Foster Care Fortnight 2022: Stockport Council urgently needs more foster carers! 

Stockport Council is supporting Foster Care Fortnight in a bid to recruit more foster carers.

Foster Care Fortnight is The Fostering Network's annual campaign to raise awareness of the transformational power of foster care for children and young people who cannot live with their families, and to celebrate the fostering community. It runs from 9-22 May 2022.

This year's theme is #FosteringCommunities and Stockport Council will be celebrating the strength and resilience of our fostering communities and all they do to ensure our local children and young people are cared for and supported to thrive. Foster care is at the heart of our local Stockport communities, enabling our local children and young people to stay with foster families, local to everything they are familiar with already.

The campaign will raise awareness of the extraordinary dedication and work of foster carers while calling for more people from a diversity of backgrounds to come forward as potential foster carers who can offer a stable and safe home to sibling groups, older children and children with disabilities.

During the two weeks:

The fostering team and our  foster carers will be hosting various events for people to attend to find out more about fostering with Stockport Council

Local foster carers will be sharing their experiences of fostering in their local community on local radio

Our Mockingbird foster carers will be sharing their experiences of fostering in the local community and how they support each other and local foster families and share their skills and expertise.

Live videos will be shared on social media channels to showcase the incredible commitment, passion and dedication of our foster families and the whole of the fostering community

Events taking place are:

• Monday 16 May 2022, at 6pm Virtual information sharing session (on zoom)

Drop in sessions:

• Wednesday 11 May and Wednesday 18 May,  11-2pm Stockport One Hub, 6-22 Merseyway, Stockport SK1 1RA (formerly Argos store)
• Thursday 19 May, 11.30 – 1.30 pm Marple Costa Coffee, The Hollins Unit 1a, Stockport Rd, Marple SK6 6AY
• Friday 20 May, 11-2pm Windmill Café, Stockport Homes, Edward Street, Stockport, SK1 3NQ

The fostering team and our foster carers will also be hosting a fostering stand at the following events:

• Sunday 15 May, 11-4pm Bramhall Duck Race and Family Day, Bramhall Park

• Saturday 21 May, 11-4pm Comic Con Totally Stockport, St Peters Square, Stockport, SK1 1NZ

Following Foster Care Fortnight there will also be an event on Thursday 30 June Quaker Meeting House, 2 Cooper St, Stockport SK1 3DW from 11.30 until 2.30pm or 5pm-7pm. This will be an opportunity to meet the social workers who work with fostering applicants, foster carers and previously looked after children and will help you find out ‘All you ever wanted to know about becoming a foster carer but never dared to ask….’

Vaunda Taylor, Service Lead for Stockport Council’s fostering service, said:

“Stockport Council is delighted to be supporting Foster Care Fortnight which is a fantastic opportunity to highlight and celebrate the caring work of our foster carers and their families in their own communities.  We urgently need more foster carers in Stockport to come forward to care for children and young people within their local communities, particularly foster carers for older children, sibling groups and children with disabilities.

"We are passionate about the difference that foster care makes to the lives of fostered children and young people in Stockport.  Foster care transforms the lives of children and young people as well as those of the foster carers and their families. This has never been more important. Foster carers help children and young people to flourish and fulfil their potential, as well as providing a vital service to our community and I would encourage anyone interested in becoming a foster carer to contact the Council’s fostering team for more information.

"If you have ever considered fostering, now is the time to get in touch with Stockport’s fostering service and find out more. Our fostering community is open to people from all walks of life and backgrounds and we welcome enquiries from all, regardless of ethnicity, cultural background, faith, gender identity or sexual orientation. You just need to be over 21 and have a spare bedroom.

"We believe that community can be built around a variety of aspects of people’s lives, and it is important that different identities are represented within our fostering community.

"By becoming a foster carer you're not only joining a community that is welcoming, but one that provides valuable support to other foster carers should they need it, working together for our local children and young people in care. As a foster carer, you can  support children who have had a difficult start in life to reach their full potential. You can transform lives."

Anyone interested in finding out more about fostering with Stockport Council can contact the Council’s Fostering team on 0161 474 3400 or visit our fostering website for more information.