Foster carers in Renfrewshire are being praised for opening their hearts and their lives to children and young people who are unable to stay with their birth families.
Education and Children’s Services’ Convener, Councillor Emma Rodden, said the commitment and love demonstrated by Renfrewshire’s foster carers is helping to change children and young people’s lives for the better.
She said: “Ensuring children are safe, well and loved is the most important thing anyone can do. For children and young people who can no longer stay with birth families, being able to find a loving and welcoming home with a foster carer gives them the stability they need.
“Our foster carers continually demonstrate their care and commitment to the children and young people they care for and I would like to thank them for everything they do.
“Fostering can be highly rewarding experience and is one of the most important roles in our society. Each person who decides to foster any child or young person is making a huge and positive difference to their lives and giving them much needed care and support.”
The fostering team, alongside the adoption and supported care teams, have also been praised in a recent Care Inspectorate inspection.
The report highlighted that children and young people were able to develop meaningful and secure relationships with their foster care family.
Staff were also praised for the positive relationships they build with families and the culture of ambition they have for children and young people.
Everyone in the fostering and adoption teams are also signed up to Keep The Promise, a national commitment to improving services for all care-experienced people.
This includes today’s children and young people as well as adults who have been in care previously and future generations.
Councillor Rodden added: “One of the most important things is making sure that children and young people feel at home with their temporary or permanent carers. Our staff have shown time and again their dedication and commitment to children and young people, providing them with well-planned support that ensures their needs and interests are taken into account.
“Where we can, we keep brothers and sisters living together in their temporary or permanent homes and we need more people who can open up their homes and foster sibling groups, older children and children with additional support needs.
“I would encourage anyone who is thinking about being a foster carer to get in touch with our team.”
Almost anyone can become a foster carer. People can be in work or unemployed, be single, married, in a same sex or heterosexual relationship and can own or rent the property they live in.
Training, ongoing support and a generous allowance is provided to all foster carers.
Anyone interested in finding out more can email childrenandfamilies@renfrewshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 1199.
People can also go to www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/fostering for more advice and information on fostering.