FosterWiki Opinion Piece
Allegations against foster carers are complex with far reaching consequences
Author: Carolyn Moody MBE, FosterWiki Ambassador Allegations against foster carers are complex with far reaching consequences As foster carers, facing allegations can be one of the most challenging, unexpected and stressful experiences, often arising even when everything seems to be going well. Allegations are often complex and can have serious consequences, yet public perception frequently…
Foster Care Fortnight – Haven’t you forgotten something?
Carolyn Moody MBE Fostering is the most wonderful thing you can do. As a foster carer, we keep children safe and give them stability and support during some very challenging times when they are unable to be with their own parents or family. We can provide essential care, good outcomes, memorable experiences and a sense…
Foster Care Fortnight – Questioning it’s Moral and Ethical Integrity
Niki Kalisperas, FosterWiki Campaigns Manager One of the most pressing concerns in foster care is the pervasive gaslighting narrative that suggests all is well for both foster carers and the children they care for, even if it’s just for two ‘special’ weeks – we have a collective responsibility to question it’s moral and ethical integrity….
Foster carers need ownership of their lives
Foster carers need ownership of their lives, not controlled, owned, bought and sold – we are not commodities Author: Robert Spencer The pervasive prevalence of unconscious rhetoric and language within our sector concerning foster carers, coupled with its normalisation and acceptance, presents a significant and enduring challenge in what is now a broken fostering landscape….
Examining the Landmark Foster Carers Tribunal
Landmark Foster Carers Tribunal. The landmark foster carer’s rights case wrapped up last week, and we now await the judge’s ruling in May. To recap, In June 2023, the East London Employment Tribunal heard test cases of three foster carers. Foster carers are classified as neither workers nor employees, meaning they are denied fundamental employment…
Better fostering homes are built on love, but that’s not all
Better fostering homes are built on love, but that’s not all They are also built on skills, qualifications, experience, trauma-informed care, professionalism and real life. FosterWiki’s Ambassador, Carolyn Moody MBE, shows us how permanence and family can extend into adulthood Fostering always felt like a part of me, from way back in my childhood. My…
Finding Balance in Fostering
The importance of taking a break and switching off as a foster carer Author: Carolyn Moody MBE “Carolyn is a multi-award winning foster carer with an extraordinary wealth of experience who in 2022 was awarded an MBE for her services to fostering over a 20-year period. Carolyn is a specialist in disability and autism and…
Recruitment of foster carers – intrinsically linked to attachment
Recruitment of foster carers – intrinsically linked to attachment The far-reaching implications of attachment on foster care, and why it has such a significant impact on recruitment and retention. Author: Niki Kalisperas, FosterWiki Campaign Manager On November 6th we launch Noah’s Campaign in the Houses of Parliament, to bring about change, preventing the loss of…
Care leavers are living on the streets -it’s time to modernise foster care
Author: Sarah AndersonDate: 16th of October 2023 According to the Government this week the number of care leavers aged 18–20 years facing homelessness has increased by at least 33% since 2018, it left me feeling wretched, and it should leave us all feeling wretched. The problem doesn’t begin when young people leave care, we should…
Every foster carer needs a Frank
Every foster carer needs a Frank – As FosterWiki Ambassador Carolyn Moody MBE processes the death of her first fostering social worker she reflects on how his exceptional qualities helped her become the carer she is today….
They attempt to shame me over money, but I reject it.
A foster carer talks about money Gillian Burgess, Foster Carer I thought I would share some recent experience. The fact that this is the case speaks volumes about the shame and fear that exists in the fostering community about the accusation of ‘doing it for the money’. In other professions we take pride in our…
Would you foster all over again? “In a heartbeat”
A FosterWiki interview with foster carers Carolyn and Derek Moody MBE Carolyn Moody MBE is our FosterWiki Ambassador When we peel back the layers of fostering there are many unique and inspiring stories, none more so than these two remarkable individuals, FosterWiki Ambassador Carolyn Moody MBE and her husband Derek. I was delighted to speak…
Independent body will deliver much-needed change
Author: Carolyn Moody MBE An independent body for foster carers will deliver much-needed change The urgent need for improvements within the fostering system is well documented after many reviews. However, it is important to acknowledge that very little has changed. The fostering system itself is in need of real change for it to be a…
Suicide, Loss and Grief in a Fostering Family
Author: Carolyn Moody MBE, FosterWiki Ambassador The hardest and most painful words I have ever spoken to my birth children was that their grandad died by suicide. This is past, some years ago, yet I remember the day, time and what I was doing as if it was yesterday. And time hasn’t changed that, this…
The evolution of the fostering role is now inevitable
A report by Sarah Anderson On Tuesday 20th June 2023 a historic fostering court case begins in a corner of East London where an inauspicious office block holds tribunal hearings. Three foster carer members of the National Union of Professional Foster Carers are bringing a joint claim for worker status. This has never been done…
What has fostering ever done for me?
By Sarah Anderson, Founder, FosterWikiFoster Care Fortnight 2023 In a nutshell, fostering has changed my life immeasurably, the young people who have come into our lives have enriched it in every conceivable way and most of all, which I wasn’t expecting, it has taught me so much about myself. Like many, fostering wasn’t ever on…
A little boy’s heartbreaking journey to adoption
Why we resigned and why these practices must end We have been foster carers for many years, specialising in fostering children who go on to adoption. As a qualified professional working with vulnerable adults affected by their care experiences and extensive experience in the childcare sector, I did not enter fostering as a novice. Noah…
The FosterWiki response to the Government’s Care Review Implementation Strategy
By Sarah Anderson, FounderFebruary 2023 I took a couple of days to digest the government’s care review response to this latest review of children’s social care in an attempt to ensure a measured response and look for the positives. I’m not sure I’ve succeeded. I don’t know enough about early interventions, kinship care or social…
Foster Carer Allegations – Guilty Until Proven Guilty.
It’s time to call out allegations, speak the unspoken truths and weed out the bad practice. Aren’t they the worst, the truths that no one ever speaks but everyone knows, and allegations against foster carers are no exception. Now that fostering is in crisis we can no longer ignore the problem, it’s damaging retention, it’s…
I Know I’ve Made a Real Difference
“I know I’ve made a real difference – by offering a safe space where traumatised children can thrive” (Carolyn Moody MBE) In November 2022 my husband and I attended Windsor castle as Foster Carers where we were presented with our decorations at a royal investiture ceremony. We were so excited that we met William the…
FosterWiki in The Times – John Lewis’s ad tells only half the foster story
Those who care for neglected children know many beautiful moments but they are also stressed and under-supported Published by The Times on Friday, November 11 2022, 9.00 pm,Janice Turner “What drives carers away, says Sarah Anderson – a child therapist who has nurtured the most hard-to-place children for 15yrs and who founded the website FosterWiki…
FosterWiki in Community Care – Half of the foster carers considering quitting due to the cost of living crisis
A large majority of carers have to cut back on essentials, as rising prices risk deepening fostering shortages. Author: Anastasia Koutsounia Published by Community Care Published on August 2nd 2022 Over half (54%) of foster carers are considering resigning because of the cost of living crisis, a survey of over 1,000 has found. Information and…
Celebrate Foster Carers Christmas Day
Author: Carolyn Moody MBE November 2022 I think Foster Carers deserve to be celebrated as they contribute so much daily to a child’s life. Now we will be getting festive and trying to make Christmas special for the children. Many of us also have lost loved ones through many different circumstances so it will be…
Young People and Smartphones – Addiction and Harm
Author: Jane Adams As a foster carer for teenagers, I experience the realities of smartphones and “over-exposure” on a daily basis. I observe the obsessive need to have a smartphone to hand at all times including visiting the toilet, the compulsion to involve themselves in other people’s affairs, being misinformed by world events, experiencing lack…
Why do we do what we do?
What is trauma? “trauma is a person’s emotional response to a distressing experience”. What is a foster carer? “a situation in which for a period of time a child lives with and is cared for by people who are not the child’s parents” What foster carers do can be incredibly challenging emotionally, complicated and may…
Time to ditch the orphan Annie narrative in fostering
Author: Sarah Anderson FosterWiki Founder Time to ditch the orphan Annie narrative in fostering. Why modern foster carers are more than spare room and a big heart. It makes me so angry when I see the adverts ‘Have you got a spare room and a big heart?’ That’s all you need to be a foster…
The Foster Carer’s Paradox
Sometimes I just feel we are stuck in the revolving door of the foster carer’s paradox. Author: Sarah Anderson FosterWiki Founder Published 24th September 2021 Sometimes I’m told ‘you’re just a foster parent’ then at other times I’m a professional required to adhere to national minimum standards, and statutory legislation, attend meetings, work with a…
We are the epitome of the gig economy – we deserve rights
Author: Sarah Anderson Sarah Anderson of the Foster Care Workers Union says those looking after the most vulnerable need better pay and job protection, even if it means changing the law. Working with no employment rights is one of the big downsides of the so-called gig economy. Now foster care workers are joining bike couriers…
She was heartbroken – and no amount of love was going to fix that – how fostering is not what you think
Foster carers play a critical role but their homes will always be an alien land to the children they care for, says consultant Sarah Anderson Published by Community Care April 8th 2022 Many moons ago when Bethany* came into our lives, our home was her foreign land. Her mum was in a psychiatric ward and…
