Fostering can mean everything to those involved.
This is the message of a powerful new fostering film from over 100 councils including Coventry City Council, who were the pioneers behind the idea seven years ago to work collaboratively with fostering teams across the UK.
‘Everything’ will be launched this week on 17 October. It is the seventh film produced by a growing partnership of councils and children’s trusts to promote local authority fostering. The ‘Everything’ project is the largest collaboration yet, with participants from Cumbria to Devon and Lancashire to Essex.
Cllr Pat Seaman, Cabinet Member, Children and Young People, said:
“The ‘Everything’ project has given our fostering service an amazing film that shows the long-term impact fostering can have, with relationships between carers and children lasting well into adulthood.
“We were instrumental in developing the idea of working together with other fostering teams to deliver a film with the universal aim of promoting the importance and vital role foster carers play.
“All councils need to recruit more foster carers, and by collaborating to produce this emotionally powerful film, we will show people how rewarding and life-changing fostering is.
“The message is the same for all of us – we need more people to step forward and become foster carers. ‘Everything’ will help us to reach more people in our communities and encourage them to find out more about this really rewarding role.
“We are committed to giving the vulnerable children and young people we care for the best chance to thrive, which for the vast majority of them is with local fostering families. Finally, anybody who can play their part and be the everything in a child’s life, can contact the Coventry fostering team on 024 7683 2828 or email pssfostering@coventry.gov.uk”
The importance of having local foster carers and how they can make such a massive difference in supporting children and young people, is shared by Coventry foster carers, Genine and Tajae, who reflect on their own experience of supporting relationships with children who have left their care.
They said:
“As foster carers we established positive relationships with all the children in our care. It has always been our aim to make them feel accepted, loved, safe and cared for. Although we’ve had highs and lows, we can see the positive impact we have had on the children, even after leaving our care.
“We are so glad that we are able to keep in contact with some of the children we have cared for. Recently, we went out for dinner with a child (now adult) who left our care four years ago.
“We spoke about our great memories together and she let us know the positive impact we had on her future. She was so appreciative in knowing that we still cared for her even after all these years and will always be there for her.
“We are also still in contact with another child who had formed close relationships with both of us and our extended family. We still talk on the phone; he comes to our house and on trips to London with us to see our family- this was something that he really enjoyed while in our care.
“This has had such a positive impact on him to know that he is still seen as family and is always welcome.”
The new film, ‘Everything’, follows foster carer Mike and his family on a journey through time with two of the children they have looked after, who are now adults. A surprise 60th birthday party for Mike gives Will and Zara a chance to reflect on how being fostered made a difference to their lives, thanking him for everything.
Thanks to footage shot on a genuine old camcorder, we are taken to the 1990s, to see how Will settles into the family. We also jump back to the 2010s, when a young Zara is being taught to play the guitar by Mike, something that comes full circle when she performs a song at the party. Mike’s son Chris is involved throughout, showing the important role the children of foster carers play.
The concluding message of the film is that what you do with your life could forever change someone else’s – encouraging people to foster to make that change.
The film was developed with the input and insight of foster carers and people with care experience. It was produced by Reel TwentyFive and project managed by public sector media partner CAN/Rachel Brown. Project Director, Rachel Brown describes the main message of the film:
“Many people don’t realise how common it is for relationships made through fostering to last well beyond the ‘official’ caring role. This has a huge impact on the lives of those who have been fostered, giving them stability and security well into adulthood.
“Fostering with your local council or children’s trust means you can better support local children and young people who need a safe and nurturing home where they can grow and thrive.”
Sarah Thomas, chief executive of the Fostering Network says:
"The Fostering Network has been proud to support the collaborative film projects since 'Giants' in 2017. It's great to see local authority fostering services pooling resources to produce another amazing film. 'Everything' will help to amplify their message about the chronic shortage of fostering households, encouraging more people to come forward and foster.”
For anybody wanting to find out more about fostering with Coventry, people can contact the fostering team on 024 7683 2828 or email pssfostering@coventry.gov.uk