As I see it: Nottinghamshire County Council celebrates the life-changing benefits of fostering
We recently celebrated Foster Care Fortnight, but our foster carers deserve to be recognised year-round for the amazing role they play in the lives of our county’s children and young people, writes Rory Green, cabinet member for children and families at Nottinghamshire County Council.
Throughout the year, our fostering team brings our fostering community together for activities and events for the fostering community to come together.
One of our annual highlights is Fostering’s Got Talent, a special celebration for young people to show off their skills and for Nottinghamshire’s foster carers to meet and socialise.
This year’s event showcased skills including dancing and singing. The winner, a 10-year-old singer, was selected by audience votes. The talented youngster came third at least year’s event, so it was extra-special for them to come back and win.
The second-place act was a 9-year-old dancer, and in third place a 12-year-old member of Care To Dance performing a solo dance piece.
The winner received tickets to the live semi-final of popular ITV show Britain’s Got Talent in London, courtesy of Fremantle and Thames TV. Runners up received Love2Shop vouchers and certificates for taking part.
It was brilliant to see so many young people displaying their talents in front of an audience at the event. They can all be proud of putting on a fantastic show. Congratulations to all the young people — and grown-ups — who took to the stage as part of this community celebration.
Events like Fostering’s Got Talent are just one of the ways that the local fostering community in Nottinghamshire celebrates the life-changing benefits of fostering.
Foster carers play an important role supporting some of our county’s most vulnerable children and young people. Events like this show how much young people can thrive with care and the encouragement to follow their interests and passions.
Our foster carers always tell us how important the support they receive from their peers is, and our teams work hard to ensure that foster carers have lots of opportunities to meet with each other and discuss their experiences.
We always need more people to join our fostering community and help care for our county’s children and young people. When you foster with Nottinghamshire County Council, we provide comprehensive training, great benefits and extensive support. The fostering community in Nottinghamshire really is something special.
Foster carers are vital to ensure that every child and young person can thrive in a safe, loving, family home environment. Foster carers from all backgrounds are welcomed and invited to find out more by getting in touch with Foster For East Midlands, the local authority foster care partnership across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Call 03033 132 950 or visit fosterforeastmidlands.org.uk to learn more.
