Behind every fostering journey are real people, motivated by love, care, and the belief that children deserve to feel safe and valued. Here, Sally, Becky, and Richard share, in their own words, why they foster and why they believe others should consider it too.
Sally
“For me, it’s all to do with nurture and trust – and them trusting you.
You do it for the love. You do it for the love of the children and loving children. Watching them laugh, watching them grow, watching them be safe.
We have a nice team around us. The foster carers in South Gloucestershire are amazing. We have coffee mornings, things like that. We can go out, we go out for meals. South Gloucestershire organise regular events for us and wellbeing walks.
I’m part of a book club, so we can bounce off each other and share different ideas.
It’s really rewarding – a really rewarding job.”
Becky
“If you’ve ever thought of fostering, give it a go. It really is worthwhile. Everyone should do it – that’s my theory.
The first time you get the genuine smile and the genuine laugh, that’s just precious.
When you’re a foster carer, you go on the journey together, learning about each other and respecting each other’s space.
I have fostering buddies and I’m part of Mockingbird, which is a group of foster carers with a home hub. I also have a supervising social worker – she looks after me, keeps me on the straight and narrow, and is there at the end of the phone whenever I need support. There are other social workers as well.
My young person has her own social worker too, who can provide support, and together we’re linked into a bigger network.
It ended up being the best decision I’ve ever made.”
Richard
“Being a foster carer is a very interesting and rewarding experience.
The children we’ve had have experienced some pretty traumatic things in their lives, but we’re there to show them what a normal family life is all about – showing them love, care, and giving them a safe environment.
It covers all aspects of their life really. Taking them to school, helping them with their homework if they have any.
No matter how traumatised a child is, there’s good in them. There’s a lot that they can offer, and it’s our job to help them and encourage them. We do a lot of encouragement.
I didn’t know if I wanted to do it at first – my wife was keen and I wasn’t sure. But I look back now and you wouldn’t change it for the world.
Think about it. Give it some serious thought – because if I can do it, you definitely can.”
Find out more about fostering
If anything you’ve read here has made you think about fostering, we’d love to talk to you.
Getting in touch doesn’t commit you to anything. It’s simply a chance to have an informal conversation, ask questions, and find out whether fostering could be right for you.
All fostering enquiries are handled first by our partners, Fostering South West (also known as the regional hub). The hub brings together enquiries for all local authorities across the South West. They aim to contact you within two days of your enquiry for an initial chat to help you decide whether fostering is right for you. If it is, the hub passes your enquiry to us (South Gloucestershire Council), and we support you through the rest of your fostering journey.
