Member News: Team Fostering - Barbara's Story

By Barbara, a Team Fostering foster carer 

"Fostering is very different to anything I've ever done before.

It’s something that I considered from time to time, but I found it hard to leave behind my career in customer service to embark on something so different, that I hadn’t done before! In the end I was made redundant from my role, so took the opportunity to go for it and take the first steps to becoming a foster carer.

---

I always thought I needed to have some kind of training or particular experience to be considered for fostering by an agency, but actually the agency provides training before you take on the role, and Team Fostering immediately give me contact details for fellow carers who welcomed me into their support network and shared their stories with me. The people who knew me well kept telling me I would be a great foster carer, but I still worried that I wouldn’t be able to do it or that I might be making a mistake. I couldn’t have been more wrong! As soon as the first young person came to live with us I immediately enjoyed the challenges and the rewards of spending time with her, helping her and playing with her; just getting to know her.

The role has enabled me to enjoy spending more time with my family, with young people that come to live with us becoming part of the family. I understand now how important it is to have a good support network around you so that you can still have time for yourself, as fostering is a 24/7 job.

​During my time at Team Fostering I have met some of the nicest people ever. It is a pleasure to work with fellow foster carers and the staff team. The staff are very supportive, knowledgeable and available when you need them, and there are no words to describe how amazing the other carers are. The training is fantastic and in some ways I wish I had some of the knowledge I do now when I was raising my own children!"

Team Fostering is an independent, not-for-profit fostering agency that recruits, trains and supports foster carers across the North East, Yorkshire and East Midlands. If you've been thinking about fostering, you can contact us for an informal chat by: 

• calling 0800 292 2003
• submitting an online enquiry form here
• emailing us via [email protected]

Source:  
https://www.teamfostering.co.uk