Guest blog for Foster Care Fortnight from Telford and Wrekin’s Beth Davies

Foster Care Fortnight is an opportunity to raise awareness and celebrate foster carers and those individuals who support carers and children and young people. The theme of 2024 is #FosteringMoments, giving all individuals involved across the fostering community a chance to share moments that have mattered most to them.

To celebrate Foster Care Fortnight, IMPOWER spoke to Telford and Wrekin’s Beth Davies who provides outstanding daily support to foster carers and children. She has recently further shown her commitment to carers by utilising her expertise to design and deliver a ‘Foundation for Attachments and Nurturing Attachments’ course. More detail on this and Beth’s top fostering moments below.

What do you find most rewarding about your role?

“My role is incredibly rewarding, primarily it is about supporting foster carers and children to strengthen and maintain relationships, when you see this develop and attachments formed meaning our children feel safe and secure, that feeling is beyond heart warming.”

This year’s theme for FCF is #FosteringMoments – what are some stand out moments for you in your career?

“Since working for Telford and Wrekin I’ve had many standout moments, but one is something I am particularly proud of. When I first started, I was asked to work with a boy who was really struggling in all areas, his foster carer was too. School had also given him a last warning so things could not have been much worse.  They needed help because the placement was in crisis. This boy had never had a secure attachment and was in blocked trust, meaning that the carer was at increased risk of blocked care. With time and support and a lot of reflective conversations the child remains in that home, with two very supportive carers. He now has a secure attachment and has learnt to trust adults around him, I would say he is thriving. He is now able to cope with adversity and challenge, and will even accept humour. I’m so proud of them all! He also remains at the same school, which is amazing!”

You recently delivered Telford and Wrekin Council’s ‘Foundations for Attachment and Nurturing Attachments’ course for foster carers, what are the key aims of this training?

“The aims of the group are to provide support to carers who may feel very isolated caring for children with attachment difficulties. To increase understanding of their children and their behavioural and emotional needs through understanding attachment theory and its application to the parenting of these children. To increase skill and confidence of carers and parents. To promote attachment relationships between carers parents and their children.”

What were the standout moments for you whilst delivering the training course?

“I absolutely loved delivering the 18-week course, to see relationships form between carers was fantastic, but to see their increased knowledge and confidence grow was priceless. Over the 18 weeks, 6 months with holidays, we’ve had successes, failures, bereavements, children moving on and children moving in, these moments have been supported by everyone, with empathy in abundance.”

What would your advice be for anyone considering entering the foster care profession?

“Embrace it all, attend as much as you can, the support from other foster carers and the relationships you build, really is like no other.”