Inspectors praise fostering service (From The Bolton News)

Inspectors praise fostering service

4:00pm Sunday 20th January 2013 in Local

CHILDREN are being given “chances and activities” that they would otherwise not get thanks to Bolton’s fostering programme, inspectors say.

Ofsted inspectors found that Bolton Council children’s services were good, with outstanding features, such as helping youngsters, who “flourish and make excellent progress in all aspects of their development”.

The government inspectors said that children in Bolton who are placed with foster parents often make positive comments including: “I get chances and activities that I wouldn’t get, I like being in foster care”

and “I don’t feel like I am in care, it’s my family”.

The report added: “Leaders and managers are ambitious for continuous improvement and champion children and young people’s progress across all areas of their development.”

Now coinciding with the report, more families are being urged to come forward and make a difference to the lives of the most vulnerable youngsters.

Bolton Council has joined 22 other councils across the North West to promote the You Can Foster campaign, which involves a series of television adverts, featuring real carers from across the North West, starting on ITV1 this week.

The campaign, which has recruited almost 200 new carers, and attracted more than 4,500 inquiries since its inception in 2010, is intended to dispel myths about fostering. The council says foster carers are urgently needed for children in Bolton, particularly teenagers, those with disabilities and brothers and sisters who need to be homed together.

People who are single, in a relationship, married or divorced can apply to foster, and applicants may work fulltime or not work at all, and people can apply regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

Cllr Madeline Murray said: “There are many children in Bolton who are desperate to find a loving foster home and family, and the new year is the perfect time for people to consider fostering.

“Fostering can be truly rewarding as foster carers can make a real difference to local children’s lives and there are many other benefits such as training, support and generous financial allowances.”

Call 0800 1071564 or 0800 6347052 for more information, or visit youcanfoster.org.

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