East Sussex County Council joins with The Fostering Network, the UK’s leading fostering charity, during foster care fortnight to celebrate this year’s national theme of #FosteringCommunities from 15 to 28 May to highlight the need for more foster carers.

There are over 650 children and young people currently living in care in East Sussex, with more than 90 children currently waiting for a family.  It’s a national crisis with a shortage of 9,265 fostering households.  Foster care is at the heart of what we do and all areas of the county’s community support us to do our work, helping the children we are responsible for feel safe, develop and thrive.

 

 

Keeping it local

 

We are recognising the input of the whole community in our new recruitment film which was shot across several locations in the county – how many landmarks do you recognise?

Our ‘actors’ involve members of staff, real foster carers, young people whose families foster, and members of the community who all wanted to help us deliver our message.  Heard the saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’?  Well, we’re going with this, and we are so grateful to all those who took part as we all work together to help find every child in East Sussex a safe and healthy environment to develop and thrive.

 

Bust those myths – if you want to foster, you probably can

 

We are aiming to bust some of the myths surrounding fostering.  East Sussex has a diverse population, and as such we need a variety of life skills and backgrounds in our foster carers who look after the diverse needs of the children and young people coming into foster care and supported lodgings. Each scene in the film covers different myths aiming to provide clarity to those considering making an enquiry about becoming a foster carer.

  • You only need to be 21 years old (with a spare room) to start fostering
  • Yes you can foster if you have pets
  • Yes you can foster if you’re single, LGBTQIA+, in rented or owned accommodation
  • Yes you can foster if you have no formal qualifications, but life skills to share, and you can often work alongside fostering too
  • To find out more… you need to watch the film!

 

 

Cllr Bob Bowdler, the lead member for children and families at East Sussex County Council, said: “Sadly we always have children in need of care, and unfortunately there are more children needing placements than there are carers available.

“Foster carers make a huge difference to young people’s lives, and the fostering community is open to people from all walks of life, no matter your age, gender, relationship status or sexual orientation.

“If you are considering fostering, please get in touch with the council’s fostering team to find out more.”

 

Foster care fortnight and beyond: find out more…

 

Fostering might be right for you now, or maybe in the future.  Our team can help you work out when you could start your fostering journey.

For more information on fostering with East Sussex County Council why not attend one of our online information events and follow us on social media. Here you can help us share the message using #FCF23 and keep up-to-date with our activity and events.

Details of Foster Care Fortnight can be found on The Fostering Network’s website.

 

Guest post: Karen Venditto