5 Challenges Foster Carers Face in Bolton and How to Overcome Them
Background
Being a foster carer presents an amazing opportunity to support a child or young person and make a difference to their life and future. The number of children in care is high at over 80,000 across England and being a foster carer provides a safe home and environment for the child or young person.
The local area of Bolton is no different to the rest of England, with there being a shortage of foster carers. It is a rewarding but challenging journey in being a foster carer. Helping a child to feel safe, supported and happy is very rewarding but there is also the resilience, and commitment needed when a child may display challenging behavior or have a higher level of needs.
This blog will share common challenges about being a foster carer in Bolton and how practical solutions and support can help. When fostering in Bolton, it is important to have local support from your fostering agency in Bolton and also your personal network. Beacon Fostering provides local support in Bolton through our social work team.
Adjusting to a Child’s Needs
When a child or young person is first placed into foster care, their needs will be assessed and reviewed. Each child or young person will have their own needs, background and identity. It is important to fully consider these and find the best matched foster carer. The location of the child or young person’s nursery, school or college is always relevant.
The common experiences that children may have had challenges with include trauma, potential abuse, neglect or lack of trust with others. It is beneficial for foster carers to establish wellbeing for the child or young person and provide emotional care and support.
Fostering recommendations
It helps for foster carers to work closely with their fostering agency on attending or completing training to cover managing trauma, neglect and promoting self care. Your fostering agency can provide targeted and focused foster carer training courses. There can also be the opportunity to engage and connect with local fostering support services in Bolton through your fostering agency directly. This may include access to supervised therapy or additional support.
Balancing Family Life and Fostering
Being a foster carer will impact on your own family life and dynamics. This can be from how the child or young person connects with your birth children, what shared hobbies they may enjoy or just if they are happy spending time together. There can be practical considerations relating to school transport, meal times and holidays for example.
Fostering recommendations
You should look to consider boundaries and how best to approach supporting each other. When becoming a foster carer, it is important to discuss this with your own family, birth children and friends. You should involve your family in decisions, and it can be helpful to speak to other foster carers. If you are looking to become a foster carer in Bolton, we can help introduce you to other carers to speak to.
Dealing with Emotional Ups and Downs
When fostering, the upsides and positives from supporting a child or young person can be really uplifting. For example, when the child or young person takes up a new hobby, passes an exam or enjoys a day out with you.
There can be more difficult times when you may feel stressed, overwhelmed or have lower emotions. This could be when a child or young person is not well, not attending school or being difficult at in the foster home.
Fostering recommendations
When you experience difficulties, you can call on support and involve your fostering agency and their foster care social worker. You also have out of hours support. It may help you to share your experiences with others and attend a local fostering support group in Bolton organised by your fostering agency. It is best to keep in regular contact and check in with your social worker.
Navigating the System and Paperwork
Record keeping for foster carers to keep is important and this includes your daily foster carer log (online through for fostering agency’s software), attending meetings to provide input into for key reports and helping a child or young person with their life story work. Life story work helps cover the child’s experience, achievements and own identity. This can help with their self confidence and development. Legal documentation for child in care includes care plans, annual review, personal education plans (PEPs) and pathway plans. These are prepared by the Local Authority social workers and other professionals but as the child or young person’s foster carer, you will contribute to these.
Fostering recommendations
It is helpful to be organised and also keep documents safe and secure for the child or young person supported by you. It can be good to keep a diary for key meetings and to ensure you have good communication with your fostering agency social worker and also the Local Authority social worker. Speaking to other foster carers may help with tips and advice.
Saying Goodbye
This can be a difficult time when the child or young person supported by you leaves your home. You may have connected emotionally and formed a good family bond. If a child or young person returns to their birth family, other family member or is a care leaver moving to independence, these are positive outcomes, and it is rewarding to have these endings or outcomes. If the placement ends unplanned, this will most likely be unsettling and your support network and fostering agency will play an important role.
Fostering recommendations
You should look to share your feelings with your family together and with others including your foster care social worker. Talking things through help share the emotions and also recognise achievements. You could reach out to your local network in Bolton with speak with other foster carers or professionals.
Conclusions
● To be a foster carer in Bolton is rewarding and demanding at the same time – do engage with others and ask for help.
● Contact your local foster agency in Bolton for support and advice. Beacon Fostering covers Bolton and surroundings area including fostering in Rochdale, fostering in Bury and fostering in Wigan.
● Being a foster carer will have highs and more difficult times, but it is a fantastic opportunity to make a difference to children and young person’s life from your support and hard work.