Our Foster Carers Favourite #fosteringmoments

As we enter into the second week of Foster Care Fortnight, we thought it vital that we hear from the people who make it all possible. Our wonderful foster carers, and the Capstone Foster Care network did not disappoint, with oh so many coming forward to share will us their most memorable fostering moments.

Favourite Fostering Moments

Foster carers, Becky & Steve, who specialise in fostering unaccompanied minors had too many to name just one…

“We fostered a Kurdish refugee from Iraq, he was miserable up in Herefordshire and his social worker, brought him down for the day to meet with us. He spoke very little comprehendible English but talked incessantly and enthusiastically. Somehow, we managed to communicate though. And he was such fun to live with. On one occasion the two of us were watching an episode of the Big Bang, started laughing and couldn’t stop for about half an hour. It was painful! 

Then there was another refugee, this time from Afghanistan. He could speak hardly any English when he came to us but learned amazingly quick- such a bright young man. About 6 months in he volunteered to chair a PEP meeting we attended at school- and he did it so well: he was the smartest person in the room. I was so proud of him. 

And so much other fun stuff with so many other children over the years. Like when we went on a day trip where he swam in the sea for the first time and was shocked to discover that the water had salt in it. I can still see his incredulous face as he spat it out! It was such a fun day. 

Living with a jack in the box through Covid! There was never a dull moment with him around - although we would have welcomed one now and again. He lurched from accident to accident arising out of his manic activity - in the gym, boxing, playing football, racing around on his bike. His big eyes when he saw the size of the anaesthetist’s needle at A and E on one occasion! 

I’ll never forget the only girl. Casually referring to me as “dad” when I collected her after sleepovers and house parties with school friends. Her hilarious confrontation with robot cow on a bronze D of E field trip. Her brilliant GCSE results, proficiency in talking nonsense and she laughs at my jokes. 

One more is also particularly standout; he was such a brave and adventurous young man. He feels the fear and does it anyway. For example, he had never sailed and only just learned to swim when he took to life on the ocean wave like a duck to water on a five-day cruise as part of his gold DofE award. The bravest thing he did though was before he came to us. That was to tell his schoolteacher about the abuse he and his sister were experiencing at home. That led to them both becoming looked after and living with us. These days he’s always impressing us with successes in education and plans for employment. He’s the sort of person people say “yes” to - I’ve no doubt he’ll continue to do things that amaze. It’s a pleasure to know him.”

What an incredible collection of amazing moments! Some incredibly brave and wonderful children, what a privilege to be part of their journey. So often our favourite fostering moments are just those little things for so many but are actually huge milestones for looked after children, like riding a bike…

“Watching him learn to ride his bike. When he joined our family, we were told he needed to be in a pushchair, so for him to learn to ride a bike was really emotional and showed how far he had come and the progress he had made." – foster carers, Sue and Jim.

Or going to university…

“My favourite fostering moment is hearing that the young person placed with my parents had got onto the university course that she wanted. She has come so far and has thrived within her fostering placement.” – administrator, Nicky.

To witnessing their school prom…

“A positive of fostering is seeing young people achieving… watching my young person from when he arrived to live with me at 2 years old now to mature throughout the years, he is now 17 years old. Seeing him dressed in his suit for his school prom was a rewarding moment which has stood out to me… him looking so smart at the time and just a time for recognising all he has achieved.” – foster carer, Maggie.

Of course, it is sometimes hard to pinpoint a particular moment when a fostering career is so rewarding in itself.

“Positives of fostering is seeing young people making positive progress, such as in education and seeing young people finally have pride in themselves and their appearance” – foster carer, Sharon.

“I have cared for many unaccompanied minors during the 15 years of fostering I have done. I have supported young people with the many traumas they have experienced in the past and on their journey to the UK. One in particular I cared for went on to get married and have 4 children and run two pizza shops. Another went on to graduate from Manchester university. I am proud to see these young people go on to make positive achievements in life and I was part of their stories”. – foster carer, Zerezghi.

“Our fondest memories are when a child starts to feel more relaxed and settled in our family. When they first start to laugh and smile naturally not just because they feel they should be happy.

We had three siblings before the Covid pandemic who could barely speak or understand English. During Covid Lockdown we turned our lounge into their classroom. It worked well, even the 2-year-old sat at the table wanting to learn. The dynamics between the three children changed and they became friends. The weather was lovely, so we spent every day after lessons in the garden playing singing, dancing doing obstacle courses and teaching them to swim. Seeing their confidence and understanding grow every day gave us a huge sense of reward and achievement.  They all went to their long-term homes being able to read and write and interact with others confidently. We see them regularly and they always reflect on the activities we did together.” – foster carers.

We also absolutely loved to hear that the support received from Capstone Foster Care has been stand out for our foster carers too.

“Attending foster carer support groups at Capstone is a positive experience and it is encouraging to hear the experiences of other foster carers and encourages and motivates me to carry on and do my best and achieve good outcomes for young people” – foster carer, Mary.

“…Capstone staff- especially Amy, Lisa and Erin, all of whom have provided exceptional support through the very difficult time we had had …Amy has been brilliant and very supportive…working with Pete has been exceptional, as has John Garvey…Thank you for Capstone for supporting us through the difficult time - it was really appreciated…” – foster carers.

Could fostering be for you? Speak with an advisor today, call Capstone Foster Care on 0800 012 4004.