Could you help a local child?

Fostering

When this issue of the Magazine went to print, the Council was looking after more than 260 children and young people. These young people have come into care for a number of reasons. All of them need our support.

When a young person comes into our care foster carers are among the first to step up. Foster carers will sometimes have short notice and may have to take on a child in the middle of the night.

The child or children they welcome may be fearful and alone and looking for someone to trust and help them.

It may be their first time away from home – or it could be one of many times they have been placed in care.

Either way, it takes a very special kind of person to help. That’s why Bexley Foster Carers are very special people.

Our Foster Carers go above and beyond to help the children they look after. When you become a Bexley Foster Carer you become

Host and Support Providers

Host and Support is a scheme aimed at guiding and advocating for our looked after young people in Bexley over the age of 16. At this age, many are already starting to feel independent but need some further guidance, teaching and support.

The aim of a Host and Support Provider is to ready a young person for independence. This could mean helping them with learning to cook and shop, setting up and managing bills, filling in job applications, guidance with housing or immigration forms – or just offering a listening ear. part of a family of carers that work together to put the child first. A full ongoing training package helps to make sure foster carers have the right skills in place.

Host and Support providers can work at the same time and need a spare room. They receive full training and support from the Council’s Children’s Services, so they are never alone.

A mentoring scheme for new carers run by those with experience helps newcomers with any problems. Regular informal meetings with fellow carers and their children mean that support is never far away.

Almost anyone can be a foster carer. They just need room in their homes and in their hearts.