As an agency, it’s incredibly important to support foster families to ensure a successful and beneficial placement for both children and carers. At BGFA we aim to create a safe and supportive environment for our foster carers and children. We do this by providing our staff with all the necessary training, and creating an atmosphere where everyone is able to experience growth in their career and personal lives.
For a deeper understanding of foster care and its core principles, we invite you to explore our article. It delves into the intricate aspects of foster care, shedding light on its essence. Central to our mission is the unwavering support of foster families. Our approach is holistic, anchored in the guidance of supervising social workers and the provision of training and therapeutic services. This comprehensive support empowers caregivers to develop the skills necessary to provide optimal care for foster children, ensuring they thrive in their care.
How does BGFA support its foster families?
At BGFA, we provide all foster carers with high quality training that empowers foster carers, allowing them to work professionally so that children can have a successful foster placement.
By maximising the benefits of the training we provide for our foster carers we are able to prepare them to have successful placements in the future. More so, professional development is highly encouraged and emphasised at BGFA, with monthly supervision sessions as well as regular workshops.
We also provide extensive support to our foster carers through several means. For example, foster carers are able to benefit from having both an allocated supervising social worker and a support worker, ensuring a dual support system where needed.
There are also backup carers who are registered as foster carers, contributing to a network of assistance. Each placement is equipped with a comprehensive and tailored support package. Our experienced and qualified team offers 24-hour support and ensures foster carers are both heard and valued.
Our agency values foster carers and recognise that foster care is a rewarding career that offers a generous allowance and respite in accordance with our policies.
At BGFA we encourage a sense of community, belonging and inclusivity with social events, trips and activities, organised for both foster children and our foster carers own children. We take pride in the community we have created and to keep it continuously improving we have also created a children's forum, giving all children a platform to voice their opinions.
All of our foster carers are supported with Fostering Network Memberships and therapeutic support and training as needed. Our holistic approach ensures that foster carers have the resources and support necessary for a fulfilling and successful fostering experience.
The importance of supporting foster families!
Caring for a child is no doubt a rewarding job, however it can be challenging at times. It can be especially challenging when you’re caring for a child who’s experienced trauma in their early years, meaning they may have care needs. As a foster carer it’s part of your role to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to support children and help them to recover, working towards an improved outcome.
Children in the care system may show signs of challenging behaviour as well as emotional, mental and physical needs that might not be as commonly experienced in children outside of care. This can be both demanding and rewarding for a carer, which is why it’s important to get all the necessary training and support from your agency.
At BGFA, we understand the hard work and dedication from all our carers, which is why we make sure to provide all our time, assistance and resources to our carers. We are with you every step of the way and will help you to successfully change a child's life for the better.
What does the research say about supporting foster families?
The agency provides a high level of training and support, which goes a long way. At BGFA we believe active support is always important, so we always commit to helping our foster carers; ensuring we’re always available for them.
Research suggests that support provided by fostering agencies has been found to be useful for foster carers. As well as this, the retention of foster carers is equally as important as recruiting new ones. It's also essential for everyone around the child to also be supported in order to shape a stable, diverse, and healthy environment and workforce.
Establishing such environments and workforces facilitates a healthier placement and ensures a smooth transition when the child moves into full-time care. At BGFA, we prioritise training our staff so that they can effectively support our foster carers in taking proper care of a child or young person. Recognising the dedication and hard work required for a successful placement, we prioritise the well-being of all our foster carers and children in our care.
How to support foster families according to research!
As a fostering agency, we believe that supporting foster carers and foster families in general is crucial, and that it plays a significant role in stability and the success of placements.
Research shows that:
There should be mental health and therapeutic services available at all times for foster carers and children in care.
Children in care should be placed with foster carers who can fulfil their needs and support them to meet their future goals.
Any services and support available should be disclosed to all children in foster care.
Support groups should be available for foster carers.
Training should be consistently provided and carers should be up to date with all necessary training.
Both foster carers and families should have access to independent support whenever it’s required.
It’s important to communicate all relevant information about a child to their foster parent, allowing them to recognise and assist the child's support and training requirements.
Are BGFA successful in supporting foster carers ?
Here are some insights from Our Carers!
“BGFA has supported my family by getting to know us well and understanding the children in our care. This is why they can provide such a high level of care. I believe it's partly because BGFA is a small agency, and also because everyone on the team genuinely cares about us and our children. I am confident that if needed, I can call at any time of the day or night, and someone will be available to offer support.”
BGFA Foster Carer
“Since becoming a foster carer with BGFA, I am proud to say that assistance is always available. This support is accessible through phone calls, emails, and video calls. Our supervisions and Supervising Social Worker (SSW) visits prove to be beneficial, helping us significantly. BGFA extends support not only to foster carers but also to the children and young people in our care. They actively engage with those displaying challenging behaviours, contributing to effective placement management.”
BGFA Foster Carer
We are currently experiencing a national shortage of foster carers, we understand not everyone is able to foster, but if you feel like you can, please contact us on info@bgfa.co.uk or call us on 01753 86 86 86.
Happy New Year from BGFA and our foster care family!
