Are you thinking about fostering?

Everybody is welcome at Kirklees Council’s latest fostering event on Saturday October 15 – a fantastic opportunity to ask questions, meet the team and chat to existing foster carers. You can find everything you need to know about being a foster carer.

More local people are urgently needed to come forward and find out about fostering. You can make vital differences to children and young people, with families especially needed for children over eight years old. 

Fostering with Kirklees Council means you can play a huge part in ensuring children and young people stay in their home area, at their school and near their family and friends.

There is no ‘typical’ foster family. Whether you own your own home or rent, whether you’re married or single, whatever your gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity or faith, there are young people who need someone on their side.

You don’t need any special qualifications to become a foster carer for a local child – and it can be incredibly rewarding.

There’s a wide variety of fostering schemes to suit different individual and family circumstances. For example, you can work full or part-time and still foster. The event will provide details about all the options and help you decide your next steps.

Georgina Ioannou isn’t a typical Kirklees foster carer – that’s because there’s no such thing as a typical foster carer

Clr Viv Kendrick, Cabinet member for children, said: “We are hugely committed to giving children and young people the best start in life, helping them to fulfil their potential.

“Foster carers make a lasting difference, but we need more carers for children of all ages. In particular, older children and teenagers often wait much longer for foster families due to the misconceptions about caring for them.

“All children deserve a home which makes them feel safe, stable, valued and loved. Children in care have often faced difficult experiences, so our foster carers provide truly life-enhancing opportunities.

“Carers come from all backgrounds and we make sure they are helped by high-quality training and support. The event will tell you everything you need to know and is a brilliant chance to meet some of our wonderful real-life carers.”

The event is on Saturday October 15 (11am-1pm) at Huddersfield Ukrainian Club, 7 Edgerton Road, Edgerton, Huddersfield, HD1 5RA. Children are welcome too.

For more information and to tell the council you are planning to attend, please email fostering@kirklees.gov.uk

You can also find more information at www.kirklees.gov.uk/fostering