We talked with Gill and Rebecca, our Registered Manager and Responsible Individual, to help give an insight into the culture of Homefinding and Fostering as well as what it’s like working with our foster carers.

What is your name, your job role and how long have you been at Homefinding and Fostering?

Gill: “I'm Gill Fewins and I’m Registered Manager at Homefinding & Fostering and I've worked here since 2018, So about four years.”

Rebecca: “Hi, I'm Rebecca Daniel. I'm Responsible Individual at Homefinding & Fostering and I have been in a variety of roles since it started 25 years ago”

What makes Homefinding & Fostering special?

Gill: “I think that the family atmosphere makes it special. I think it's small enough. It's not too small, but it's small enough so that if you ring up, people will know you. Even just before you've even said your name, they know who you are, they'll recognise your voice. I think feeling that kind of small, intimate agency, but big enough. So we still do lots of activities and have lots of really enjoyable things for the children to do.”

Rebeca: “I think there's a real sense of belonging for the staff as well as the carers and the children. I think we all take pride in the fact that we all know things about the children. We know things that they like, we design activities that they want to do. We get to know them, we watch their progress and actually we're really proud of our foster carers and our children. I think that makes us quite special, really.”

Gill: “Absolutely and I think a lot of our staff have been here for many, many years, quite a lot of them over 20 years so, again, I think that just shows what a sort of secure environment it is really, as people get to know those members of staff and form really positive working relationships with them.”

It is important to consider that whatever agency or local authority you choose to foster with will support you as much as possible. Without a team behind you providing support and encouragement, fostering can quickly become incredibly difficult, so if you think an independent, local agency who will provide personal support for you, then consider getting in contact.

What three words would you use to describe fostering?

Rebecca: “Rewarding”

Gill: “Fantastic”

Rebecca: “Exceptional. Exceptional parents, exceptional children, exceptional memories.”

Gill: “I was trying to use the term make a difference in one word and I couldn’t come up with anything!”

Rebecca: “Inspiring”

Are there any fond memories you have within fostering?

Gill: “I think when we see children that have done so well. Just the littlest thing to the biggest thing, really, isn't it? When you see children going off to university.”

Rebecca: “I was just about to say that when I was asked to write a personal reference for a young person to go to university. It hadn't always been an easy ride for her, and she hadn't decided to go to university [initially] and a few years down the line she decided she would go and writing that reference and knowing she's gone and knowing she's graduated now as well, I think that's quite life-changing really.”

Gill: “Seeing that one young person come back and be on our panel who had been in our care, her face just lit up when she came into the building”

Rebecca: “She actually said it felt like coming home”

Rebecca: “There are lots [of fond memories]”

Gill “One of our foster carers said to the parent ‘they're your diamond, we're just polishing them for you.’ I thought that was really nice.”

Fostering will provide you with everlasting memories for you to treasure, and while it certainly comes with its challenges, you will be able to say you made a significant positive difference in multiple young people’s life at the end of your fostering journey.

If you have any further questions about fostering, send us a message and we will be happy to give you more information.

We are planning to run coffee morning at our agency which you can turn up to for free and have a zero-commitment chat with us and other people interested in fostering!

Hosted at 67 College Road, ME15 6SX, The dates are:
14^th March at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

27^th April at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm