Coventry City Council is playing its part alongside 24 other local councils in a national campaign encouraging people to foster with their local authority.
At this time of year, many people celebrate Christmas. The campaign uses an advent calendar theme throughout December and up to Christmas Eve highlighting a new case study on social media. The campaign also showcases what local authority foster carers who celebrate Christmas do to make Christmas extra special for the children in their care.
The Foster with Coventry team will supplement this with additional festive messages of their own throughout the Christmas and New Year period.
The campaign commences this Friday,1 December, with Coventry foster carer, Nicola, talking about Christmas being an exciting time in her home. She talks about how she plans with the children she cares for so there are no surprises and make this a fun time but also a relaxed time for children to be involved.
Cllr Pat Seaman, Cabinet Member, Children and Young People, said: “We are proud to be one of the Councils playing a part in this festive-themed campaign. The build-up to Christmas and the festive season is a special time for many of our foster carers as it creates happy memories for the children in their care, memories which are so important to celebrate together in a loving, caring environment.
“I would encourage anybody thinking about fostering, especially at this festive time of the year, to have a look at the campaign and see if you can make special memories for another child or family next year.”
To view Coventry carer Nicola’s story as part of the campaign and find out how you can make the difference by fostering, visit www.coventry.gov.uk/foster .
The Council needs more foster carers, both full-time and part-time, and one area that urgently needs support is the Out of Hours fostering scheme, where carers are on a rota in case children and young people need emergency support overnight or the weekend, outside of office hours.
Councillor Seaman added: “We appreciate that being a full-time foster carer may not be a role some people can commit to, which is why we are asking people if they can take some time and see whether fostering is right for them on a part-time basis. The Foster Team would love to hear from people who may not have considered the part-time route.”
If you wish to find out more about Fostering, including the Out of Hours Scheme visit www.coventry.gov.uk/foster or give the team a ring on 024 7683 2828