Gwynedd foster carers show everyone can 'bring something to the table' to support local children in care

New campaign aims to inspire people from all walks of life to consider fostering with their local authority.

There are more than 7,000 children in the care system in Wales, but only 3,800 foster families.

There arecurrently more than 170children in foster care in Gwynedd and 71 fostering households, but at least 12 additional foster carers are needed to ensure that children can stay in their local community, when it’s right for them.

This week, Maethu Cymru / Foster Wales - the national network of 22 Welsh local authority fostering teams - set out with the bold aim of recruiting over 800 new foster families by 2026, to provide welcoming homes for local children and young people.

Maethu Cymru Gwynedd has joined the new campaign, ‘Bring Something to the Table,’ utilising their greatest asset – current foster carers – to share realistic experiences of foster care and explore the small but significant human attributes people possess that can make the world of difference to a young person in care.

Foster Wales has spoken to over 100 people to develop the campaign– including foster carers, social workers, teachers, members of the public, and care leavers.

The responses from these groups highlighted three key things stopping potential carers from enquiring:

• A lack of confidence in their skills and ability to support a child in care.
• The belief that fostering doesn’t fit with certain lifestyles.
• Misconceptions around the criteria to become a carer.

Armed with this knowledge, Foster Wales has drawn on real stories of carers in Wales to show that local authority fostering is flexible, inclusive, and comes with extensive training and professional development opportunities.

Nici and Dan are long-term foster carers in Gwynedd. They have been fostering with their local authority in Gwynedd for over 14 years, providing stability and a loving family environment to children who need it most. They are currently fostering 4 children on a full time, long term basis, as well as raising 4 children of their own.

“For us, it’s not about the number of children we have fostered. It’s about the difference we have made to the children we have fostered,” says Nici, who currently has 7 children living at home between the ages of 6 and 16. 

“Although we went into fostering with the intention of doing some short break foster care to begin with, our first foster child ended up staying with us for 8 years! Since then, we’ve followed our hearts and mainly done long-term fostering, which really suits us as a family.

“With long-term fostering we feel that we can provide the children with some stability and give them a proper family experience. It means that the children become part of our family, and us their family.

“All children need roots. They need love and they need to feel that they belong. By fostering,  no matter what type of fostering you do, that can be achieved.”

 

Wales is leading the way in children’s services

Currently, Wales is in the process of a whole system change for children’s services.

The changes proposed in the 2021 co-operation agreement between Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru made a clear commitment to ‘eliminate private profit from the care of looked after children.’

 

This means, by 2027, care of children that are looked after in Wales will be provided by public sector, charitable or not-for-profit organisations, and the need for local authority foster carers is greater than ever.

 

Cyngor Gwynedd’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People Councillor Elin Walker Jones added:

"Our local authority foster carers in Gwynedddo an incredible job, supporting children and young people by offering their skills, experience, empathy and kindness to ensure they feel safe and secure.

“But we need to recruit more amazing people in Gwynedd to ensure that all local children who need it have a welcoming home and the right foster carer for them.

“When you foster with Maethu Cymru Gwynedd, you will have access to dedicated local knowledge and support, a brilliant learning and development package and more importantly, you can help children stay in their own local community, close to friends, their school and everything they hold close.

“We encourage anyone who wants to make a difference to a child’s life to bring their skills and experience to the table and get in contact with the Maethu Cymru Gwynedd team.”

The campaign began on Monday 8 January across TV, streaming services, radio, digital, social media, and with various events in local communities across Wales.  

For more information about fostering, or to make an enquiry, visit:

https://fosterwales.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/