Barnardo's urges people in Merseyside to support local children in need of a loving family

BARNARDO'S is calling for more people to consider providing caring, stable home environments to help transform young lives as there's a pressing need to recruit these 1,050 foster families in the next 12 months across Merseyside and the North West, to ensure all locally fostered children can live with the right family for them and be supported.

The foster carer drive comes as new YouGov research for Barnardo's reveals 49% of people in the North West think a lack of support from fostering agencies is likely to put people off fostering. While 62% say they think people may not be confident they can look after a foster child, and 48% believe not having any training on how to be a foster carer could be an issue.

In stark contrast, a poll by Barnardo's of their own foster carers reveals that 82% of carers  are happy with the level of support and advice they receive from their Barnardo's fostering service and believed it was "excellent" or "good," while 75% said they would recommend their Barnardo's fostering service to others.

Barnardo's foster carers rate the support and training they receive highly, with almost 80% saying the out of hours support was either good or very good, and around 90% also rated Barnardo's supervising social workers as good or very good.

Barnardo's support includes dedicated round the clock access to a qualified social worker, intensive induction and ongoing training, access to foster carer support groups, short breaks and a generous financial fee.

Ellie, 18, is in foster care and highlights how important it is for a foster child to feel supported by their foster carer. Ellie said:- "Being in care can be hard but having a loving and supportive foster family makes a huge difference. Life is so much better knowing that you have their support when you need it; someone to care for you, to love you, to help you solve problems and to help you grow up."

Rebecca Quigley, Manager for Barnardo's North West Fostering Service said:- "Without enough foster families, hundreds of children in this Region risk the heartbreak of being moved around and separated from their siblings.  I would urge people to consider fostering as opening your heart and home to a vulnerable child is 1 of the most rewarding things you can do. It can be challenging but our foster carers all tell us the satisfaction of knowing you have helped transform a child's life for the better is wonderful. Children who have been taken into care have sometimes experienced trauma or difficult circumstances, which can make everyday challenges more difficult to overcome. Having a foster carer to support them through any difficult times can help enormously but our carers can only do this if they're properly supported too. That's why we ensure they have everything they need whether that's advice, training or peer support from other foster carers, to feel confident they can help transform a young life."

Barnardo's started fostering children more than 130 years ago and since then the charity has helped hundreds of thousands of the UK's most vulnerable children to grow up happy and healthy.

► To find out more about becoming a foster carer, or the support Barnardo's can offer via the charity's website or find them on Facebook. 

► To speak to a member of the Barnardo's team about foster caring, please call:- 0800 0277 280 or alternatively you can call:- 0151 488 0822.