Foster Care Stories
Sharon’s Story
“It’s been a breath of fresh air coming to Team Fostering. We’ve got nothing but positive feelings about everyone we’ve encountered.”
Sharon and her partner Adrian are foster carers based in the North East who have been fostering for over a decade.
Through a career working in schools, from dinner duty to behavioural support work, Sharon knew that providing for young people was something she really wanted to do. And when Sharon and Adrian decided they wanted to do even more to support young people in need, they decided to become foster carers.
On starting out in fostering, they fostered with a local authority for a long time, and while they loved the experiences that being foster carers provided, their time with the local authority wasn’t everything they wanted it to be.
So, after reflecting on it for some time, they decided to transfer to an independent fostering agency. They did their research, looked into their options and found out about Team Fostering – and around a year ago they were approved as carers with the agency.
“It’s so different to what we’re used to,” Sharon explains. “It’s been a breath of fresh air coming to Team Fostering. We’ve got nothing but positive feelings about everyone we’ve encountered – staff, other carers, the children – everyone has been really warm and welcoming and it’s been a genuinely positive experience.”
“We didn’t know anybody’s names where we were before, but now we’re getting to know everyone at Team. You know that you’re valued and respected here.”
And it’s not just Sharon and Adrian that the move has helped. The young people placed with the couple transferred across to Team Fostering with them when they moved.
She said: “The benefits to the children have been amazing. They’ve never been happier; they just get on with enjoying themselves. They feel that they belong, whereas in the past they’ve been quite shy, and they’ve found their connection with the other children here. Everyone at Team has been encouraging, friendly and approachable with them, especially at the activities and events. The kids have done everything – surfing, Lazerquest, Masterchef sessions – and it’s all provided by Team Fostering.”
If you’re a foster carer and you’re considering changing your provider, you can find out more on our Transferring to Team Fostering page here.