Being a Fostering Support Worker – A Social Enterprise Special
This week for Social Enterprise September, Five Rivers are celebrating the incredible roles that our staff play in Turning Children’s Lives Around! As a Social Enterprise, Five Rivers re-invests a minimum of 51% of its annual surplus into further enhancing the services for our young people in care.
One of the most notable investments is our Fostering Support Workers, who work directly with the children and their foster carers, to be significant and consistent people in their lives, providing support, guidance and friendship.
We spoke to some of our incredible Fostering Support Workers within the Five Rivers Family about what they do and the impact it has – the answers are a heartwarming insight into just how important these Social Enterprise investments are!
Ruth Crump, Fostering Support Worker, Five Rivers Child Care
How long have you been a fostering support worker with Five Rivers?
Since February 2022, 17 months.
How did you hear about the role and what made you want to apply?
I found out about the role whilst searching for job vacancies on the Internet, I came across the position and Five Rivers who I had never heard of until then.
What is the best part of your job?
I have a lot of best parts but if I had to choose one it would be to be that one person for support, who can provide a space for children/young people to have opportunities to be a child, to play and enjoy the moment and the looks you get when they have trusted enough to have tried/learnt something new or when you get a smiles or moments of happiness and laughter – these are precious.
Our Social Enterprise investment goes into creating opportunities for these Fostering Support roles – what difference does this make to young people in care?
For children/young people in care, trusting others – especially other professionals – can be difficult. Having a support worker to talk to, support, listen, and advocate for them, can mean that they can begin to build on a trusting relationship with another (professional) person.
This not only helps to improve their thinking of others but also assists towards gaining a more positive outlook of themselves and their lives.
Nia Plevin, Fostering Support Worker with The Fostering Company NE
How long have you been a fostering support worker with the Five Rivers Fostering Family?
I have been with The Fostering Company for 18 months.
How did you hear about the role and what made you want to apply?
I saw the role advertised on a job site, I was working in a Residential children’s home at the time and so I thought this role would bring out the best in my gained experiences!
What is the best part of your job?
The best part of my role is the variety, no day is the same. I support such a wide range with many differing needs, babies, children, young people, mums and of course the foster carers. I could be supporting a mum (from a parent & child placement) at a parenting course in the morning, up a climbing wall with a child after school and out for a McDonalds with a vulnerable teen, supporting her with her mental health struggles in the evening.
Our Social Enterprise investment goes into creating opportunities for these Fostering Support roles – what difference does this make to young people in care?
I think my role allows the young people I work with to build a relationship with another trusted adult, someone who is regularly available to them when they need them but isn’t directly involved with their care. I know one of the teens sees me as a sounding board so when things aren’t going well, she feels safe enough to rant and shout and complain, get everything off her chest, then we talk through it all step by step, I help her to see the situation from another perspective and we chat about ways to move forward.
I think my support for mums in parent & child placements is another less formal way to support and improve their parenting skills through modelling and finding out together what’s expected, for example when one Mum began the weaning process we looked on websites to find the latest guidance, recipes etc.
Shania Walker, Fostering Support Worker, Five Rivers Child Care
How long have you been a fostering support worker with the Five Rivers Fostering Family?
I have been a Fostering Support Worker with Five Rivers for 14 months.
How did you hear about the role and what made you want to apply?
I joined Five Rivers as an administrator in March 2020, this role gave me an opportunity to gain an understanding of Foster Carers and the children they look after, and when the role of Fostering Support Worker came up, I jumped at the opportunity and applied.
What is the best part of your job?
Working with the young people is definitely the best part of the job, I have built such a relationship with one of our families in Cornwall I was invited to the Young Person’s Birthday Party.
It is also lovely to hear some of our young people call Five Rivers Staff, Carers and other young people their ‘Five Rivers Family’.
Our Social Enterprise investment goes into creating opportunities for Fostering Support roles – what difference does this make to young people in care?
My role has made so many differences, something that comes to mind recently is training our young people to become ‘Young Recruiters’, this has enabled the young people to participate and have a valued voice in the staff recruitment process.