Support For Your Own Children

What Support Is Available to Birth Children?

Your own children (sometimes called ‘birth children’) play a vital role in the fostering household. They help welcome new children into your home and they share toys, games and your parental time. As such it is important that they receive dedicated support.

At TACT we provide your own children with a range of support elements that commence during your fostering assessment and extend into your day-to-day life as a foster carer. We ensure that every step of the way, your children have someone that they can talk to, and are invited to take part in events and activities.

These are the various ways we support your children:

Supervising Social Worker Support

Supervising Social Workers (SSWs) provide overarching support to a fostering household – and this includes your own children. During the initial foster carer assessment process, the SSW will speak to your own children in depth about how they feel about welcoming other young people into your home. TACT also provide interactive workbooks and games for younger children in order to gain insight into their views and preferences.

When you become an approved foster carer, the SSW will also carefully ‘match’ young people to your own children. This will involve a period of introductions and visits to ensure that your household and the young person is comfortable with the fostering arrangement.

SSWs will also be able to signpost to other support networks and offers from TACT, such as Children Who Foster events and a local Engagement & Activity Practitioner.

My role as a Children & Young People Well-being Practitioner

Jess from our North West team has been a Children & Young People Wellbeing Practitioner (CWP) for TACT since 2017.

Engagement & Activity Practitioners

TACT have a number of Engagement & Activity Practitioners (EAPs) around the country to provide additional support for your own children.

A key element of an EAPs role is to ensure that there is a programme of events and activities for young people in care. However there are some specific events that are organised for your own children called ‘Children Who Foster’ events. This is our way of acknowledging and celebrating the essential role that your children play in the fostering household. These events can include day trips, arts and crafts activities and various group sessions

We know that your own children will come to you if they have any concerns or they want to talk to someone, but EAPs are also there as an additional point of contact and are able to facilitate one-to-one sessions if they are required.

Children of Foster Carers Month

TACT also support the annual Children of Foster Carers Month, an initiative established by The Fostering Network to shine a light on the incredible contribution that birth children make to fostering each and every day.

“My son has always helped to support & mentor our foster children”

Trina has been a foster carer with TACT Wales since 2009. She share’s more here about her birth son’s impact on her fostering family.

“They have different needs, but every child has”

Debbie and Glyn, TACT foster carers since 2018, have channeled their 35 years of experience in care into fostering children with complex needs. They care for two non-verbal boys with autism, adapting to their unique challenges with patience, creativity, and love.

“It’s about having an open heart”

Sandra, a TACT foster carer since 2004, began her journey by caring for her nephew at 16. With a background in childcare, she embraced fostering with an open heart, focusing on building routines and life skills for the children. Her dedication has positively influenced her own children and continues to impact the lives of those she fosters.