​Karen and John have fostered for Team Fostering in the East Midlands for almost 4 years, and shared their fostering journey with us... 

"Fostering was something that we thought about doing over 20 years ago, but with our own children we wanted to spend time bringing them up before starting our journey as foster carers.
We loved raising our family and we wanted to share the safety, love, respect and guidance that we had together with a child or young person who hadn’t had that in their own life. Basically, we wanted to make a difference.

During our time as a fostering family we have learnt so much about ourselves. It’s made us realise how strong and grounded we are as a team and the tight bond that we share. Sharing this with a child and bringing them into a family that cares about them and wants them to succeed is so rewarding and has developed us as a family and individually. It’s brought out qualities that we didn’t realise we had.

We mark occasion today as we approved our first ever foster family on the 31st January 2001, a couple living in the North East. We’re delighted that 18 years on, Allison and Garry are still with the agency and have never looked back. The world of fostering has undoubtedly changed over the past 18 years, but Allison and Garry have remained dedicated to their role and to Team Fostering as their chosen agency.

Team Fostering was set up in 2001 by Walter Young who remains a Non-Executive Director and Peter Richardson who sadly passed away in 2009. The aim of the agency was to operate as an independent agency that would always put children before profit and would have children’s futures at the very heart of everything it did. This appealed to Allison and Garry who became our first foster carers.
‘We never thought the agency would become as big’ says Allison, ‘Team began as a small group with big dreams to provide quality care to children and young people as a not-for-profit agency. Fostering has continued to change since the agency began and Team have adapted during the years to take on those changes but still provide the best possible service to the children.

‘I recall a child’s Social Worker once saying that Christmas had come early for the young person because they had been placed with a Team Fostering carer.’

During their career Allison and Gary have looked after many young people, ‘We have so many memories of children we have fostered over the years whose uniqueness always leaves a place in our hearts’ Allison explains. ‘We received a message from a young person we fostered many years earlier thanking us for all we did for her and that her life was all the better for the time with us.’

Team Fostering is dedicated to recruiting foster carers and staff who really believe in putting children’s futures first, and this shared belief is what really unites the agency. Our foster carers are truly remarkable and Allison and Garry reflect on this. ‘We would never be the carers we are today without the support of our fellow foster carers, who laugh with us and cry with us. We also recall many times when our Supervising Social Workers have gone above and beyond for the children and remained consistent.’

From relatively small beginnings our agency now runs from 5 offices across the North East, Yorkshire and East Midlands. We continue to work with an exceptional group of foster carers to make sure that children's futures are at the very heart of everything we do.

Jane Butler, our CEO who joined Team Fostering in 2017, has commented: “What a privilege it has been to join such a positive and high quality fostering agency. The agency really does work as a team with staff and carers dedicated to getting things as right as we can for children and young people. Their commitment shines through to always seek to improve and be the best that we can.”

​Many of our foster carers have been with the agency for a long period of time, with Allison and Garry not the only family that have been here since the very beginning. We are so proud to work with these families who continue to dedicate their lives to changing the lives of children and young people. We pride ourselves on being an agency that offers foster carers a great deal of support, training and benefits, and we think this conversation with Allison and Gary speaks volumes.

If you'd like to speak with us about starting your career in fostering, or transferring to us from another agency, you can reach us in the following ways:

Complete our online enquiry form here
Call our Recruitment Administrator, Sam, on 0800 292 2003
Email us via info@teamfostering.co.uk

Source:
www.teamfostering.co.uk

Making the decision to pursue a career in fostering is one that takes a lot of thought. Once you’ve decided to enquire about the role, the next step is finding the agency that’s right for you.

So, what are the top things to consider when looking at agencies?

1) Are they clear about the support they offer?
Ask about the support the agency offers. How long have the staff team been in place? Is the agency happy to provide you with current foster carer details so you can get a direct overview of life at the agency first-hand?

Team Fostering ensures that foster carers are supported by local staff, with a low staff turnover and with out of hours’ workers getting to know all foster carers. In our recruitment process we offer you contact details of some of our current foster carers, so you can gain an honest overview of the support at Team directly from them. You can read more about our support, fees and benefits here.

2) Read their Ofsted reports
Most agencies will share their Ofsted reports with you on their websites. If they don’t, you will be able to locate reports yourself on Ofsted’s website. Read them in detail, recognise the positive comments and consider how Ofsted perceive the agency as a whole, what local authority social workers have said about their staff and how foster carers report on life with the agency.

Team Fostering was rated Oustanding (North East November 2018) and Good (Yorkshire and East Midlands March 2018), and our Ofsted reports are available to read on our website here. We’re very proud of them, and we encourage you to read them if you’re considering our agency.

 3) Look at their social media pages
Current foster carers likely follow their agency’s social media accounts. Does it seem like the agency operates with a true sense of community? Has its current foster carers left Facebook reviews or comments on posts? Are pictures of staff visible or does everything look a little bit like a collage of royalty-free photos?

Our foster carers and staff are very active on social media and this is visible on our accounts. You can look at our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

4) Read between the lines
Is their website upfront about the types of fostering on offer? Do they explain fees and allowances in a clear and honest fashion?

Our fees and allowances are available on our website and we have a whole page dedicated to the types of children and young people we work with (click here to view). We are regularly adding to our website to ensure that all prospective foster carers are provided with a transparent overview of the agency. New pages currently being worked on include ‘The History of Team Fostering,’ 'Our Relationship with Local Authorities' and 'A Day in the Life of a Foster Carer'.

 5) Consider how important it is to you that the agency operates in an ethical way
Many prospective foster carers might not know that there are some agencies that make an enormous profit from placing children in care.

Before I worked in this sector, I assumed all fostering agencies would be non-profit, which isn't the case. Luckily, I work here at Team Fostering, a truly ethical not-for-profit agency that invests all surplus into putting children’s futures first. Our staff and foster carers value this ethical approach to fostering immensely, and I’m so proud to be part of an agency like ours. If you believe that giving children the best start in life is more important than profit, you’re far better off approaching a not-for-profit agency. These agencies are able to offer the fees, support and training that for-profit agencies do, and far more! Read more about our support by clicking here.

 6) What is your gut instinct telling you?
You’ll know within minutes of looking at a website, a social media channel or an article whether you think an agency is putting children’s futures first.

Speak with the agency on the phone and consider the way their staff speak to you. Are they quick at answering your queries? Are they polite? Fostering is an amazing role and it’s important that, if you start a fostering journey, you do it with an agency that you’d like to call home.

Team Fostering is an independent, not-for-profit fostering agency operating across the North East, Yorkshire and East Midlands.

You can enquire with us about becoming a foster carer in the following ways:

Complete our online enquiry form here
Call our Recruitment Administrator, Sam, on 0800 292 2003
Email us via info@teamfostering.co.uk
 
Source:
www.teamfostering.co.uk

Closing Date: 21st January 2019 at 5pm

Team Fostering is a not-for-profit fostering agency, with an annual turnover of £9m, based in the North East, Yorkshire and the East Midlands. We have been successfully supporting children and young people living in foster care to achieve positive outcomes since 2001.

We are looking for a fourth Non-Executive Director, based within this geographical footprint, who has an extensive background in business management in a commercial environment with demonstrable recent success in developing a business with a multi-million pound turnover and proven skills in delivering excellence in customer satisfaction.

This person must also be able to work within our values and behaviours framework, demonstrating an understanding of our Not for Profit status and subscribe to our principles of working as an ethical agency.

This successful candidate will also provide a creative contribution to the Board via objective criticism and independent judgement on issues of strategy, performance and resourcing of the agency, including involvement in key appointments and standards of conduct. The post holder will be independent of any of the company’s interested parties and bring a degree of objectivity and impartiality to the Board’s deliberations and play a valuable role monitoring executive management.

This is a part time role requiring, as a minimum, 30 day’s work per year and a minimum of 1.5 days worked each month equating to £13,101 per annum. Part of this monthly commitment is attendance at a monthly board meeting which will be held in either our North Shields, Middlesbrough, Sheffield or South Normanton office. An annual retainer of £3,218 is also paid and other responsibilities and pieces of work taken on, at the direction of the Board, are paid at an hourly rate of £58.23.

The closing date for application for this role is the 5pm on 21st January 2019, and the interviews are scheduled for the 13th and 14th February 2019 in our Sheffield office.

For further information, please ring Jane Butler, Chief Executive Officer, on 07769 908129 or Walter Young, Non-Executive Director on 07508 055643.

The full job description and person specification for this post are available below.

To apply, please send a completed Application Form and Equal Opportunities Form (below) to hr@teamfostering.co.uk no later than 5pm on 21st January 2019.

 Full details and application documents can be found here

Please note Team Fostering does not accept CVs.

All posts are subject to Enhanced DBS Disclosure.

Please note if you are shortlisted for interview we will contact you via the email you have provided. Please ensure you check your emails regularly.

Source:
www.teamfostering.co.uk

By Walter Young, Non-Executive Director

'There are many ways to constitute a company. It can be limited by share capital, limited by guarantee, a charity, a mutual, a community interest company or one of a number of other options. This might sound like a dry subject to write about but it’s crucial to us that we are transparent about the way in which we operate. Plus, it’s something that we are proud of and have recently strengthened.

When we set up Team Fostering, we were determined that there should be no shareholders, no payment of dividends and no bonuses. We felt that everyone working at the agency should be paid fairly for their work but that no-one should be able to sit back and watch the money roll in. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happens in many other Independent Fostering Agencies, but that’s their business.

We were determined to do it in a way that fitted with our values and put children’s futures first. One option would have been to set up as a charity, but we didn’t want to do that. Charities have to have trustees (usually unpaid) and that would introduce the need for a group of volunteers who had the ultimate say over everything we did. At the time that didn’t feel right for us either.

After taking professional advice, we decided it should be a company limited by guarantee, in other words a not-for-profit private company that has guarantors rather than shareholders.

Every so often over the years we were challenged about this. Some people argued that although we were clearly not-for-profit now, it wouldn’t be that difficult to convert to being for-profit (as many agencies have), which would mean that the directors could make all of the agency’s assets their own. In practice, that could mean taking money and resources away from directly meeting children’s needs. Current and past members of the board have always known that we wouldn’t do that, but that’s not enough to future-proof Team’s not-for-profit status for new directors to come.

With that in mind, in 2018, we decided to take steps to ensure that Team Fostering would be protected from this type of takeover into perpetuity. The directors met with solicitors specialising in company law and agreed a set of measures that would make it almost impossible for anyone to seize the agency’s assets for their own personal gain. The agency’s constitution, referred to as its “Memorandum & Articles of Association” was amended and a member agreement was created that now safeguards Team Fostering into the future as an ethical, not-for-profit organisation.

Foster carers do something amazing when they welcome children into their lives. Yes, they are paid an allowance that enables them to look after those children, but essentially foster carers open their homes and hearts to children who need a family. No-one should make money by exploiting their generosity. We’ve always believed this and we’ve always attracted staff and foster carers who share this belief. That’s why the constitution of the company matters so much.                                                                                                                                                                     
If you’re considering fostering, I would strongly recommend looking at not-for-profit agencies like Team Fostering. Not only can agencies like ours offer high levels of financial, emotional and educational support, but you’ll be able to flourish in your role knowing that we are not there to make money, but are there to help you to look after children in care as part of a stable, sustainable and forward thinking agency.'

If you’re interested in speaking to us, you can reach us in the following ways:

Send an online enquiry by clicking here 
Speak with us on 0800 292 2003
Use our Live Chat facility
Email us via info@teamfostering.co.uk

Source:
www.teamfostering.co.uk

By Jane Butler, Chief Executive Officer

First of all, I’d like to wish everyone a happy new year!

This was my second year in post at Team Fostering, and 2018 was a busy and exciting year for the agency.

In 2018 we opened a new office in South Normanton, appointed a non-executive director with first-hand experience as a foster carer and recruited a number of new foster carers across the North East, Yorkshire and East Midlands. The entire agency was inspected by Ofsted with our Yorkshire and East Midlands office achieving a ‘Good’ rating with ‘Outstanding’ elements, and our North East office achieving ‘Outstanding’ in all areas. This meant our North East office has achieved an ‘Outstanding’ in Ofsted reports for over 11 years now, since their current grading system began! As always our children and young people attended some fantastic activities arranged by our Education and Support Service, and we celebrated their own achievements at our two Celebration of Achievement Awards Ceremonies. The agency launched a new psychological support service in partnership with a clinical psychologist, renewed its membership to New Family Social and celebrated our very own Douglas Shearer receiving his MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2018.

This January, Team Fostering is running a campaign to showcase the not-for-profit status of the agency, with a look at how this impacts our children and young people, staff and foster carers. Some of the above achievements may not have been possible without the ethical values of the agency that ensure surplus made is reinvested into the services which are provided to foster carers and our children and young people. Our mission statement is ‘Putting Children’s Futures First,’ and we are a proud member of The Fairer Fostering Partnership, a group of agencies that each operate as charities or social enterprises to ensure that children come before profit. Over the course of the month we’ll be celebrating some of our achievements and the history of Team Fostering, speaking with those who have been at the agency since day 1 and sharing why our carers and staff value our ethical status.

If you’re considering fostering, I would recommend thinking about how working for a not-for-profit agency might be right for you. Keep your eyes peeled over the course of the month for further details and, of course, if you have any questions you can reach us on 0800 292 2003.

With very best wishes to each and every one of you for 2019!

Source:
www.teamfostering.co.uk

Catherine lives in Sheffield and has been with Team Fostering as a single foster carer since 2015.

"I'd always thought about becoming a foster carer and then circumstances fell into place which offered the right time to take that leap and follow my dream.

I’ve been fostering with Team Fostering since 2015 and it hasn’t always been easy, especially as a single carer. However, the longer I’m in the role the more relaxed and happy I have become with my life overall. The advantages and sense of achievement you get fostering children outweighs any stressful moments you might encounter. Making a difference to the lives of young people is incredible.

Seeing a child change and become more confident in front of your eyes, especially when you know this is largely due to the care you’ve provided them with, is very rewarding. It doesn’t happen overnight and once you accept that it’s all part of a journey it becomes easier to go with the flow and take each moment as it comes.

If you are thinking about fostering, Team Fostering offers a huge amount of support and training. Their assessment gives you a real overview of what life will be like as a foster carer. Working with Team Fostering is great. It’s a caring and supportive organisation, one I really believe has children and foster carers as their top priority. They go above and beyond when you need support in hard times, and they’re fun!

Listen to other foster carers at the agency that you meet – they are supportive and have a wealth of knowledge and experience."

 - an account from Catherine, a Team Fostering Foster Carer, published December 2018

Team Fostering is a not-for-profit agency, which means we can invest all of our resources into putting children’s futures first. We operate across the North East, Yorkshire and East Midlands, with a team of amazing foster carers and staff. If you’d like to join us and become one of our foster carers, we would love to hear from you, whether you’ve fostered before or even if you’re completely new to the role.

Contact us today to learn more:

Call our Recruitment Administrator, Sam, on 0800 292 2003
Send an online enquiry by clicking here
Email us via info@teamfostering.co.uk

Parent and Child Fostering is a specialist type of fostering where a parent and their birth child are looked after by a foster carer.
The aim of this is to provide support and guidance to the parent, usually the mother, so that they may eventually provide independent care for their child.

Parent and Child Fostering is an alternative to putting young parents in residential units and helps to provide the support they need at the early stages of their relationship.

Without this support, these relationships can often break down and lead to separation of the parent from their child.

The Benefits of Parent and Child Fostering
A foster carer can help with the development of a crucial bond between the parent and child at an important stage in the child’s life. This can be extremely rewarding for the foster carer, who is able to see the attachment and bond grow first-hand. The support given by the foster carer while they look after the family provides the parent with an insight into the lifelong parenting skills required for them to look after their child independently.

Providing this support in a stable environment helps the parent to focus on looking after their child and provides them with vital resources they wouldn’t have access to elsewhere.

In turn, the child benefits from the extra support received by the parent, giving them the best start in life.

Fostering a Parent and Child can be challenging but is a very rewarding experience. At Team Fostering this type of fostering is considered as a specialist role and so is supported with specialist one-to-one support, training and higher fees than some other types of fostering.

As a foster carer with us, you will be:

• offered extensive training on the role of a foster carer, including training relevant to parent and child fostering
• designated a supervising social worker who will support your throughout your fostering career
• provided with access to our 24/7 support system, managed locally by social workers you'll meet and know
• provided with competitive fees that allow you to carry out your role full-time

 
Our foster carers...

• are resilient, understanding and dedicated to putting children's futures first
• are resourceful
• want to provide a safe and secure home to children and young people
• want to make a difference

 
Read our eligibility criteria for fostering with cby clicking here.

Team Fostering is a not-for-profit fostering agency operating across the North East, Yorkshire and East Midlands. 

We have strong, ethical values and behaviours and continually look to welcome new foster carers to the team.

If you're interested in learning more about fostering, you can get in touch in one of the following ways:

call us on 0800 292 2003
send an online enquiry by clicking here
email us via info@teamfostering.co.uk

Source:
www.teamfostering.co.uk

Team Fostering is an ethical, not for profit fostering agency with a strong reputation and proven track record for providing high quality, value for money foster homes for looked after children. We pride ourselves on our values and our team approach and we expect our staff to commit to and demonstrate these values in their everyday work.

We know that fostering transforms lives. Our mission to keep children at the centre of all we do, and we believe that by providing them with loving, stable foster homes, and supporting our foster carers well, this gives them the best possible start in life. You will have a vital part to play in our future, and theirs.

Taking ownership of our quality assurance systems, you will champion continuous improvement so that we maintain our Outstanding or Good ratings in all Ofsted inspections, whilst monitoring policies and procedures to ensure compliance with evolving best practice. You will supervise our Independent Reviewing Officers, act as Agency Decision Maker for the agency and take a lead role in advising on data protection matters.

A qualified social worker (DipSW, CQSW, CSS or equivalent), registered with the HCPC, you will bring substantial experience of safeguarding and of providing services for looked after children. You will possess extensive knowledge of fostering legislation, regulations, guidance and standards, and have experience and understanding of the management and monitoring of high quality service delivery. You will be very flexible and self-motivated, with a strong commitment to undertake continuing professional development.

For an informal chat about the post please contact Jane Butler, Chief Executive Officer on 01442 617 762.

An application pack, job description and person specification can be downloaded below.

To apply, please send a completed Application Form and Equal Opportunities Form to hr@teamfostering.co.uk no later than 9am on Monday 21st January 2019.

Please note Team Fostering does not accept CV’s.

Candidates are asked to indicate their preference for office base in their application submission (Sheffield or North Shields).

All posts require Enhanced DBS Disclosure.

Closing date: 9am on Monday 21st January 2019

Interviews will be held on Thursday 7th February 2019 at our Sheffield office

Please note if you are shortlisted for interview we will contact you via the email you have provided. Please ensure you check your emails regularly.

No agencies, please.

Full details and application documents can be found here

Team Fostering reaches out for foster carers with the opening of new South Normanton office.
Team Fostering is a not-for-profit fostering agency, established in 2001 and operating across the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the North East.

Due to continued success across the East Midlands the agency will be opening a new local office in South Normanton this December. Moving from a previous site just west of Papplewick, the new base will provide a more accessible office for foster carers to attend in-house training and support groups which will continue to take place regularly in South Normanton.

More foster carers are needed across the region and Team Fostering’s new office will provide a fantastic location for those considering the role, with the opportunity to join an agency that has a strong reputation for comprehensive support, innovative training and competitive benefits.

Kathleen Walley, Assistant Director at Team Fostering, said ‘I am really excited about our move to South Normanton. Purchasing this office is a sign of our ongoing commitment to meeting the needs of children and young people in the East Midlands area, while providing a high quality space for foster carers. The building includes a large training room and a room that we will be using as a young person’s room for activities and individual work. There’s also a specially designed kitchen to encourage young people to come together to make and share meals as part of developing their skills.

‘A dedicated team of social workers in the region will continue to support foster carers from this new base. We’re looking forward to recruiting more foster carers locally who believe they have the skills and experience to work with us in Putting Children’s Futures First.’

This is an extremely positive move not only for the agency but for the fostering industry across the East Midlands. The agency already employs a number of foster carers in the region and this is a perfect opportunity for the recruitment of new foster carers as well as for existing carers locally who are thinking about joining a new agency.

Fostering is a challenging but rewarding role, and Team Fostering is an agency known for its commitment to providing foster carers with the tools and skills to flourish, truly making a difference to the lives of children and young people.

If you live in the East Midlands and would like to become a foster carer for a not-for-profit agency with an outstanding reputation for putting children's futures first, contact us to learn more about the salary, training and support we offer.

You can contact us in the following ways:

Call our Recruitment Administrator, Sam, on 0800 292 2003
Send an online enquiry by clicking here
Email us via info@teamfostering.co.uk

Source:
www.teamfostering.co.uk