Stronger Together | The Importance of a Support Network to Foster Carers

We understand that foster carers have chosen a role that requires them to give so much of themselves mentally, emotionally, and physically to provide the best care possible to the children and young people in their care. 

For foster carers, their role is 24/7 and 365 days per year - there is no switching off at 5pm or at the weekends to decompress from the week. Many looked-after children and young people have experienced trauma which can present challenging behaviours that require extra care and attention in order to support them.

Being a foster carer is rewarding, but it can also be a draining and demanding role which is why even the most experienced foster carers need a strong support network around them to guide them through their foster care journey.  

The Support You Need

All foster carers should have a support group which compromises of:

Social Workers

As a foster carer at Nexus Fostering, you are assigned a supervising social worker who will be right by your side throughout your journey. Here at Nexus Fostering, we are at the end of the phone 24/7, 365 days per year, providing supervision, peer support, out-of-hours support, respite care services, and access to independent support. 

Friends and Family

Friends and family can provide support, advice or even just be there for you to have a chat and decompress. During your assessment, it is possible for you to identify people within your support system who can be backup carers when you may need a night off. We encourage our carers to talk to their friends and family about any issues they are having, often a view from the outside can help more than you think. 

Other foster carers

Every month, the Nexus Fostering local offices hold Support Network groups where our foster carers come together, chat, have some tea and cake, share their experiences and get to know each other.

Training 

We offer regular face-to-face training courses, as well a wide selection of online training courses that foster carers have the opportunity to take part in. We work closely with our foster carers to identify any possible training that could benefit them in their role. 

If you're interested in fostering and would like to find out more information, enquire here