Partnership to secure positive futures for children in care

Finding resilient fostering families for some of the most vulnerable children in care in the West Midlands is the focus of a new venture, ‘The Big Fostering Partnership’ – formed by local councils, including Staffordshire County Council and Dudley Council, as well as the National Fostering Group and Big Issue Invest, the social investment arm of The Big Issue Group. 

Coming together to pool resources and expertise, The Big Fostering Partnership will help secure long-term, nurturing foster carers for children between the ages of seven and sixteen who currently live in children’s homes.

Many of the young people will have lived in a number of different places before living in a children’s home and may have experienced trauma and therefore struggle to form relationships.

By securing resilient foster families, with the right skills, experience and support, the partnership will help young people to reach their full potential.

Once a young person has been identified, the partnership will use its national network of carers to find potential foster families. 

Although launching in the West Midlands, The Big Fostering Partnership is already talking with other authorities from across the country who are interested in joining the partnership.

Catherine Driscoll, director of children’s services at Dudley Council, said:

Every child and young person in our care matters and we must do all we can to give them the very best opportunities in life.

The best place they can be is within a loving and caring home, which is always our preferred option.

We recognise some children and young people need very specialised care and the capacity to care for them within the foster care system is sometimes limited.

I’m therefore really pleased we’ve got this opportunity to work with partners on this project to expand the support available.

The Big Fostering Partnership is part funded by the Department of Culture, Media & Sport’s Life Chances Fund.

To find out more about becoming a foster carer for The Big Fostering Partnership please visit www.bigfosteringpartnership.co.uk or call 0330 0229135