FosterWiki Opinion Piece
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…
