Foster carer Beth, 25, helps launch new awareness campaign

Recruitment drives seeks to meet surge in demand

A 25-year-old teaching assistant has helped launch Diagrama’s new campaign to raise awareness of the need for more foster carers in the south east. 

Beth Earnshaw, from Swanley in Kent shares her story in a new video of how she has wanted to become a foster carer since she was a teenager. Her dream came true when she was approved as a Diagrama foster carer in 2020. The short film highlights her journey so far.

Beth wanted to become a foster carer since she was in year 12 and completed a Psychology module on child development at school. She assumed that being single, working full time and living with her parents might be barriers to fostering, so was delighted when the Diagrama fostering team accepted her onto their training programme.

Beth lives in Swanley, Kent, and lives at home with her parents. She said, “Becoming a foster carer has been a long-held dream, but my situation is very different from other foster carers. I am only 25, single, I work full time as a teaching assistant at a local primary school and I am still living at home with my parents. However, I was thrilled when Diagrama explained that they wanted to support people from all different walks of life, and I could enter their programme to train as a carer.”

Beth continued, “I have a really good relationship with my parents and the way they parented me has been really helpful in preparing me for how I will work with children. I feel that having people at home to support me emotionally and give me advice through this process can only be positive. I’m definitely not wearing rose-tinted glasses. I know the fostering journey will have many ups and downs, but I am excited about the prospect of being able to input into a child’s life and enrich their lives.”

Beth has now completed her training and during the October half-term holiday had her first placement for respite care. She is now waiting to have a child placed with her for long-term care. 

Natalie Lohneis, Head of Fostering & Adoption Team, said: “There has been a surge in the numbers of children needing safe and secure foster placements and we have launched this campaign to recruit new foster carers to support this demand. Many people dismiss fostering as a career choice because they are single or work full time, but many parents work full time or bring their children up on their own, so there is no reason why we wouldn’t want to discuss whether they were suited to fostering.”

The campaign will showcase different Diagrama foster carer stories, new blogs and social media coverage under the banner ‘The most rewarding job you’ll ever have’.

You can show your support for Diagrama’s campaign by following us on social media –  liking and sharing our posts with the #FosterWithDiagrama hashtag.

Watch Beth’s story here:https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/n_KWswOkdKo

If you want to make a difference to the life of a vulnerable child and think fostering might be the career choice for you, Diagrama holds a monthly information event where you can meet our friendly fostering team, hear from foster carers and find out what’s involved. You can book a place on an online information event here.

Or contact our team today for more information.