Stories, News and Resources
The Fostering Rotherham blog is packed full of useful information about fostering and contains useful guides and resources for when you are thinking about starting your fostering journey.
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The Fostering Rotherham blog is packed full of useful information about fostering and contains useful guides and resources for when you are thinking about starting your fostering journey.
This year World Book Day takes place on 3rd March. World Book Day aims to change lives through a love of books and shared reading to ensure that all children can experience the life-changing power of books. Research undertaken by World Book Day shows that reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income.
We’re often asked how a looked after child is matched with a foster family and what input you have with deciding placements as a foster carer.
Take a look at our guide to how the matching process happens.
“I would love to foster but I am probably too old”. We hear these words frequently and there are a lot of common misconceptions about fostering. One of them is that there's a cut-off age for foster carers.
Hear first-hand from our Rotherham carers who came to fostering later in life and have never looked back.
After you’ve had your information call or visit with one of our fostering advisers, your next step will be to have a follow up visit. Unlike your initial chat with our fostering adviser, follow up visits take place face-to-face in your home. We’ve put together this useful guide to help you understand what to expect from your visit.
Fostering Rotherham is here to help you all year round, including Christmastime when we offer additional allowances to help with extra expenses. With peer support groups and access to discounted activities across South Yorkshire and the UK, our foster carers can make the season magical whatever their budget. We’ve put together this guide to having a simply wonderful Christmastime.
You’ve had your information call and completed your follow up visit. You’re now ready to move into the assessment process - but what does that involve?
We’ve answered some of the most common questions we hear from potential foster carers as they step forward to help Rotherham’s looked after children.
Fostering Rotherham would love to be able to keep more sibling groups together, because we know what a massive difference having a brother or sister alongside a child to hold their hand makes. To do that, we need more foster carers with the space in their hearts and homes for sibling groups.
As restrictions lift once again across the UK, the summer holidays are set to be much brighter! We know that you may have exhausted your list of go-to activities to keep the kids entertained during lockdown, so we’ve come up with 11 more ideas to help you create some of the memories you may have missed out on last year.
We recognise the vital support of the LGBT+ fostering community and would love to hear from you if you’re considering starting your journey as a foster carer.
Our fostering information calls are a great opportunity for you to find out how foster care could work for you. We want to make sure that you are get the most out of your call, so we’ve created this useful guide.
Did you know that 29th May to 6th June is Garden Wildlife Week? We’ve come to appreciate our green spaces all the more over the past year or so, but what about the creatures we share those spaces with? Garden Wildlife Week is about encouraging us to think about the wildlife all around us and how we can help it to flourish. With that in mind, we’ve come up with some activities that you might like to try, including ideas for those of us who don’t have gardens.
With the gradual relaxation of lockdown restrictions, this coming half-term holiday will feel a lot more like business as usual than recent school holidays. No more relying solely on craft projects and a bit of football on the field, there’s now a range of activities on offer and day-trips to be enjoyed.
With that in mind, we’ve come up with a list of boredom-busting outings in and around Rotherham to keep the whole family entertained.
Rotherham has a large and vibrant Muslim community within its population, including within our foster carer community. As a foster carer it is not essential that you share the same religion or cultural beliefs as your foster child, but it is of course key that you can meet their needs and that they are made to feel comfortable, safe and secure.
April is stress awareness month and it’s more important than ever to be aware of our own stress levels and those of the children in our care. We could all use some help after a tough 12 months! This years’ stress awareness month theme is ‘regaining connectivity, certainty and control’.
Easter is one of the most important holidays in the Christian calendar and is recognised around the globe. This year celebrations are likely to be a bit different as we once again celebrate Easter at home in order to halt the spread of coronavirus.
We have come up with some ideas and activities to help make the Easter weekend that little bit special during the lockdown and to ensure that those who want to celebrate its true meaning can do so.
Mother’s Day (Mothering Sunday) is celebrated in the UK this year on Sunday 14th March. For the majority of families it is a happy occasion to celebrate the matriarchs of your family, however it can also be a tricky time for some. In the modern world with the prevalence of social media, such celebrations and events are becoming more commercialised every year, making Mother’s Day hard to ignore.
For young women and girls in particular, International Women’s Day presents the perfect opportunity to inspire confidence. In a world where Hollywood glamour can often steal the limelight, it can sometimes be hard for young people in Rotherham to feel represented in the media. Below we have listed some inspiring women from the North of England who we think could inspire confidence in our young people in foster care.
Digital technology has become a part of everybody’s day to day life and whether you love it or not, it is here to stay. Children in particular are accessing the internet earlier and earlier and while it can be a fantastic resource for communication and learning, it is important that as their carers, we know how to keep them safe.
It is Children’s Mental Health Week and there has never been a more important time to express feelings and thoughts about mental health and wellbeing as the number of children affected by mental health issues continue to soar during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year Children’s Mental Health Week takes place between 1st and 7th February 2021 and the theme is “Express Yourself”. The organisers, Place2Be, are encouraging children, young people and adults alike to explore different ways to express ourselves by sharing feelings, ideas, and thoughts through creative activities such as dance, drama, art, music, poetry, writing and film.
By listening to our children and young people in care, we can make sure that they get the greatest possible start to life in their hometown of Rotherham. The Looked After Children's Council and Lil' LAC Club were set up to do just that.
Our Free Online Fostering Information Events are a great opportunity for you to learn more about fostering from the comfort of your own home. You can join the session on either your laptop, mobile or tablet. We want to make sure that you are able to successfully access the event and make the most out of the virtual experience, so we have created this useful guide.
Despite the ongoing restrictions because of the Covid-19 pandemic, there are still plenty of ways for fostering families in Rotherham to have lots of jolly fun. Get ready to embrace the Christmas spirit with a smile with our favourite fun-filled ideas.
If you are supporting a foster child who has a different religion or cultural beliefs to yours or perhaps you have no religion, but your foster child has a strong faith, the best thing you can do is support them. There are various ways you can do this.
November 20th is Universal Children’s Day. Universal Children’s Day is celebrated each year, established by the United Nations to promote togetherness, awareness among children worldwide and improving children’s welfare.
Current restrictions mean Halloween is looking a little different this year, however there are still plenty of ways for fostering families in Rotherham to enjoy this fun filled season. From dastardly decorations to spooky snacks here are some ideas to help you get into the Halloween spirit!
Fostering is a thrilling experience. Do you have the right magic to make positive differences to the lives of young people? If you’ve ever considered being a foster carer, but had some haunting concerns, this blog is sure to put your mind at ease!
Each October we join The Fostering Network in recognising, thanking and rewarding birth children and young people for the important role that they play in welcoming fostered children into their families. Here at Fostering Rotherham we’d like to say a huge “THANK YOU!” to all the children of our foster carers as we celebrate the important contributions they make.
We are living in uncertain times and practicing self care on a regular basis is essential in order to maintain good mental health. When days are hectic, it can be difficult to find the time to focus on your well being. That’s why we think wellbeing apps are a great way to include a little ‘me time’ in your day.
Although lockdown restrictions are starting to lift across the UK, we all know that this year’s summer holidays are going to be a bit different to normal.
For many of us, it can feel like we’ve absolutely exhausted ideas of things to keep the kids entertained so here’s a list of some things you may not have tried yet.
