 A very warm welcome to the first edition of Fostering News of 2021! We hope you had a peaceful Christmas and wish everyone a very happy New Year. In this edition you will find information from the Children in Care Council and as always some exciting training opportunities.
"Mind of My Own is an app that allows vulnerable children and families to communicate with their workers safely and in their own time. We only started using it relatively recently and have had some excellent feedback from the children who use it.
"I am delighted to say that Nottinghamshire are the first organisation to reach 1000 statements in 2020! I want to say thank you to the colleagues who are supporting the Mind of My Own app and to the colleagues who have introduced Mind of My Own to the children they are responsible for. I am convinced that Mind of My Own is helping us to keep our children safer and is helping us better understand their needs, a massive thanks to everyone involved."
- Steve Edwards, Service Director, Youth Families and Social Work
|
Do you have a young person in your care who loves the arts and being creative?
Captivate; the Cultural Education partnership for Mansfield and Ashfield; Mansfield Palace Theatre and Inspire Youth Arts, are creating a project providing opportunities specifically for Looked After Children.
Get This! is now recruiting looked after children aged 8 to 19 years for their first arts & digital project across Ashfield and Mansfield.
Simply complete this form with your young person and they will be contacted in the New Year to be told more about the project.
Visit Facebook.com/GetThismansfield where you'll find free activities, games and ways to get involved and be inspired.
|
Do you have a young person that would like to develop team building or leadership skills? Or make friends in a similar position and increase their confidence?
If so, the Children in Care Council (CiCC), also known as Young Peoples Voices, would like to give them a warm welcome and is interested in listening to their views!
48th Year Annual Shadow Team Building/Orienteering Event
Congratulations to our Youth Service Children in Care Council the `Mighty Lions’ on winning joint third prize at the Nottinghamshire Shadow Light Challenge. This year due to Covid-19 restrictions, young people completed a variety of team building challenges in their own team bubbles throughout the county in their own venues. Congratulations to all the young people that took part on their achievements!
If you would like to find out more about the exciting annual project which offers young people aged 13 -17 an opportunity to develop their skills in teamwork, orienteering and self-confidence, please contact emma.betteridge@nottscc.gov.uk
The evening usually takes place throughout the night at Sherwood Forest in Edwinstowe in October and is facilitated by the Mill Adventure Base.
February Half Term - adventure activities, fresh air and time outdoors*
- Monday 15 & Tuesday 16 February, 10am - 3pm
Would your young person like to take part in a fun filled day and meet other young people in a similar position? The days will be in small groups adhering to Covid-19 safe working practices, spaces are limited so please get in contact with Emma (contact details below) as soon as possible to register your interest. The days will take place at the Mill Adventure Base in Sutton in Ashfield and will cater for young people aged 8-12 years and 13-17 years (please specify if you would like a foster sibling group to attend together).
Contact Emma Betteridge: emma.betteridge@nottscc.gov.uk
* Please note, depending on Covid-19 restrictions at the time, these arrangements may be altered or cancelled.
|
One of our foster carers’ daughters was keen to get involved with the Fostering News bulletin this month and has written this fantastic piece about what it’s like to be a birth child in a fostering house hold:
“I’m Ella and I am 10 years old. I have been fostering for over a year now. I enjoy fostering because it is the definition of meeting new friends that you have not met yet. My first foster siblings that we had were two girls that were 3 and 4 years old. I have got to meet around 6 new people in this year, and it is just nice to see different faces in my house.
"My brothers (Charlie and Jack) have enjoyed the fostering experience as well but so far, we have only had one boy for one weekend so they are hoping we have a boy at some point. Sometimes foster children are nervous and shy so we have to make them feel welcome but sometimes me and my brothers are shy so they have to make us feel comfortable with them around which can sometimes be a bit tricky.
"When I have foster children, I love to play with them and bake with them because that is what makes my weekend fun.
"Whenever I have foster children in our home it makes my week way more exciting and it brightens my weekend up.”
We are really grateful to Ella for writing this lovely article. If you have any birth children or foster children who would like to contribute to the newsletter (it could be a picture they’ve made, a poem, a photograph they have taken or an article such as this one) then please email it to fostering@nottscc.gov.uk
|
Training support and development standards workbook - virtual drop in session
The training co-ordinators have organised virtual training support sessions to assist carers to complete the training and development standards workbook. The workshops are informal and flexible and foster carers can attend as many sessions as they like. The sessions will last one hour and the upcoming dates are 14 January, 19 January, 10 February and 23 February.
Eating Disorders
There are still quite a few spaces left on the Eating Disorders course which will be via Zoom on 19 January 2021, from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
|
