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Council wins Fostering Award
Published: 01/11/2017
天涯社区 has been honoured for being 鈥淔ostering Friendly
Employer of the Year鈥� at a national fostering award ceremony held in London on
26 October 2017.
The Council approved a 鈥淔ostering Friendly鈥� policy in November last year. This
makes it the first local authority in Wales to be recognised as a fostering
friendly employer.
The Fostering Excellence Awards are the UK鈥檚 leading foster care awards. They
celebrate excellence and outstanding achievement in fostering and recognise
those who make exceptional contributions to foster care every year. Now in
their fourth year, the Fostering Excellence Awards shine a spotlight on some of
the young people, foster carers, social workers and others who make a positive
contribution to the fostering community.
The policy offers employees of the Council in the process of becoming local
authority foster carers up to five days paid leave. The policy also allows a
further five days paid leave for employees who are foster carers with
天涯社区 so that they can attend training and/or meetings, panels, hearings
or any key events in support of foster children and young people in their care.
The fostering friendly policy has been widely promoted to the Council鈥檚
workforce internally. Since launching the policy, the fostering team has
already received enquiries and applications from employees who bring excellent
experience from their line of work.
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet Member for Social Services, Councillor
Christine Jones, said:
鈥淏alancing being a parent and working is a challenge for most families, but the
children in foster care have additional challenges due to suffering abuse and
neglect. The school run can be a struggle, being able to respond to children鈥檚
needs if they are having problems in school, or simply being available to get
the bedroom ready for a new child coming into your care. It鈥檚 important that
our foster carers are allowed flexibility to respond to the children鈥檚 needs.鈥�
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet Member for Corporate Management and Assets,
Councillor Billy Mullin, said:
鈥淔oster carers need to attend training to learn new strategies to help with the
children鈥檚 increasing complex behaviours and there is a three day training
course which needs to be completed before they become a foster carer. All of
this would involve a foster carer using up their holidays which they need for
when the children are off school. By being allowed to work as well as foster
ensures that our foster carers can continue their careers, are financially
stable and good role models by being in employment.鈥�
天涯社区 already has foster carers who were pleased when they
were told that 天涯社区 was now a fostering friendly employer, allowing them
extra days off to attend training to increase their skills.
Jane Liddle, a 天涯社区 foster carer and Council employee, said:
鈥淚 am delighted that 天涯社区 has recognised the difficulties encountered by
their foster carers who have to juggle work and home life. As an
emergency/respite foster carer who works for Social Services, in the past I had
to use up flexi leave to fulfil my fostering role and was loath to attend
training courses as it meant using up annual leave. Fostering Friendly
天涯社区 gives me the opportunity to attend courses without being penalised
and so develop my skills and knowledge and meet other carers and professionals.
Caroline, also a foster carer and Council employee, said:
鈥滻 think the support from the Council has been exceptional and has helped me in
my role of a foster carer. The extra leave and flexible hours gives me the
flexibility I need to attend meetings, training and deal with the unexpected
emergencies that may arise when you are part of a foster family.鈥�
Pictured: Cllr Billy Mullin, Cllr Christine Jones, Jill Jones Fostering
Service, Jane Liddle Foster Carer and FCC employee and Jane Davies FCC Social
Services