In Leeds we can assure you we are still able to undertake registrations of interest and have a system in place to ensure we can still take people through the recruitment process
Below are interviews with two of our current foster carers from Leeds, talking about their experiences of fostering for the council…
Marie and her husband have been fostering children age 10 and above for 27 years. They’ve looked after more than 60 young people in that time.
“Sometimes young people come to us short term and stay for 10 years and some come for a week and move on for whatever reason,” said Marie.
“It’s a real tricky age, especially with the life experiences those young people have had. But it’s also a lovely age and they give a lot back as well,” she said.
“There can be really difficult and unsettling times and that’s a challenge in itself, and it’s challenging understanding that other people are different.
“But the rewards outweigh the challenges for me. There are lots. It’s always rewarding for me to see kids achieve, no matter how small. Seeing young people in such difficult circumstances being happy and being able to get on, and to grow up and live happy, independent lives, that is extremely rewarding.”
She says that goodbyes are always hard, but, to a greater or lesser extent, all the young people Marie has fostered keep in touch. “We’ve always lived in the same house and had the same telephone number and every young person who has come to spend time with us knows that we’re there, and some need that more than others,” she said. “They’ve been part of our lives, so our door is always open.”
Marie and her husband don’t have children of their own. “I think that makes it easier for me, but it can work well the other way,” she said.
She added, “I still feel like I did 27 years ago, that it’s really, really important that our kids get a chance at a stable, happy childhood, and that’s got to be within a family setting. I don’t think residential care can replicate a family. I can’t say how important that is.”
Michelle and her husband have twins, who were two when they first fostered a 12-year-old for three years. Then, when the twins were five, a young person came to live with them just before his tenth birthday.
He has been with them for 11 years and is now 20. Soon they will be helping him to move out and get his own place.
“It is very rewarding,” said Michelle, whose parents ran a children’s home. “When our young person had been with us for 18 months I went to parents evening with him and the teacher said, ‘we’ve been doing stuff about family’ and he looked at me and smiled, and when I read it, he had put us.”
She remembers how it was to start with. “He and my son got on very well and played computer games, with a ball, with cars together. My daughter fought for my attention a little bit at first, but that changed quite quickly.”
Cared for young people can seem very street wise, Michelle explains, but they can be emotionally and physically younger, so being able to play with toys and games that are younger, that they might not have experienced, can work well.
“If you’ve got kids and you are doing family things – going to parks and play areas – and a young person comes to live with you and wants to experience living in a family, it can be good,” she said.
“You’ve got to be fair and equal with everyone while acknowledging that each individual has different needs,” added Michelle. “It is challenging at times.”
“I’ve got pictures up of all of them on the wall and they all get the same money for birthdays and things.”
She added, “I think there are lots of positives to fostering and having children of your own. If you spoke to my kids they wouldn’t have it any other way. They’ve enjoyed it. And our young person will always be part of our family.”
For more information about fostering, call 0113 378 3538, visit
www.leeds.gov.uk/foster4leeds or email foster4leeds@leeds.gov.uk
Follow us on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram @LdsFosteringAdv.
