VIDEO: Children and council bosses link up to join call for more Rotherham foster carers

The Foster Care Fortnight events kick off tomorrow with a launch event at All Saints’ Square at noon tomorrow (Tuesday), where people can find out more about fostering. Further events are being held, of which details can be found below.

The Advertiser reported earlier this year how Rotherham Borough Council had been working hard to find more foster homes after spending £50 million over five years on out-of-area care for the borough’s looked-after children.

Initiatives include extra incentives and training for foster carers, as well as new measures to keep them with their own families.

This year’s campaign has also seen more than 30 Rotherham council foster carers, children, councillors and fostering team staff are appearing in a new video asking one simple question: Do you have the heart to foster?

Filmed to mark the national Foster Care Fortnight, the video, called Transforming Lives, aims to raise awareness of the urgent need for more people to apply to foster Rotherham’s looked after children.

Its range of contributors include youngsters as young as two through to Rotherham Borough Council chief executive, Sharon Kemp and the video includes an emotional plea to help to keep Rotherham’s “most vulnerable children safe, secure, loved and close”.

Transforming lives from Mark Clarke on Vimeo.

Cllr Gordon Watson, the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for children and young people’s services, who also features in the film, said: “This film shows the amazing diversity and passion of our fostering community and its supporters.

“We put out a call for people to be involved in the project by filming themselves on their mobile phones and were inundated with replies.

“The response is another example of how committed and proud our community is to care for our looked after children and that they are urging other people to share their passion.”

Foster Care Fortnight will also see the launch of Challenge 63, in which all 63 Rotherham councillors will attend training and information sessions with us and be challenged to find one potential new foster home each.

The council is also launching of the Mockingbird Family Model, which will see ten families working together to provide respite care, peer support, regular joint planning and training and social activities. 

The programme aims to improve the stability of fostering placements and strengthens the relationships between carers, children and young people, fostering services and birth families.

Social services leaders hope the benefits will include extra stability for children, fewer interrupted or suddenly-ending placements, better respite care and support in times of crisis, more role satisfaction and confidence for foster carers and financial savings for the council.

Further information events are available at Rotherham Bazaar from 10am to 2pm on Thursday, Wath Tesco from 9.30am to 1pm on May 23, Wentworth Garden Centre from 10am to 1.30pm on May 24 and Costa Coffee at Parkgate Shopping from 9.30am to 1pm on May 25

A fostering information drop-in session will be held Rotherham Town Hall from 10am to noon on Thursday.

People wanting to know more about fostering for Rotherham Council can contact the fostering team on 01709 823976 or visit www.rotherham.gov.uk/fostering.