Diagrama offers free training to become a professional foster carer

Drop-in sessions to mark Foster Care Fortnight

Could you help transform a child’s life through fostering? Want to know more about what’s involved?

Diagrama Foundation is offering free training to people interested in a new career as a foster carer, in celebration of Foster Care Fortnight, which starts on Monday. (May 14-27, 2018)

Our charity, which recently expanded its fostering and adoption service to a second site in Chatham, Kent, is looking for people interested in helping the community’s most vulnerable children, to book a place on one of two 3-day Skills to Foster courses this summer.

With 65,000 children living with foster families across the UK there is a national shortage of safe and secure homes for children in times of crisis. According to figures published by The Fostering Network, a further 830 families are urgently needed to meet current demand in the south east alone.[1]

Diagrama Fostering focuses on finding families who can care for harder to place children, such as sibling groups and children with additional needs.

“One of the most rewarding parts of being a foster carer is when you actually get to know a sometimes misunderstood soul. It's exhilarating seeing them contradict negative statements that may have been written or said about them, and you see them start to flourish into an alternate version of who they were. It's then you truly understand that with the right ingredients in life anything is possible.”  – Zoe and Andrew

Fostering manager Catherine Moore explains: “We’re looking for ordinary people from across the south east who can make an extraordinary difference to the lives of these children, and offer them endless support at a time when they need it most. We’d love to hear from people who can really picture themselves putting the children they care for at the centre of their lives. The value of having a nurturing spirit and a will and determination to have a positive impact really cannot be underestimated.

“You don’t need to have any formal qualifications as we can train you in the skills you’ll need to carry out the job, provided you have the essential qualities needed. You will need to be aged over 21 and have a spare bedroom.

“Our foster carers come from all walks of life, some are pensioners, others have flexible jobs which work around the children they care for, so come and find out how fostering can work in your life.”

Over the next two weeks the charity is holding a series of drop-in events for people to find out more about the role and how they can access training.

Our fostering team is inviting members of the public to call into our offices on Floor 3 at Anchorage House, Chatham, on Wednesday May 16, Friday May 18 and on Tuesday May 22 and Thursday May 24, between 10am and 4pm, to find out more about transforming young lives through fostering.

The three-day Skills to Foster course will be held in Winchester and Rochester. The course looks at a variety of aspects including:

• What do foster carers do?
• Identity and Life Chances
• Working with others
• Understanding and caring for children
• Safer caring
• Transitions

Diagrama Fostering is a not-for-profit agency which is rated Good by Ofsted. Diagrama is a member of New Family Social.

Interested in fostering with Diagrama? Get in touch today to start your fostering journey, call on 0800 802 1910 or email at fostering@diagrama.org