Fostering in Bridgend
Foster carers help change the lives of young people every day.
Children come into care for a variety of reasons. It could be a long term illness or a family breakdown. Sadly, in most cases, it is due to some form of neglect or abuse. TACT are currently recruiting foster carers to provide care and support to these children. You could join our Bridgend Fostering Team!
Whether you have been considering fostering for a while, or whether you are new to the idea – we have all the information you need to start making a difference to young people’s lives.
Meet Our Team
We cover a wide area in and around Bridgend, including Cornelly, Cefn Cribwr, Porthcawl and Merthyr Mawr.
We have a great team of staff who provide support to our foster carers in Bridgend. Mike Anthony, our area manager for the area, started working for TACT in 2003, and is passionate about achieving the very best outcomes for children.
We provide our foster carers with full training, 24/7 support and a generous fostering allowance.
Why Foster in Bridgend 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 Bridgend County Borough Council to help find matched foster homes for vulnerable children. Being a charity, we do not ‘profit’ from foster care. Instead, we reinvest any surplus income into providing more training and support for our team of foster carers.
We have already reinvested in some unique additional support services, over and above what a fostering organisation is required to provide. These include a dedicated Education Service, Health Service – and an online foster carer portal. Our TACT Connect community ensures that when children leave our care, they have TACT’s support into adulthood and beyond.
This is why 98% of our carers would recommend us to others thinking of fostering.
24/7 Support
For total peace of mind, we provide full 24/7 support. You will also be allocated your own Supervising Social Worker, who will provide most of the day-to-day support you will require. We also offer an out-of-hours support service – so there will always be someone on hand to help you.
We also provide additional support platforms, some of which are unique to TACT.
This is what we provide:
- Full 24/7 support. Provided by your Supervising Social Worker and our out-of-hours support service.
- Foster carer portal. An online information hub that provides advice and training to help with your day-to-day life as a foster carer.
- Education service. Ensures that all young people in your care receive the educational opportunities they are entitled to.
- Health service. Our health service was established in order to provide young people in your care with ongoing physical and mental health monitoring.
- Support groups. Our support groups operate in Bridgend and surrounding areas, and provide you with a local outlet to meet other carers in your area, share experiences and knowledge, and even make new friends!
- Support for young people. Our Children’s Resource Workers provide the children in your care with additional support, activities and events.
- 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.
- Peer support. In some areas, peer-to-peer support may be available. These work by pairing newly approved foster carers with experienced TACT carers to provide another level of support.
Fostering Allowance Bridgend
Foster carers are highly skilled people, and our Bridgend fostering payments reflect this.
The fostering allowance is made up of two elements:
- An allowance for each young person in your care: this covers outgoings such as food, clothing and travel for a young person.
- A foster carer fee: this is your carer ‘fee’, in recognition of your knowledge and skill and when caring for young people in your home.
The total allowance you will receive will depend on a number of factors such as the type of foster care you are providing, the number of children you are caring for, their age, and any additional 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 Bridgend
“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.
“You have to love, support and listen to children”
Sian and Paul, TACT foster carers in our Wales team since 2011. Sian shares some of the lessons she has had from being a foster carer for over 13 years.
“The sense of achievement when a child excels”
Mark and Fiona, TACT foster carers since 2001, decided to foster after raising two teenagers and hearing stories from other carers. They’ve cared for 63 children, finding immense satisfaction in helping them excel in school, sports, and life. Mark highlights the pride in seeing foster children succeed and the importance of patience, empathy, and support from TACT. He encourages others to foster, believing in the impact it can make.
Fostering Information Events
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