Current Safehouses Vacancies

14/07/2010

- Oldham Area  -  Mr and Mrs B –
Vacancy for 1 child - birth to 1 year of age – either gender – short term, long term, respite or emergency

The family are of Pakistani Muslim culture and live in a large property on the outskirts of Oldham, five minutes from the M60.

Mr and Mrs B have 3 children aged between 15 and 21 years.   Mr B is a taxi driver who is flexible in his working hours, therefore, is able to transport children to school, contact etc.   Mrs B is a full time homemaker.  They have a large extended family and have a wide knowledge of different children’s needs through this.   They are practising Muslims and feel that they would have the most to offer to a Muslim child.

Mr and Mrs B are both warm, welcoming people who have enjoyed parenting their own children.   They are a calm, relaxed, open-minded family and have developed their fostering skills over the past 2½ years through practical experience and regularly attending training.   They are currently caring for a girl of 4 years and have recently moved a baby on to adoption.   They have demonstrated an ability to work closely with families and professionals and have provided both children with warm, secure and nurturing placements.
 

- Failsworth area of Gtr Manchester - Mr and Mrs S  

Vacancy for up to 2 children, if siblings, male or female, age 7 to 18 to include an Asylum Seeker or a Mother and Baby placement.

Mr and Mrs S are a White British/Black African couple who have been together for six years.   Mrs S has a 15 year old son from a previous relationship and they also have two children jointly, boys of 4 years and 18 months.  

Mrs S has in the past worked as a Child Minder, as a Nursery Practitioner and has passed her NVQ Levels 2 and 3 in Early Years Care and Development.

Mr S arrived in the U.K. from Gambia as an Asylum Seeker in 1995.   He has studied at college and had a variety of jobs, including several years as a Fork Lift Truck Driver; he now works as a Driving Instructor.

The home environment is warm and friendly.   In spite of the large age differences between the children, Mr and Mrs S work hard to ensure that each child’s needs are met to an age appropriate manner.

The applicants have recently improved their home by adding an extension which houses a large bedroom on the first floor and a large play room on the ground floor.   Another bathroom has also been added;  this has made the house spacious and there is more than adequate room for each child to have their own personal space.

The neighbourhood in which the applicants live is pleasant and all necessary facilities are available to support the health, educational and recreational needs of children.

Mr and Mrs S understand the importance of working together with other professionals, parents and families.   They understand the underlying principles and will put the child’s welfare first before individual opinions or goals.   They both have the insight and ability to reflect on their own experiences, both as children and as adults, and they understand how their experiences have impacted on their current way of functioning.   They both have a thirst for knowledge and a positive attitude to ongoing learning and personal development.

Lastly, this is a diverse family who can offer an excellent service for children and young people from a variety of cultures.

Vacancy for:  1 child, age 6 – 12 years, male or female, short term or respite.

Mr and Mrs M live in a 4 bedroom former farm house in a pleasant residential are on the outskirts of Oldham. They have 2 adult daughters one of whom is at University training to be a nurse and the other is married with a daughter and is a local GP.  Both girls are very supportive of their parents and take an active interest in the fostering task.

Mrs M, who is the main carer, worked as a teacher in a primary school on a local estate and is familiar with the difficulties many families face in terms of poverty and social deprivation. Mr M has had a varied career in farming, retail and, most recently, as a driver for a parcel delivery firm, but has now retired and shares the fostering with his wife and family.

The family are very caring and welcoming and have worked extremely well with the parents and social workers for the Looked After Children they have had in place over the past year, both of whom have returned home.   They currently have a 15 year old girl in placement.

Mr and Mrs M enjoy walking their dogs and caring for the finches and budgerigars which Mr M breeds.

They are particularly interested in caring for a younger girl but would consider either boys or girls, depending on the particular match.

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-  Wigan - Bolton Area  -  Mr and Mrs S –

Vacancy for 1 child, 0 – 16  years of age, short term, long term, respite or emergency.

Mr and Mrs S  are both full time carers and live in a large comfortable home in the Wigan area with their three children aged between 4 and 15 years.

Mrs S is an extremely caring and nurturing person who is very much the home maker.   Mr S is very active and enjoys caring for the family dogs, fishing and other countryside pursuits.   They are a warm, down to earth family who are welcoming and open minded in their approach to caring for children and young people.

 The couple have been fostering since 2007 and during this time have gained a great deal of experience of the fostering task both from the children they have cared for and from the ongoing training they receive from the agency.   Both Mr S and Mrs S. have completed the CWDC training and their NVQ level 111 in Caring for Children and Young People.

 In March 2008, a brother and sister (A and D) were placed with Mr and Mrs S, initially as a short term placement but later this was agreed as long term.  A is now seventeen and D is 14years old; they both have special needs and have required a high level of support and nurturing since placement. The children are extremely settled and are progressing well both socially and academically and feel very much part of the fostering family. It is envisaged that A will remain with the carers post eighteen.

Recently the family have cared for a pregnant fifteen year old girl who has since given birth to a baby girl.  Mr and Mrs S supported the girl though her late stages of pregnancy and the subsequent birth; they worked in a caring and professional manner with all the agencies involved.

Both   Mr and Mrs S drive and have access to transport which offers flexibility in respect of facilitating contacts etc. and have shown an ability to work successfully with birth families     Mr and Mrs S   would very much like to   welcome a further child in to their home who would be able to adapt to living in a busy but very nurturing household.

-Rochdale area  -  Mr and Mrs H
 

Vacancy for 1 child, either gender,  0 - 18 years - short term, long term, emergency or respite.

Mr and Mrs H were approved in July 2004.  They have a 4 bedroom house close to the M62 and the motorway network around Manchester.   The couple have three adult children, two of whom live locally and visit regularly.  Mrs H is of Puerto Rican/ American heritage.  Mr H is White Btitish.
Mr and Mrs H are both full time carers. They are experienced in caring for young people with learning difficulties and autistic spectrum disorders and have dealt successfully with extremely challenging behaviour.  Both Mr nd Mrs H have completed their NVQ Level 3 and and Mrs H is currently studying for a BTEC Level 4 in working with traumatised children.  Mrs H is also trained in early years teaching and worked for several years with primary age children.
Mr and Mrs H are a very warm, welcoming couple who show a great commitment to the fostering task and work well with other professionals.   They both drive and are willing and able to promote and facilitate contact and school transport.   They are both eager to use all opportunities for on-going learning and are regular attenders at all our training events.
Mr and Mrs H currently care for a 16 year old young woman with learning difficulties and a 9 year old boy long term.  They have one vacancy and are particularly interested in having a younger child 0-7 years.

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