Rachael Evans reflects on the parallels between fostering and teaching, and why teachers, family and friends make good foster carers.
During my two decades as a social worker in the fostering sector, I have had the privilege of being involved in the recruitment, assessment and support of foster and kinship carers, and I see the difference that foster and kinship carers make to cared-for children, and the critical role they play in the network around the child.
Foster carers come from different backgrounds, ages and life-stages, and they share a motivation to make a difference to the lives of children. There’s a parallel between this and the motivation of people who go into careers in education. For cared-for children, and those with special educational needs, trauma-informed care is key to their success in education and in all aspects of life. I have seen the valuable connections and relationships that exist between cared-for children and people in the wide vocation of education.
People in education and learning settings have valuable experience, and more and more schools are now trauma-informed. This represents a vital strength in the recruitment of potential foster carers.
Foster carer Jacqui and her husband Adrian foster for a local authority in the North East of England. They also have a son and daughter, now in their twenties. Jacqui and Adrian have both worked in school settings; Adrian as a teacher and Jacqui as a school business manager. Jacqui explains their motivation and their journey into fostering:
“I was self-employed for a couple of years, owning and running a tearoom. I was invested in helping young people become employment-ready, and I provided employment and training in my shop. One young person came from a family where they fostered young people. When I gave up the tearoom, this gave me my new direction—how to continue to support young people in education, employment and life skills, but within our family context.
“Neither of us wanted to do short term fostering—we felt it wouldn’t be a good fit with our personalities and skill set. We wanted to provide long term stability to children and young people, so we applied as long-term foster carers. We were matched with a young boy aged 8, who has now been with us for over six years. We have enjoyed caring for many children over the years, because we offer respite and short-term cover as well, so we have had babies and young children. We also had a young adult, aged 16, who needed a short term home until he aged out, engaging in Staying Put and Care Leaver systems for the last two years. We enjoy the experiences that fostering a variety of children brings to us and our family, and although there can be challenges, overall we feel our lives are enhanced through fostering.
“The gains from our children are immeasurable. The system can be frustrating and sometimes unreliable, so my advice would be to use your own support systems and wider networks to carry you through the more difficult times. The children are worth it.”
Jacqui and I discussed her experience of caring for a child with special education needs, their achievements, and what works. Jacqui and Adrian’s foster child has made consistent progress, Jacqui emphasises how helpful his school’s approach was, in recognising the child, wherever they are at. Recognising him and his abilities, instead of measuring him by unachievable one-size-fits-all targets. He was recognised with not one, but two expert learner awards.
Jacqui and I reflected on supporting cared-for children in education, and on the value of key relationships that connect.
- Understanding the impact of trauma—connecting the impact of adverse childhood experiences on the brain and development—leads to better understanding of the child and their reality, their lived experience, and how they view the world. This understanding can shape our care of them.
- Consistent training and shared learning across organisations are key. We should try not to see the impact of such trauma as behaviour, and take an empathic, compassionate view, not a behaviour-led response. Seeing the child behind the labels, therefore, as someone to be seen and heard.
- Recognise the foster carers in the team around the child. Valuing a foster carer’s learned understanding of a child in their care and their contributions is essential to the care planning for the child.
- Support the child through transitions. This may just be a transition within their school day, or it may be one of the more formal transitions for a child. How is this navigated with the child and what essential support may be required?
- Knowledge of and connection with a key set of staff both for a child and their carers. This contributes to developing a sense of belonging and stability, widening their sense of family beyond the foster-carer’s home.
Educators in the widest sense, be it a sports coach or the teaching assistant in a class setting, nurture the talents of children and young people every day. Education staff have invaluable experience working with children from different cultures, different abilities and different lived experience, and helping with their communication, behavioural and developmental needs. The relationships they build, and the inspiration they provide, help children achieve at their own pace, and this can make all the difference to them in the moment and for years to come.
A decade after the Department for Education became the first Fostering Friendly Employer, many organisations have, through their own schemes, been able to offer support to employees who are foster and kinship carers, enabling an understanding and consideration of their caring responsibilities alongside their working role.
If you are thinking of becoming a foster carer, whether for a child you know or not, there are many options and opportunities to consider. Please contact your local fostering services, or speak to the national organisation for the part of the UK where you live. Contact details at thefosteringnetwork.org.uk/about-fostering/get-advice/the-fostering-network-advice-lines