Fostering in Essex, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk & Norfolk
"In one hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."
We have chosen this quote as our mission statement because we felt that it summed up what Eastern Fostering Services is trying to achieve across the range of its services. It underlines the philosophy that we keenly adhere to, of the paramount importance of “good adults” being able to influence better futures for children, particularly children who have lived in difficult circumstances.
Our Aims and Objectives
Our aim is to provide high quality services to children and families that are individualised, professional, warm and empathic and valued by the people who use them.
Within that, our objectives with specific regard to our fostering service are:
To establish a diverse range of local fostering families who can enable children to stay in touch with the people and places that are important to them and meet children’s individual needs.
To work positively and collaboratively with all professional networks involved in children’s care planning.
To develop a staff team that is sensitive, professional and positive.
To recruit carers who will provide a safe and nurturing environment for the children they care for.
To strive to always work from a trauma-informed perspective, seeking to understand the impact of lived experiences on children, and the adults who care for them.
To provide an environment for children that promotes their health and educational needs and gives them the best life chances possible.
To value and support foster carers to enable them to provide comprehensive care and to look after their own emotional well-being.
To work to the requirements of the National Fostering Minimum Standards and Fostering Services Regulations 2011 and in accordance with all other relevant statute, guidance and regulation.
To continually focus on our ability to recruit sufficient carers to offer as many family matches as possible for the numbers of children needing a fostering family.
Through effective matching and support minimise the number of moves experienced by individual children.
To build a non-hierarchical structure which allows us to deliver a swift quality response to service requests.
To develop a working environment that addresses the learning and developmental needs of all those connected with it.
