Fostering services across the country have joined together for the national release of a new short film commissioned by a collaboration of local councils and children’s trusts from all over England.

The unique film project, developed and funded by the West Midlands Regional Fostering Recruitment Forum and councils around the country, is aimed at helping to find more foster carers who can provide homes for the children and young people who need them.

Emma Taylor, who became Chief Executive of Sandwell Children’s Trust in April, is backing the Trust’s 2021 Foster Care Fortnight campaign to highlight the need for more foster carers and to encourage people thinking about fostering to find out more by contacting the Trust.

“One of the exciting things about Sandwell Children’s Trust is its family feel and desire to help children who need our support. Whilst ‘family’ can have different meanings to people, it’s important that we have enough safe, secure, loving homes locally for children who are not able to live with their own families and need to be in our care.

“So, I’m delighted to be supporting our contribution to Foster Care Fortnight. It’s great to hear about all the things we are doing to make it possible for people to step forward and foster for Sandwell, which mean more people will be able to consider making fostering in Sandwell an option for them. It also means that more of our children can live within a family environment without needing to be moved outside of Sandwell.”

Sandwell Children’s Trust is playing a leading role in the Fostering Network’s national Foster Care Fortnight campaign (May 10-23), which this year has the theme #WhyWeCare. Throughout the two-week campaign Sandwell Children’s Trust is publishing short films from its staff and foster carers on the Sandwell Children’s Trust Facebook page, as we celebrate the work of the Trust, keeping children in Sandwell safe.

“I have been really impressed by the work of Trust and how focused it’s been on delivering a high-quality fostering service to both our carers and of course our children. We already have amazing and caring people fostering for Sandwell and during Foster Care Fortnight I would encourage everyone to spread the word, however you can. Even if fostering is not for you, you can still help – tell your friends, share post, tweet your support.

It really makes a difference and the more carers that join us, the more we can help our children live and achieve their ambitions in Sandwell.”

Outcomes for children and young people in foster care in Wolverhampton have much improved over the last four years, thanks to a project that has helped transform the service.

The Family Values project started in May 2017 following a review of the City of Wolverhampton Council’s fostering service. It aimed to improve sufficiency and enable more children in care to be cared for by ‘in-house’ foster carers.

The project team has focused on increasing the recruitment of internal foster carers who foster for the council. This is reducing the need to use private external fostering agencies and enabling more children to live locally, letting them continue to go to school in the community they are already part of and to keep contact with their friends and their own family.

The project has also streamlined and reduced the time the process takes for approval of foster carers by two months, as well as offering much enhanced support and training for those foster carers already approved.

The overall number of children in internal fostering placements has, throughout the project, risen from 278 to 308. At the same time, the number of children in external agency fostering placements has reduced from 225 to 149, meaning over two thirds of children are now placed with internal foster carers.

High quality internal foster carers are improving outcomes for those children and young people who are fostered in Wolverhampton, by offering more stability and more positive long-term outcomes for children and young people in care. The short and long-term stability for children and young people in foster care in Wolverhampton is better than the national average for all other local authorities.

The work of the Family Values project has also made a significant contribution to council’s financial position, with an annual saving after costs in the region of £540,000 per annum. These savings have been reinvested into other areas of Children’s Services in Wolverhampton. 

Councillor Beverley Momenabadi, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “The Family Values project has been running for four years and has been a transformational success story for the service.

“Getting the best outcomes for children is at the heart of our work. Where children are in our care, we want them to live with local, high quality foster carers wherever possible, so they can benefit from the love and support that children experience when living with a family.

“It is really encouraging to see our transformational work deliver such important results for our children and I would like to thank everyone involved in Family Values and the wider fostering team for their hard work and positive contribution.” The Fostering for Wolverhampton team are currently recruiting for more foster carers. 

Throughout this year’s Foster Care Fortnight, which began on Monday 10 May, people who want to find out more about fostering for Wolverhampton are being invited to get in touch or take part in online information events.

Last year, the City of Wolverhampton Council saw an increase in people interested in fostering during the coronavirus pandemic. More people than ever contacted the Fostering for Wolverhampton team to find out how they could help change a child’s life and what the application process involves.

This month’s online information events will be on Thursday (13 May) at 1pm, Saturday (15 May) at 1.30pm and Thursday 20 May at 6.30pm. Each event, lasting no more than an hour, will offer an opportunity to find out more about this rewarding career, including the support and financial benefits on offer. It is also an opportunity to speak directly to existing foster carers and find out first-hand what it is like to be a foster carer.

For more information, please visit www.fosteringforwolverhampton.com/events. Meetings will be held via Microsoft Teams.

The theme for this year’s Foster Care Fortnight is #WhyWeCare and it is an opportunity to recognise how foster families are helping to give hundreds of children in Wolverhampton the best possible start in life by offering them a supportive environment in a loving home.

But more foster carers are urgently needed as there are still dozens of children waiting for a home, and the Fostering for Wolverhampton team is keen to hear from individuals and couples who want to make a difference to a local child. 

Foster carers can be single, married or in a relationship – and they won't be on their own as help and support is available 24 hours a day. They will receive ‘buddy support’ from experienced foster carers who are there to help and guide them and carers receive a regular, tax exempt fee and allowance to cover the cost of bringing up the child. The allowance starts from £383 to £440 per week depending on the child’s age. 

Emma Bennett, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Director of Children’s and Adult Services said: “We all want to see children and young people get the best possible start in life, so that they can realise their dreams and fulfil their potential. That’s exactly what being a foster carer for Wolverhampton is all about.

“With currently well over 200 fantastic fostering households, we are very lucky to have so many dedicated foster carers here in our city, but we have more youngsters who are looking for a permanent foster home.

“Fostering can truly be a life-changing experience, both for foster carers and the young person they care for. We'd love to hear from people who have both a spare room and of course love in their heart to give the most vulnerable children and young people in our city a family home.”

The #YouCanAdopt Black adopter campaign has relaunched across the West Midlands to encourage Black adults to consider adopting local Black children, who are overrepresented in the care system in England.

Nationally, Black children make up 8% of those waiting to find permanent homes. They also wait longer to be adopted than white children.

A national #YouCanAdopt campaign has launched in the West Midlands to encourage more people to consider adopting groups of brothers and sisters.

Latest figures show there are currently 2,020 children waiting to be adopted in England and, of those, 44% are in family groups of two or more.

Groups of two or more children wait an average of 17 months to be adopted, which is 135 days more than individual children. More than half of these groups even wait more than 18 months for their new family. For many potential adopters, this is due to groups being slightly older and because of worries about financial affordability, physical space, and it being too challenging.

Adoption@Heart is part of the campaign, launched by regional and voluntary adoption agencies across the country to highlight the significant benefits of adopting family groups of children together. As part of the campaign, a new film has been released featuring three families who have adopted brothers and sisters, alongside a new podcast featuring singer Sinitta, who adopted a brother and sister in 2007.

New research, commissioned by adoption agencies, has found that in the West Midlands, 62% of people say it’s important to grow up with brothers and sisters. In the survey of 176 people, 61% also say having brothers or sisters has positively impacted their lives or their wellbeing.

A further survey of those that have adopted, or are considering doing so, found that a key reason to adopt is to extend, or to start, a family (58%). Despite this, 34% of adopters do not consider adopting brothers and sisters.

Dr Elizabeth Kilbey, child psychologist and supporter of the campaign, said: “The brother and sister bond can offer incredible life-changing benefits throughout all aspects and stages of children’s lives.

“This is especially pertinent for adopted children, with #YouCanAdopt’s research showing the bond can support mental health, emotional wellbeing and social skills, and help children settle into a new family. Because of this, parents that adopt brothers and sisters together may find their experience benefitted by the support they can offer one another.”

According to adopters, the biggest challenges and concerns about adopting brothers and sisters are that it would be too challenging, affordability and the worry about not having enough space at home.

While challenges exist, there is a significant amount of support available to potential adopters – from financial to practical – and 88% of parents who adopted family groups say challenges are far outweighed by the positives. Many (61%) go as far to say that adopting children with their brothers or sisters has been the most beneficial factor in their children’s adoption journey; with benefits including increased reassurance, companionship, comfort, and settling into family life more quickly.

Mark Tobin, Head of Service at Adoption@Heart, said: “Adoption@Heart is once again proud to be part of the national #YouCanAdopt campaign encouraging people to find out more about adoption.

“So often we hear parents say adopting children with their brothers and sisters has been the most beneficial factor in their children’s adoption journey. We urge anyone considering adoption to think about the children in family groups who need a loving home and ask themselves if they can spare that extra space in their home, and their heart.

“There is plenty of support available – from the financial to the practical – for those that decide they can. If you believe you can consider adopting a sibling group and help us in keeping brothers and sisters together, please get in touch with us today”

Adoption@Heart is the Regional Adoption Agency for the Black Country, providing adoption services for City of Wolverhampton Council, Walsall Council, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council and Sandwell Children’s Trust. Due to coronavirus restrictions, Adoption@Heart has moved its information events online.

They take place every two weeks and are the perfect place for those who are ready to start their adoption journey or would like more information. Future event dates are available which include details on how to book your place via Eventbrite.