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Fostering in the North East
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A Single Carer Fostering in Northumberland
August 02, 2011
Anne has looked after over 150 foster children in Northumberland. She is an inspirational foster carer with an innate ability to understand and empathise with foster children from a diverse range of backgrounds.
As a single carer, Anne has been fostering with FCA for 10 years. While her two birth sons have now flown the nest to pursue army careers, she continues to foster with the same determination and passion she has always shown. She is pragmatic and above all maintains a calm sense of perspective, no matter what the fostering task.
The challenges and rewards of foster care
Anne began her working life as a nurse before joining the police force and subsequently the ambulance service for her local hospital. She believes working in both the health sector and criminal justice system has opened her eyes to understanding many of the issues that today’s youngsters can face.
“For me, fostering is all about helping a child or young person break a chaotic lifestyle and settle into a secure and happy home environment,” says Anne. “Fostering has enriched my family’s life in so many ways and I truly believe we are better people for this. My sons have a balanced view on life and a genuine appreciation of other people’s lives and the challenges they can face. We share a fantastic relationship with a real depth of understanding.
“Fostering is not easy, and it can punch big holes in family relationships, but I absolutely love it and the rewards are just so enormous. Seeing a foster child settle into our family and watching an anxious face start to smile again means so much to me.”
Parent and Child fostering in the North East
With such experience fostering in the North East, Anne has the ability and resilience to cope with many complex cases. Working with FCA and through a programme of ongoing training, she has developed her fostering skills and now specialises in looking after young mums with children.
“Supervising and assessing a Parent and Child foster care placement is a very different role to fostering a teenager,” explains Anne. “Patience is paramount and it is important to remain focussed on the welfare of the baby and not to do mum’s job.
“The practicalities of the job are to show mum how to bathe, feed and physically take care of her baby. There is also the emotional aspect whereby mum needs to be encouraged to bond with her baby.
“Building mum’s confidence and giving her the support she needs to parent her child is all part and parcel of the job. It can often be very complicated especially if you are dealing with a young mum who has had a negative experience of being parented herself, and her ideas may be skewed by this.
“Then, of course, there is the paperwork, accurate recording of daily events and talking to mum. Good communication and bags of patience is critical, but the hardest job of all is being totally honest with mum. I often feel as if I am just the bearer of bad news and that is tough for both mum and I.
“Emotions can run high but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Fostering is my life and if I can bring a sense of security and stability to the lives of other people then I have achieved something that no amount of money or material assets can match.”
Fostering in Northumberland with FCA
Working with FCA and Local Authorities, Anne has the full support of a team of foster care support workers who are on hand around the clock to provide advice and guidance whenever it is needed. The team can include health visitors, therapy services, social workers, education professionals and community psychiatric services.
Since becoming a foster carer finding time for herself can be tricky, but Anne manages to relax and express her creativity through photography, embroidery, tapestry, knitting and sewing. Her greatest passion of all is baking and decorating cakes, which she proudly creates for special occasions.
If you’re thinking of fostering in Northumberland or across the North East, call FCA today. Speak to a Fostering Advisor on 0800 023 4561 or enquire online.
