About Us

Foster for Plymouth photoshoot of the team at Plymouth Argyle Football Club

Who are we?

We are a not-for-profit fostering organisation that’s part of Plymouth City Council. We are made up of a dedicated team that go above and beyond to put children and young people at the top of everything we do. Being a collective, we actively seek out local homes for local children that we know will facilitate a thriving environment and allow them to achieve their dreams with the right carers.

Sometimes, these arrangements can be short-term, but in some cases, children may require a long-term placement in a home where they are supported to thrive and achieve their dreams. As a part of the local authority, our main aim is finding suitable local placements for local children, and we bear no focus on profit, meaning that all available funding goes into facilitating the best outcomes for Plymouth’s children.

girl-chatting-to-social-worker

A message from Emma Speakman, the Fostering Registered Service Manager

ABout foster for plymouth

As part of the Foster for Plymouth journey, we aim for all our care-experienced children to live with our foster families in local homes. There’s a growing need for foster families to support our children and young people. Plymouth City Council is proudly part of Fostering South West, the combined voice of local council foster care across our region. Our goal is to welcome more people into the rewarding journey of foster care and improve outcomes for the children and young people we support.

Many of our young people aspire to be part of a family, have life chances similar to other children, and desire to be loved, cared for, and feel safe – even if their words or behaviours might say differently sometimes. Many achieve great things like attending university, college, or pursuing hobbies leading to careers. Some young people’s achievements are simply staying healthy and managing their emotional and mental well-being. Foster families play a crucial role in helping grow and develop our children and young people, sometimes just by being there as someone who cares. We seek caring individuals with the space, time, and energy to be part of our fostering family.

Many of our young people stay with foster families beyond 18 and maintain relationships into adulthood. Our care- experienced young people often need extra guidance and support. We want our carers to see their role as a vocation, supported by our fostering allowances and additional benefits. We offer the mockingbird approach, believing it takes a village to raise a child, and you could become part of a constellation to make this happen.

We provide wrap-around support to foster families, including help from partner agencies, our virtual school, our Children in Care health team, and our Child Adolescent Mental Health Team.

You’ll develop strong working relationships with a supervising social worker and the young person’s social worker. We promote a therapeutic and empathic approach to parenting that is trauma-aware.

A full range of training is provided to up-skill and support you on your journey to becoming an amazing foster carer. We all have lived experiences and need someone to help, teach, care for, listen to, advocate for, and keep us safe. If this sounds like you, contact us today and help change a child’s life.

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