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Why us?

Education and Support Service

The Education and Support Service is a package of support designed to promote the best outcomes for children and young people. We have a dedicated team of experts in each region that provide this for children, young people and foster carers.

Supporting our children towards a bright future.

The Education and Support Service is outcome-focused, meaning that support is planned, delivered and reviewed to ensure that it is meaningful for young people and beneficial for their development. The service also aims to provide a mechanism for foster carers, children and young people to be involved in the development of services within Team Fostering and to build supportive networks with other carers and looked after young people.

Our activity programme

Team Fostering makes you feel like you are involved and a part of something.
It is by far the best fostering agency. I have been in other foster placements,
but this is the best. The agency celebrates individuals and their achievements.
There is so much support and activities for children to get involved with. I feel
like I belong to something good.

- young person, Ofsted report 2022

The support provided by the Education and Support team is split into four main areas:

Team Fostering helps children to receive the very best support to meet their potential, through education support and advocacy. The staff in the Education and Support Service can help ensure that children have a place in school through working promptly to negotiate on their behalf.

Where there are problems the team will seek to work together with schools, foster carers and the young people to resolve these quickly. Some children are provided with direct support on a time limited basis; to help them meet their potential in school and to help them enjoy school life. This may be to support a specific educational need or to promote the social and personal development needed to help children feel better and do better in all areas of school life.

The team know that transition times are particularly important and focus on children moving schools through the normal key stage changes, or where children need to move school as directed through the care plan, usually where a long term placement has been secured. We are active in supporting young people who come to the agency without an education placement back into learning. There is also a provision of much needed support to young people moving on to college, training or employment.

At Team Fostering, we offer an action-packed activities programme during each of the school holidays. This can include arts and crafts projects, trips, outdoor pursuits, picnics, a Christmas party and pantomime visit. An annual Celebration of Achievement event is held where the team highlight key achievements that children and young people have made. These activities and events are planned in consultation with the children and foster carers who are encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions for future events.

Team Fostering organises an annual caravan holiday to bring all children and foster carers together for a highly enjoyable week. The holiday is a great opportunity for carers to get to know other carers, and more importantly for children and young people to make new friends and socialise. We work hard to ensure that there are lots of things to do, and to offer the opportunity for children and young people to try out new things.

The Education and Support Service run ‘Project Listen’ and ‘Teamies’. These groups are a key opportunity for young people to make their voice heard. The agency really values what young people say and think, and these views impact on any changes we make and how Team Fostering develops over time. In addition to these groups, we also run ‘Team Fantastic’ which is aimed at bringing younger children together.

Support is also offered to unaccompanied asylum seeking children, who receive dedicated one to one support when they first come to the agency.  We also support them to get involved in our activities and become part of our Team family.

Each region has a designated leaving care worker, each of whom organises a number of opportunities and events for young people to come together in a relaxed, informative and safe place, where they can discuss issues which are important to them.

Our life skills support aims to equip young people with the skills they need to help prepare for adult life.  This support can be delivered on a group or one to one basis, to best meet the needs of the young people.  We feel this support is most successful when young people are having a good time, and often use outdoor pursuits to help teach skills and harness qualities that will help them thrive in adult life.  Through partner working, we are able to provide volunteering opportunities and give young people experiences of different work place environments.

The Education and Support Service can offer one to one targeted support where required. This support could focus on a number of different areas including placement stability, anger management, grief and loss or support with bullying. This support is also provided by a number of carer training courses.

Our pledge to children and young people

We make a pledge to each of the children and young people we work with. Read the full pledge here.

We will listen to you and help you to have your say

We will help you to stay in touch with people who are important to you.

We will keep you safe and help you to keep yourself safe.

We will help you to have fun and try new things.

We will help you to celebrate your culture, identity and individuality.

We will help you to be healthy and emotionally well.

We will support you to do your best in school or college.

We will help you to be ready for your future.

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