Birthday & Festive Allowance and Commissioning of Organisation to Provide Support to Foster Carers

Luke Chapman would like to share two important developments with you. Please click here.  

Celebrating Our Children Who Foster

Fostering is about everyone in the home and October is ‘Sons and Daughters Month’ - The Fostering Network’s annual campaign to celebrate the vital contribution that the children of foster carers make to foster care, welcoming fostered children into their families and ensuring successful fostering placements.

The Fostering Network are encouraging the whole fostering family, and in particular the sons and daughters of foster care, to share stories and pictures to let their communities know what fostering means to them. There is even a competition for children who foster to send in original artwork celebrating their fostering family – more details including how to enter can be found here!

If you and your family have a story you can share in the newsletter as well as with Fostering Network and foster carers nationally, please let us know by emailing fos-assess-bs@devon.gov.uk.  

Passports for Children in Care

If you would like to obtain a passport for a Looked After Child in your care, please let the child’s Social Worker know and they will arrange for an application to be made. You will be required to provide passport photographs of the child. The application will be made by the child’s Social Worker, including any costs incurred. If the child or young person is 16 or over they may wish to complete the application themselves, in which case their Social Worker or Personal Assistant will be able to help them with this. Children aged 12 years and over will be required to sign the passport application, and their Social Worker will facilitate this where required.  

Please note you will need to provide plenty of notice when requesting a passport application is made as these applications may take some time to be progressed by the HMRC. Please do not book any holidays until you have received the passport back.

News from Around the Country

A famous saying states “ Misunderstanding arising from ignorance breeds fear, and fear remains the greatest enemy of peace.”  

As you will be aware a couple who are believed to have fostered two suspects in the Parsons Green bomb attack have been revealed as decorated carers to hundreds of children. Armed police raided the home of Penelope and Ronald Jones, aged 71 and 88 respectively, in Sunbury-on-Thames following the attack. The couple, who have taken in 268 children over four decades, including at least eight refugees, and are determined to continue to foster.

If you want to be more informed about this issue then click on the link and browse the comprehensive resources http://educateagainsthate.com/parents/ . Fostering Devon are exploring ‘Prevent’ training opportunities for our carers with different providers.

Alison Griffiths, a Surrey County Councillor who knows the couple, told HuffPost UK: “They will be absolutely devastated. They put so much time and energy into their foster children. I think this is going to be a huge shock.

Training Questionnaire – your chance to have your say about your training needs!

Dear carers - so far we have only had 15 carers respond to our online questionnaire about what to include in next year’s training programme.  This is your chance to have a say in the training we provide for you, please take the time to fill in the questionnaire!  We really want to try and get it right for you.  Here is the link again to the questionnaire, the survey will close on Monday 23rd October.

Many thanks and we look forward to reading your replies! Joanne Hyson, Team Manager, Fostering Training.