to thrive and directly changes outcomes for them.
We place the children and young people we care for at the centre of everything we do and have developed a local, dedicated and professional team around the child – including our foster carers – ensuring they’re able to stay close to their families, friends, schools and community links.
“If it wasnât for being fostered, I might not have grown up with the care and attention I needed to thrive and succeed in life.â – Catherine, care leaver
Hubs and the hub carers
The ‘constellations’ or hubs within our pioneering Mockingbird model of foster care consist of six to ten fostering families. At the centre of each of these hubs is a skilled foster carer serving as a specifically recruited and trained âhub carerâ offering vital peer support and guidance, as well as additional respite care in the form of sleepovers and social activities.
The programme strengthens relationships and permanence, provides the chance for children to develop rapport with trusted adults and other young people in care, and delivers secure and stable foster families avoiding the breakdown of relationships.
“Our home acts as the hub, so our door is always open. Mockingbird enables foster carers to support each other and for the children to feel part of an extended family.â – Aly & Lee, hub carers
âMy hub provide a massive amount of support and camaraderie, and Iâve made lifelong friendships with the other foster carers.â Amanda, satellite foster carer
Respite care
Respite carers offer a lifeline to families and foster carers by providing breaks for children who usually live in full-time foster care or children who do not need full-time foster care.
This might be a regular weekday, weekend or overnight commitment for a child with additional needs, such as a disability or medical condition, who lives at home with their family as part of a support package. Alternatively, it might be on a one-off or regular basis for a child in a long-term foster family.
Respite care involves caring for children and young people to give their parents/foster parents much deserved downtime, as well as allowing children to enjoy new experiences and build trusting relationships with other adults and children.
Respite care helps families thrive⌠one break at a time.
âI get a great sense of satisfaction knowing that Iâm helping maintain the main fostering arrangement for the young man that I have. Without the respite, it may not be able to continue. I also get to do lots of fun things with him!â – Steve, foster carer
Income and the financial support
Our foster carers receive a competitive financial package made up of allowances, skill fees and benefits. This provides a steady and dependable income that enables carers to concentrate on providing a loving home for the children in their care.
A weekly allowance is received for each child to cover costs of housing, clothing and feeding the child/ren, as well as incidentals such as pocket money. Foster carers also receive set allowances to cover additional costs including caring for a child over Christmas and other significant religious festivals, and school breaks, as well as their birthdays.
Carers with the necessary skills and experience to care for children with more complex needs will receive additional weekly skill fees. Others will have the opportunity, with ongoing professional training, to gain additional expertise to progress to higher skill levels.
Our foster carers are also eligible for tax relief and exemptions, an extensive range of additional discounts and benefits including free membership to The Fostering Network, support with any necessary equipment, and can also claim back certain expenses including mileage for the child/ren and training/meetings.
Support
We recognise that support is vital and weâre proud to offer our foster carers a broad range of local, round the clock support at every stage of the process. This is delivered via an extensive support network and mentoring scheme, a skilled team of professionals and our pioneering Mockingbird model of care.
This support starts from when you first make contact, through the assessment and panel stage, and then during each and every fostering arrangement. You will have access to all the help, local training and 24/7 support required to ensure you can help a child have a better future.
Foster carers will also become part of a strong network of likeminded people who are sharing the same experiences and challenges as you, and be able to provide a community to lean on.
âThere is always someone on the end of the phone. The support is endless, everywhere you turn there are different directions for help if you need it.â – Rachel & James, foster carers
Types of care
With Foster Portsmouth, carers are able to find the right fit of fostering for them, their families and their commitments.
This could be a short or long-term arrangement for a child, young person or siblings until theyâre ready to live independently or be reunited with family, support for children with additional needs or children seeking safety and asylum, supported lodgings, a parent and child placement, or respite care.
Which of these different types of fostering you choose will depend on your own preferences, experience and circumstances. Every child and young person will have different needs and therefore require different types of arrangement.
Youâll be able to chat through these foster care options with our experienced team, and the assessment process will help you to identify the type of care that is best suited to you, your family and your commitments.
âWe’ve been able to offer our young person opportunities that they’ve grabbed with both hands! To see the joy that he has experienced has been extremely rewarding.â – Rachel & James, foster carers
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Myth busting who can foster
Our foster families come in all forms. Just as every child is unique, every foster carer is unique too. If you are aged 21+ with a spare bedroom, you could foster with Foster Portsmouth regardless of your age, gender, faith, ethnicity, sexuality, marital or work status, or whether you rent or own their own home.
Foster Portsmouth continue to need more foster carers from diverse backgrounds to reflect the children and young people from Portsmouth who come from a wide variety of different cultures, backgrounds and walks of life.
Our carers come from Portsmouth itself or the immediate surrounding areas, from Emsworth and Rowlands Castle to Gosport and Fareham, and Waterlooville and Petersfield to Havant and Hayling Island.
âWe like diversity amongst our carers. All you need is a spare bedroom and a passion to help local children.â – Ruth and Glen, foster carers
Application and assessment process
Weâre able to offer an efficient, accelerated application or transfer process. Completion for new applications can be from as little as 16 weeks, and for transfers from other fostering services from as little as 6 weeks.
During the assessment process, weâll really get to know you and your family and will develop a strong understanding about your strengths and the children or young person who will be a good match for you, ultimately increasing placement stability. These include not only the age and gender of the child and those of the foster carerâs own children, but also the number of children in the home, location, ethnicity and religion, as well as additional factors such as pets.
You’ll benefit with support close to home from your assessing social worker during the application process in addition to the childâs social worker. Your own children, pivotal to successful placements, are also included in the process throughout and will receive their own age-appropriate advice and peer/foster community support.
“I am so impressed with the service and treatment Iâve received with Foster Portsmouth⌠from first point of contact through to placing and support.â – Sarah, foster carer
Sibling fostering
A significant number of the children and young people that we care for are part of a sibling group and separation can cause anxiety and trauma.
Foster Portsmouth believe that siblings should be kept together where possible, and has pledged to do everything we can to ensure this happens. We’ve invested in training and procedures to support this aim. The biggest barrier to succeeding, however, is finding foster carers with the space to take a sibling group.
Foster carers will need the additional time, patience and energy, as well as the skills to care for a small family of siblings, each with their own individual needs. By its nature, fostering siblings can be twice the work, but equally, it is twice as rewarding.
âItâs the most rewarding care I have ever done. There is the usual conflict between siblings, but that is the only real challenge. The best thing is seeing them blossom.â – Ruth, foster carer
To learn more about why you should choose Foster Portsmouth and become part of our ‘team around the child’ or arrange a 1:1 with one of our experienced team of existing foster carers, please contact us.
