Fostering in suffolk
Foster carers help change young people’s lives every day. In Suffolk alone, there are many children and young people who urgently require caring, nurturing and supportive foster homes. Therefore if fostering is something you have been considering for a while, or if it’s something you have just started to research, now would be a great time to start your fostering journey. You could join our Fostering Suffolk team!
A foster carer’s role is to provide nurturing, stable and caring homes for vulnerable young people. There are many different types of foster care, and our enquiry officers will be able to talk you through the best options to suit you and your household.
Meet Our Team
We cover a wide area in and around Suffolk, including Ipswich, Bury St. Edmunds, Newmarket, Sudbury and Southwold.
We have a great team of staff who provide support to our foster carers in Suffolk. Priscilla Makambe, our area manager for the area, started working for TACT in 2019. Priscilla previously worked in Local Authority Child Protection and Children with Disabilities Teams before moving into fostering more than 15 years ago.
We provide our foster carers with full training, 24/7 support and a generous Suffolk fostering allowance
Why Foster in Suffolk with TACT?
TACT is the UK’s largest dedicated fostering charity. We have been providing nurturing and caring homes for vulnerable young people since 1993.
We work closely with Suffolk County Council to help support the need for suitably ‘matched’ foster homes. We are a charity, so we do not ‘profit’ from foster care. This enables us to find the very best fostering options for young people without financial targets being the driving factor. Additionally, our surplus income is reinvested into providing more support and training, ensuring that our Suffolk Fostering team are fully supported and have the knowledge they need to make a difference to children’s lives.
We provide a number of unique additional support resources, such as a dedicated Education Service, Health Service – and an online foster carer portal. Our TACT Connect service ensures that when children leave care, they have TACT’s support into adulthood.
This is why 98% of our carers would recommend us to others thinking of fostering.
Rated As ‘Good’ By Ofsted
Following an inspection in March 2022, Ofsted have announced that TACT London, Essex and Hertfordshire has been rated ‘Good’ for its work with foster carers and looked after children.
“Children thrive and make good progress from their starting points. This is because they share positive and trusting relationships with their foster carers. These positive relationships help children to feel safe and secure.” – Ofsted 2022
24/7 Support
For total piece of mind, TACT provide their foster carers with 24/7 support. When you become a foster carer with us, you will be allocated your own Supervising Social Worker – who will provide most of the support that you will need. We also have a dedicated out-of-hours service, ensuring that there will always be someone to help you, or to answer any questions you may have.
As a charity, we reinvest surplus income into providing additional support services. We know that the better we support you, the better you will be able to provide the care and guidance required to change children’s lives.
- Full 24/7 support. Your own Supervising Social Worker will provide you with most of the support you need, but our dedicated out-of-hours support service will give you total peace of mind.
- Foster carer portal. An online hub, providing a community of TACT foster carers and a place to find information, advice, training and other resources.
- Education service. Our specialist service provides support and advice to help ensure that the children in your care receive the best possible educational opportunities.
- Health service. Our health service provides the young people in your care with ongoing physical and mental health care monitoring.
- Support groups. Our ‘Circle of Friends’ support group is held once a month, giving you the chance to meet other foster carers and share experiences. These take place in West Bromwich or Walsall.
- Support for young people. Our Engagement and Activity Practitioner’s provide the children in your care with additional support, activities and events in Birmingham.
- Supporting your own children. We understand that your own children play an important role in the fostering household. As such, our Children Who Foster events provide your own children with an opportunity to socialise with other young people who make an amazing contribution to fostering.
- All new TACT West Midlands foster carers will be allocated a foster carer buddy, to provide informal support and guidance.
Fostering Allowance Suffolk
Foster carers are highly skilled people, and our Suffolk fostering fees and allowances reflect this.
The fostering allowance is made up of two elements:
- An allowance for each child/young person in your care: this covers expenses such as food, clothing and travel for a young person.
- A foster carer fee: this is your carer ‘fee’, for your knowledge and skill when caring for young people in your home.
The actual allowance you will receive will be dependent on factors such as the type of foster care you are providing, the number of children in your care (as you will receive a payment per young person), their age, and the complexity of their needs.
There are also additional payments for children’s birthdays, holidays and religious festivals. We also pay long service awards and a Refer a Friend fee (if you recommend someone who then goes on to be an approved foster carer with us).
Hear From Our Foster Carers in suffolk
“There should be enough love to go around”
Fostering can be challenging, but seeing the difference you can make to a young person’s life is so rewarding. My home is a happy one, and my sons have been able to adapt well to fostering situations.
“As a foster carer I try to support every child’s needs.”
Mohammed is a single male carer who started fostering after his own experiences growing up.
“Fostering has bought so much happiness and laughter to our home”
It is a difficult balancing act – being a father to her but not making her feel like I am trying to replace that special relationship that she has with her birth father. We always say that she has not lost anyone, but instead she now has two families who love her.
Fostering Information Events
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Start Your Fostering Journey
