Do you know someone who could care for a child and Foster for Thurrock? If you, or your family, have thought about a vocation helping children, some or all of the time, then fostering could be for you.
Foster Care Fortnight 2022 will take place from Monday 9 May through to Sunday 22 May. It is the UK's biggest foster care awareness raising campaign, organised by the Fostering Network. This year's theme is Fostering Communities.
Thurrock Fostering are holding a number of online and in-person events during this time, giving you the chance to:
- find out about fostering for Thurrock
- hear about our competitive fostering allowances and benefits
- have your questions answered by our Thurrock Fostering team and current Foster Carers
| Date | Time | Location | Type of event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 10 May 2022 | 10am to 2pm | Morrisons, 1 London Road, Grays, RM17 5XZ | Drop-in information stand |
| Wednesday 11 May 2022 | 10am to midday | Microsoft Teams | Online information event |
| Thursday 12 May 2022 | 9am to 9pm | Level 2 outside Primark, Lakeside Shopping Centre, West Thurrock Way, RM20 2ZP | Drop-in information stand |
| Wednesday 18 May 2022 | 6pm to 8 pm | Orsett Hall Hotel, Prince Charles Avenue, Orsett, RM16 3HS | In-person information event |
| Friday 20 May 2022 | 10am to 2pm | Asda, Thurrock Park Way, Tilbury, RM18 7HJ | Drop-in information stand |
| Sunday 22 May 2022 | 10am to 11:30am | Microsoft Teams | Online information event |
There are many ways to foster and help a local child, this could be, caring for a child short term, helping children with disabilities at weekends or providing long term care. There are opportunities to support young parents learn to care for their babies and to support vulnerable children arriving in the country. However you foster, it can be one of the most rewarding things to do.
One of our current Respite Foster Carer Households shared their experience: "We both work and we have been Respite Foster Carers for the past three years. So far, we have welcomed 14 different children between the ages of 2 and 15 into our home. Most of the time the respite placement is for a weekend. Fostering is challenging but we feel very rewarded by the ability to interact with children with various needs and assist other Foster Carers who need a little time for themselves.
"Our fostering experience to date has been very pleasant and we feel enriched by the ability to learn more about children’s needs through caring for them and through the training, support, and advice that we receive from the Thurrock Fostering team. We strongly believe that it is important to add value to the community and foster caring gives us this opportunity."
For more information, to make an enquiry, or to book onto an online or in-person information session, go to thurrock.gov.uk/fostering