Wales’ leading fostering charity – TACT Cymru, has been praised for its outstanding work with carers and looked after children in a report by The Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) – the independent regulator of care and social service related settings in Wales.

Following an annual inspection of TACT by the CSSIW, its’ report states that foster carers were highly complementary of the staff in TACT and said that the charity went the ‘extra mile’. Foster carers described the support from their supervising social workers as ‘excellent ’and ‘supportive’ and ‘amazing’. One set of foster carers who had a difficult placement said that if it had not been for the support from TACT and their supervising social worker they would have given up fostering.

In summing up TACT the CSSIW said: “Overall,  we found that children and young people and foster carers are supported by experienced and motivated staff that are committed to make a positive difference to the lives of looked after children and young people”.

The CSSIW also noted the high quality of foster carers that TACT works with,  stating that it found children and young people can be confident that they are supported by foster carers who are motivated, competent  and promoted the physical, emotional and social development of looked after children.

Mike Anthony – one of two area managers for TACT Cymru said:” We are delighted that TACT’s work has been so positively rated by the CSSIW.  And we are particularly pleased that our amazing foster carers have been acknowledged for their commitment to improving vulnerable children and young people’s lives.  Foster carers come to TACT for many reasons, they stay with us because we help them do the most rewarding job in the world.”

Some of the wide range of TACT services and activities that were positively highlighted in the report include:

• A comprehensive range of training to support them in their day to day role as foster carer.
• Three therapeutic support groups across Wales facilitated by a child psychologist, strengthening the support for carers who need specialist psychological input.
• A ‘Chill Out’ evening for young people aged 12+
• TACT children’s resource workers (CRW) support placements particularly around the areas of education, participation and where there is risk of disruption.

There are thousands of children in Wales who cannot be looked after by their own family. This could be because of illness or family breakdowns or because they have experienced some form of neglect. TACT are actively looking for foster carers across Wales to provide care and support to these children. If you’ve got a spare room, a caring nature and energy to provide a child with a happy home, we believe you could become an amazing foster carer.  For further fostering information go to http://tactcare.org.uk/fostering/

Notes to editors

TACT Cymru has staff based in all areas of Wales to support foster carers across the country to change the lives of some of the most vulnerable children and young people.

We are providing training to all local authority foster carers and residential staff across wales in Fostering Changes – a programme that delivers practical skills to carers empowering them to better manage their placements.

We are also developing new models of working with families at home to help keep them together.