Foster care service under Southampton City Council proving successful

Ofsted figures show 190 families approached the authority to enquire about fostering, but only 20 (11%) made an application in 2020-21.

This was lower than six years before, when 271 enquiries were received, with 45 (17%) households going on to make an application.

But in the last six months, the council has seen an increase of 24% in the level of enquiries compared to the same period last year.

Southampton Civic Centre

Cllr Peter Baillie said:"Many of the children in our care have experienced traumatic periods in their lives which has led them to be cared for outside of their own family and finding the right foster family to provide them with support and guidance is crucial in enabling them to thrive.

"Nationally there is a shortage of foster carers and we are far from alone in experiencing challenges with recruitment.

"Our dedicated fostering team is now busy supporting those people through the assessment process to ensure they are fully approved foster carers as soon as possible and able to offer a child a caring home environment.

"We are also working hard to ensure that fostering for Southampton City Council is an attractive option for anyone considering becoming a foster carer."

The council offers extensive foster care training, a remuneration package and continued support for families along their journey.

Cllr Baillie added: "We have guidance and information on our website for those who want to enquire, and our fostering team are always on hand to answer any questions and respond to initial queries. We are actively advertising for foster carers and run regular drop in virtual events where people can find out more and hear from other foster carers.

"We’ll be hopefully holding an exciting in person event in the New Year, pending covid restrictions, where people can come along and speak to us about becoming a foster carer."

The council has also just been named an accredited fostering-friendly employer, meaning it has a dedicated policy to support staff who are foster carers or those who are interested in becoming one.

Cllr Baillie explained: "We want to pave the way for businesses in the city to follow suit and also become fostering friendly, enabling their employees the flexibility and opportunity to take on the rewarding challenge whilst working."