As a teacher, Catherine realised the importance of fostering

Catherine had always wanted to work with children and worked as a Primary School teacher for ten years before having her own children. She didn't really know anything about fostering or children in care when she started teaching. As time went on, she taught at least one child in care every year. When she was teaching she taught children from all walks of life, including children who were in foster care. She met their foster carers at the school gates or at parent evening. It made her realise how important it is for a child to have a secure start in life. She could really see the difference that a stable foster home made to the children in my class.

Whilst taking some time off to have her own children, Catherine started to think that being a foster carer might work better for her lifestyle with two pre-school aged children than being a teacher. "I realised that it was a paid role and that I could be at home with my children as well as offering a home to other people's children." 

Catherine's husband, Sean, wasn't keen on the idea at first. He thought their children were too young and deserved all their attention first. He said they could talk about it again once their kids were old enough to go to school. 

One day they took their son to rugby training and Sean got chatting to a new family. The new rugby player was a foster child, with hopes and dreams similar to their son's. Sean changed his mind.

"It's just a child who needs looking after. We're living family life with play and fun and outings and washing and dinner and school anyway, we can care for another child too." 

Catherine went online and Googled fostering. They had a couple of interviews with agencies and a visit from the council. Everyone she met was very nice, but she came away with the clear understanding that the council was a not for profit fostering organisation and that the independent agencies were making money from children in care.

"The teacher in me felt that this wasn't right, you don't go into teaching or fostering to become a millionaire." 

Catherine found the fostering assessment and approval process to be very in depth. They met with their assessing social worker every week, delved into their history and analysed their lives. She and Sean found it quite enjoyable. "I'd say to anyone considering fostering to be ready for this. They have to look at your whole life to see if there are any underlying issues and it can be intense. Our social worker was thorough but friendly, and we developed a really good relationship with them." 

Catherine and Sean found the Skills for foster training interesting. They managed to get their course in just before Covid hit. They met some lovely like-minded people, had some thought-provoking sessions and discovered their joint desire to foster properly, to their best of their abilities for the benefit of the child. 

Catherine and her family have now been fostering for 6 years. "We started fostering with Norfolk County Council because there is no profit involved. I didn't like the idea of fostering being a business, with children having a monetary value." 

They started fostering about a month after being approved at panel. The toddler they took for just six weeks became a short-term placement when his case took longer to be heard in the family courts than originally anticipated, and then evolved into a long-term placement. 

"During that time, our plans changed. We all fell in love with him; he became part of our family. We had thought we'd give as many children as possible a home, I'd even planned space on the wall for a photo gallery of all the children we'd fostered over the years. When it became clear our foster child could not go back to his family, we went back to panel and got approved to look after him long-term." 

For Catherine and Sean, seeing their foster child grow and develop is very rewarding. "It's great to see him flourish and overcome some of the challenges he's faced because of his background. He's so much happier now in his own skin. It's also fun to go on family trips and give him new experiences like camping and days out. He can do these things because he's with us."

Catherine says that their children were great at helping their foster brother settle in. "Fostering is good for them, they're more empathetic, they understand about children in care. They appreciate that not everyone's life is like theirs." 

A lot of people say they could never foster because they would get too attached. "I think if you feel that way, you are exactly the right person for fostering. You do get attached but it's a good thing. You're giving a child some stability and making memories which is just what they need."

Having been a teacher, Catherine thought she could handle children and deal with whatever they threw at her. She realised she wasn't always prepared for some of the challenging situations that can suddenly crop up, Thankfully there's a raft of support systems in place to help.

"We have ongoing support from our social worker who's always very friendly and helpful. There's a Facebook group where we can get advice from other foster carers and a networking coffee morning each week. New foster carers also have a buddy who acts as a mentor and can also help you get to grips with the paperwork that comes with the job. "I've also joined our new Mockingbird hub which links our family up with several other fostering families. It's brilliant. My children get to meet other children who foster. We support other foster families with things like sleepovers. And my children are fantastic with the other foster children, they show them how things work, what our routines are like and what we do after dinner, so everyone feels comfortable."