Fostering a disabled child
The role of an independent fostering agency
Can I choose who I foster?
How to foster
What are the benefits of fostering with an independent fostering agency?
What happens when a child is taken into care?
Fostering process: what happens on an initial home visit?
Can you foster if you have mental health issues?
Fostering with local authority vs independent agency
Interview: Life as a foster parent during the pandemic
Becoming A Foster Carer
Benefits of becoming a foster parent
What is a Care Leaver?
What is a Foster Carer?
What is Foster Care?
Do I become a Foster Carer?
Fostering Regulations
How much do Foster Parents get paid?
How to Foster a Child
How long does it take to become a Foster Carer?
How to foster – everything you ever wanted to know
Facts about Foster Care
What are the Foster Care requirements?
Foster Care Handbook
Foster Carer Job Description
Changing IFA - Transferring to Capstone
Fostering Definition
Foster Care Statistics
Fostering Assessment
Fostering Outcomes
Fostering Stories
Fostering Children UK
Children needing Fostering
8 reasons why a child may be taken into care
Fostering as a Career
Looked after Children
Top transferable job skills to become a foster carer
Fostering as a same sex couple
Fostering while renting
Can I foster if...?
Mythbusting the top 10 Foster Care Myths
Can I foster if I am disabled?
LGBT Fostering Mythbusting
Can I foster if I have pets?
Can I Foster A Child?
Can you Foster and Work?
Can you Foster with a Criminal Record
Fostering as a Single Parent
LGBT Family and Foster Care
Fostering across Cultures
Muslim Fostering
Christian Foster Care
Sikh
Empty Nest Syndrome and Foster Care
10 things you can do when your Children fly the nest
Can I Foster?
Fostering Babies - Myths
Focusing on Parent & Child Fostering
Fostering Siblings
Fostering Teenagers
Fostering Teenagers - Breaking down the Myths
Fostering Unaccompanied and Asylum Seeking Children
Mother and Baby Foster Placements
Private Fostering
Therapeutic Fostering - Multi-disciplinary Assessment Treatment & Therapy Service (MATTS)
Young Children Fostering Placements
Difference between short and long-term fostering
How to prepare a child for becoming a care leaver
Children who foster: impact of fostering on birth children
How to prepare your home for a foster child
10 tips for foster children’s education
How to prepare your foster child for secondary school
Tips for coping when foster placements end
Tips for foster parents during Coronavirus
What happens if foster parents get divorced?
5 ways to manage Mother’s Day with foster children
Tips for managing foster children’s bedtime routines
How to handle foster child bullying
Fostering allowances and the gender pay gap
Tips for keeping foster children safe online
How to adopt from Foster Care
5 ways to manage Father’s Day with foster children
8 most common fostering challenges
Supporting foster children’s contact with birth families
How to deal with empty nest syndrome
How to recognise signs of depression in foster children
Can you take a foster child on holiday?
Tips and advice on fostering with a disability
10 tips on connecting with your Foster Child
Fostering versus Adoption - What's the difference?
How Fostering can change a future
How to adopt from Foster Care
How to encourage children to read in Foster Care
How to prepare a Foster Child's bedroom
Online grooming - unwanted contact and how to identify it
Reading and storytelling with Babies and young Children
Supporting Children's Learning
Technology and Internet Safety advice
The 20 most recommended books Foster Carers and young people should read
The impact of early childhood traumas on adolescence and adulthood
Tips for coping with attachment disorders in Foster Children
Tips for supporting reunification in Foster Care
Together for a better Internet - Web Safety for Foster Children
What is sexual abuse and sexual violence
Foster Child behaviour management strategies
Foster Parent Advice: What to expect in your first year of fostering
Capstone's twelve tips at Christmas
10 celebrities who grew up in Foster Care
Celebrating our Children and Young People
Could Millenials be the solution to the Foster Care crisis?
Do you work in Emergency Services?
Form F Assessor and Assessment Training
Foster Care Fortnight
Improving Children's Welfare - Celebrating Universal Children's Day
It's time to talk about Mental Health and Foster Care
New Year - New Career - Become a Foster Carer
Promoting the rights and wellbeing of persons with Disabilities
Refugee Week
Young people and Mental Health in a changing world
Young People Charities
It’s very easy to have a pre-defined idea about what kind of people become foster carers – older married couples whose children have flown the nest and have large houses in the countryside…? This couldn’t be further from the truth. At Capstone we welcome people from all walks of life, races, religions and creeds to take on this important role.
More so than ever before, there are children and young people who need support, care and a loving family environment, and as their numbers grow, so does the need for excellent carers. This is where you come in. People who have careers in the Emergency Services already possess a lot of the skills required to become great foster carers. Patience, understanding, resilience and training in how to handle difficult circumstances are just a few of those skills – and just because you already have a career, it doesn’t mean you don’t have the time or the facilities to look after a child or young person.
Zeeshaan is a Policeman from the South East and has grown up in a fostering environment for over 15 years. His parents became foster carers when he was a teenager, and so growing up with foster brothers and sisters was a huge part of his life. The family currently have 3 teenagers in placement, and Zeeshaan has recently been approved as a back up carer by his Local Authority, meaning he can share the load with his parents in order to provide better quality care and support.
“Fostering has had a huge impact on my career, I graduated from university with a master’s degree in management and was ready to work in that field. However, this was at the peak of the recession and jobs were not easy to come by, and so I was offered the chance to do some youth work with young people. I already had experience in this due to being part of a fostering family. I thoroughly enjoyed it and got a promotion within 2 months! I also attended training with The Fostering Network to sit on a fostering panel.
As I had been part of a fostering household, it gave me good insight into how new and existing foster carers should be. Every example and contribution I give at panel is always from experience as I have had a ‘hands-on’ approach to fostering. I now sit on 6 fostering panels, and am Vice Chair to 3 of them.”
The next turn in Zeeshaan’s career was to train and become a policeman for the Metropolitan Police – taking him right out of his comfort zone.
“I find being a police officer just as rewarding as fostering, as I am helping people. I spend a lot of my time dealing with young offenders, and I feel from my experience both as a foster carer and as a police officer, I am able to relate to young people quite easily. Being a police officer gives me perspective from the other side when dealing with young people and I have gained a lot of transferable skills from these roles. I believe when professionals work together, from social workers to foster carers and the courts, the best outcome for the child will be achieved”
Zeeshaan is a foster carer, and is working with us to encourage other police officers, fire fighters and other Emergency Service workers to consider using their valuable skills to become foster carers themselves. Within this career set, there is also an option to retire earlier than in other professions, giving them the time and experience to dedicate to a second career within fostering.
If you think this might be the next step forward for you, why not complete our online enquiry form or call us for a no obligation chat on: 0800 012 4004. If you need any further information about fostering, please call us or take a tour of our website which should provide answers to any questions you may have.
If you’ve got any questions or would like to find out more about fostering with Capstone, fill out the form below.
An experienced fostering advisor from your local area will then be in touch.
Start the conversation today. Our team of friendly advisors are on hand to answer any foster care questions you may have. We can offer you honest and practical advice that can help you decide if becoming a foster carer is the right path for you.
