Children need foster families in their local communities.
Today there are over 70,000 children living with foster families across the UK and the numbers are rising. Every 20 minutes another child comes into care.
Become a Fostering Friendly Employer
Fostering Friendly employers commit to supporting employees who foster, and helping to promote and celebrate fostering.
Employers who understand foster carers’ commitments and offer a flexible approach are helping them provide the best possible care for a child or young person.
The scheme is simple and free to join for organisations of any size. It offers your company and employees expert support from The Fostering Network, the UK’s leading fostering charity.
All you need to do is agree a flexible working policy, offering foster carers and those preparing to foster a minimum of five days paid leave for their fostering commitments such as training or settling a new child into their home.
We will provide everything you need to develop this policy and to take part in celebrating Foster Care Fortnight™, the UK’s biggest fostering awareness campaign.
Text cited in The Fostering Network's information leaflet below.
We recognised that the impact for us as a company is relatively small, but the impact for any potential child being fostered could be significant and so we were delighted to be able to support our children and local communities by launching our Fostering Friendly policy across both organisations.
Benefits of joining the scheme
- Build on your brand and demonstrate your commitment to caring for staff and your local community
- Better understand and support your employees’ needs and improve staff wellbeing
- Be an attractive employer for foster carers, who are resilient, committed and skilled professionals
- Play a vital role in recruiting and supporting foster carers, with a huge impact for children in your local community
- Engage and inspire staff with learning and awareness raising events and activities
- Benefit from on-hand expertise from the UK’s leading fostering charity
- Be a part of the national celebration of foster care and its amazing stories.
Suffolk Fostering Friendly Employers
Ready to join our Fostering Friendly community?
To find out more and kick start your fostering friendly journey, email us on fosterandadopt@suffolk.gov.uk
You can also find out more about The Fostering Network's scheme and all employers who have joined here.