There is no such thing as a perfect family. What children need most is love, safety, understanding and a place to belong. For many young people in South Gloucestershire, our WAYPOINT service is helping to make that possible.
Today, we’re proud to share a new film that shines a light on our WAYPOINT team and the difference they make every day.
A service that helps children change course
A “waypoint” is a point at which a course is changed. That’s exactly what the team does:
They meet children, young people, and families at some of the most important moments in their lives, when things feel tough, overwhelming or uncertain, and help them take the next step forward with stability, clarity and hope.
As the film shows, young people often need someone outside the family to talk to. One young person put it simply: “Sometimes you just feel like you need to talk to someone else.”
WAYPOINT gives them that safe space, and a voice when they need it most.
Support rooted in relationships
WAYPOINT is made up of support workers, social workers and therapeutic life story workers, all working closely with:
- Children in foster care
- Foster carers
- Children of foster carers
- Families and wider networks
The team takes the time to understand each child, each family network and each situation.
They see children and families as experts in their own lives, and their role is to walk alongside them, offering insight, reassurance and therapeutic support rooted in real, lived experience.
Sometimes life feels overwhelming in the moment. As one team member explained: “What you need is somebody a little bit further back who can say: we’ve seen this before — here’s what’s happening and here’s what we recommend.”
Keeping children close to the communities they know
WAYPOINT is unique to South Gloucestershire. The team works at a local‑authority level to keep children:
- Close to their families
- Connected to their friends
- Attending their schools
- Rooted in communities where they can thrive
We know children do better when they stay close to the people and places that matter. WAYPOINT helps make that possible by supporting stability in fostering homes and preventing unnecessary moves away from familiar networks.
As one young person says in the film: “What they do is so important because it gives help, support, and a voice when someone needs it.”
National recognition for WAYPOINT
WAYPOINT’s work is not only transforming lives here in South Gloucestershire, it is now helping shape national thinking about what effective fostering support looks like.
Last week, the government published Renewing fostering: homes for 10,000 more children (4 February 2026), a major policy paper setting out reforms to expand and strengthen foster care across England.
Within this national document, WAYPOINT is specifically highlighted as an example of innovative practice, noting its therapeutic, trauma‑informed approach and its impact on stability for children in care.
Watch the WAYPOINT film
We’re incredibly proud to share this film, which captures the heart of WAYPOINT: the relationships, the compassion, the therapeutic support and the belief that children can, and do, change direction when the right support is beside them.
