An ideal foster carer?
Maybe! But there is no blue-print for the ideal foster carer and no one begins their fostering journey as the ‘complete’ foster carer.
Even if you are a parent yourself, foster care requires an approach to parenting that revolves around training and regulation.
Fostering is a pathway, motivated by self-development and a will to support those in the community that need it most.
That’s not to say that particular job roles or experiences won’t give you an advantage in the fostering space. If individuals have zero experience working or living with children, you may have the tools and transferrable skills to hit the ground running; becoming a successful foster carer with ‘stickability’.
Industries and job positions that provide a great footing for foster care include, but aren’t limited to –
- Ex Military
- Police Officers
- Teachers & Teaching Assistants
- NHS Staff
- PA’s
- Carers
- Therapists
- Personal trainers
- Football Coaches
- Community volunteers
- Community wardens
- Prison wardens
- Managerial positions
- Administrators
- Stay-at-home parents (Shock!)
Some professions, more than most, provide experiences and attitudes that are directly linked to the fostering experience, making them great candidates to nurture those in need of a place to recover and thrive. Staying cool under pressure, being a champion of teamwork and having empathy for someone’s personal history makes all the difference to children and young people in care.
In some settings, people are closer to fostering than they may think.
Coaching young people, in extracurricular activities especially, provides structure, peer-to-peer contact and mentorship that young people may not encounter in their home life. Providing spaces where young people can express themselves, develop talents and feel safe is exactly what foster care is all about.
Fostering is a two-way street.
In providing for young, vulnerable people and children, foster carers gain a network, confidence, abilities and improved career prospects that could evade them without the support and community that fostering brings. Together with The Children’s Family Trust, carers benefit from individualised support, competitive pay, short breaks, events for the whole family and mileage allowances so that when you become a part of our outstanding family, you gain personally and professionally.
Is 2023 the year you dare to care for young people in your community?
Work with us, The CFT and Change Futures Together.
Get in touch for an informal chat here
