This Foster Care Fortnight, building communities remains at the heart of the Diagrama Fostering ethos
It’s Foster Care Fortnight 2023 – a yearly national awareness raising campaign delivered by The Fostering Network. This year, the campaign focuses on fostering communities – and the huge personal rewards that being a foster carer can bring, as well as raising awareness of the huge shortage of foster carers, in particular for older children, sibling groups, disabled children and unaccompanied asylum seeking children.
The communities we have created at Diagrama is the lifeblood of our fostering service. Foster carers are unbelievably special – they provide a stable home from one night to a number of years, in what can be difficult and highly stressful situations for children and young people. Despite a national shortage of foster carers*, Diagrama is actively working to recruit new foster carers to welcome into our community.
We think it’s vital to keep our families connected. Diagrama works with our foster carers and adopters to ensure communities, life-long friendships and relationships are built and maintained. Through contact, support, training and regular events organised by our team, we provide the tools for new and existing foster carers to establish valuable communities that become integral to their roles. In addition to advice and guidance from other foster carers, the children and young people in their care will build their own social communities around them. From making friends at school, to social clubs with their peers, this stability is vital for children and young people to flourish.
As a celebration of Foster Care Fortnight 2023, and in recognition of our fostering community – our foster carers and adopters joined our team for a ‘Hawaiian’ themed picnic. Children and adults took part in an action-packed day of activities that everyone really enjoyed, and also got the opportunity to meet other Diagrama foster carers and adopters.
Kate Patel, Head of Fostering and Adoption (Diagrama) said: “Our picnics are a fantastic opportunity for our fostering and adoption community to come together and enjoy peer to peer friendships and socialising in a friendly and relaxed environment. During the day the Diagrama team ensured everyone had fun with the organised activities and spent valuable time relationship building with adopters and foster carers.”
David McGuire, Chief Executive of Diagrama, said, “This event, held during Foster Care Fortnight, shows the vital nature of friendships and communities coming together to share fun times with one another.”
This Foster Care Fortnight is another opportunity to highlight and celebrate our fostering community and all that it does to ensure children are loved, supported and cared for through to adulthood.
Find out more about our Hawaiian picnic event, and talk to our team to find out about the support and opportunities you’ll have as a foster carer to thrive in your community.
Visit The Fostering Network for more information about Foster Care Fortnight.
*Fostering Network Statistics: https://www.thefosteringnetwork.org.uk/advice-information/all-about-fostering/recruitment-targets
