A life-long love of working with children led Sharon to fostering

Sharon and her two grown-up daughters have been fostering since her girls were in their very early teens, a decade ago. Fostering felt like a national progression to her after a career working with babies and toddlers in nurseries. "I think I probably first thought about fostering myself when I was 12. I was the middle child of five siblings, and our next-door neighbour was a foster carer. I've always been drawn to looking after children and I always seem to find the child that's got autism or ADHD in a group and instinctively know they need a bit more care."

At college Sharon studied childcare and subsequently got a job in a nursery, looking after pre-school aged children. After she had her daughters, she set up her own business running activity programmes in local nurseries. There's something about looking after children and being part of their development that she's always been passionate about. 

Sharon kept seeing adverts for fostering in the paper. After her divorce and when they were all settled, she considered fostering again. But her youngest daughter was only 10 and she didn't feel the time was right for them as a family. She wanted her daughters to be totally involved if they were going to do it. When Sharon's youngest was 12 and both girls were in high school, she contacted the council to find out more and to start the assessment process.

When she was younger, Sharon had a high-jump accident at school which revealed a back condition necessitating surgery. Since having children of her own she can only walk short distances around her home; outside she uses a mobility scooter. 

"Initially I had two main concerns about the fostering assessment and approval process. The first was my disability and whether I would pass the medical or not, and the second was my faith. I'm a committed Christian, and our church and community is an enormous part of our lives."

Sharon's assessing social worker agreed that she could do the medical first before any other assessments. She didn't want to be disappointed if she didn't pass the medical. Sharon's faith was another matter for discussion. She wanted to be able to take any foster children to church with her rather than leaving them at home.

"I think it's important that children grow up knowing about different faiths, and that children can continue to be part of their religious community whilst being fostered. Because I am committed to my faith, I appreciate even more how important it is to help my foster children follow their chosen faith." 

Tax relief

Sharon started fostering after she stopped running her own business working with children in nurseries. She was self-employed before, so being a self-employed foster carer wasn't a big change, but the tax relief you are awarded as a foster carer was. "You get an initial £20,000 tax allowance, plus extra tax allowances per child you look after, meaning your take-home earnings are significantly boosted because no tax is removed. When you are considering your finances, you must bear in mind that you're only paid your fee and allowance when you have a child or children living with you." 

Starting fostering

Sharon was approved for children aged 4 and over to start off with because older children meant less lifting and carrying, but as she's got used to fostering and what it entails, she also looks after babies and pre-school children.  She started with long-term foster care and they looked after a young boy for several years before her daughters went off to university - they all have a strong bond to this day. Now she concentrates on shorter term foster care, mainly babies and younger children. Right from the start, Sharon's daughters loved having younger children in the house.

"It makes everything more magical when you see it through a child's eyes. From Christmas Eve to visits to the local farm to pet the animals, they both feel that having a younger child as part of the family makes things more exciting again." 

Training and support

Sharon loves learning new things and fostering training gives her this opportunity. She did several courses whilst going through approval and assessment. "I'm very happy with the support from Central Beds, and I'm very active within the various support groups and events they put on. I enjoy the Carer Forum where we meet up with fostering managers every 3 months and talk about what's happened, what could go better and what improvements could be made. And I met Stacey at a support group, who has become a really close friend. She and I act as 'auntie' to the foster children in our care and go on joint outings. We celebrate each other in the highs and support each other in the harder times."

Sharon thinks the best thing about fostering is the difference you can make to a child's life. She had a little boy come to live with her who never laughed. Several months of care later, he developed an infectious giggle, so much so that she couldn't help herself from giggling too. She also knows that fostering isn't all a bed of roses. Some days are harder than others, and it can take a toll on you, emotionally and physically. She keeps coming back to it because her passion for helping children is so strong. She won't let one situation affect the other children she could care for and lives she could change.

"Just follow your heart. Fostering can work around your lifestyle. If you are unsure, start with respite care, see how that feels for your family, and then choose your path. But do it as a family. Every single person in your household has got to want to do it with you."