Start your fostering journey. Wiltshire Council takes to the roads to encourage more foster carers to come forward.

Monday 12 May marks the start of Foster Care Fortnight with this year's theme The Power of Relationships. The team will be joining key events, markets, shopping centres and libraries among other places so people can drop in and have a chat with the team, with foster carers also attending some events providing first-hand experiences.

In week one people can chat to the fostering team at these venues:

• Monday 12 May -The Shires Trowbridge - 11am - 2pm 
• Tuesday 13 May - Whitehall Garden Centre, Lacock - 10am - 3pm
• Wednesday 14 May - Royal Wootton Bassett Market - 10am - 2pm
• Thursday 15 May - Devizes Market - 9am - 2pm
• Friday 16 May Chippenham Market - 10am - 2pm
• Saturday 17 May Castle Combe Steam Rally from 10am and also People in the Park Salisbury - 10:30am - 4:30pm
• Sunday 18 May - Trowfest 2025 at Trowbridge Rugby club 12 noon - 4pm.

There is an online fostering drop-in session on Saturday 24 May from 10am - 11am for anyone wanting to know more.  For a full list of events across the two weeks visit - Fostering events - Fostering with Wiltshire Council

This year the theme is the power of relationships and Wiltshire Council foster carers are sharing their experiences of what it means to foster.

Sarah and Mike first became foster carers in October 2023.

Sarah explained it was something they'd thought about for some time.

She explained: I have a daughter and she was settled in a new school and it felt like it was the right time if we were going to do it.  I thought that it would be really nice for her to experience it as well and for her to have empathy and understanding that a lot of children don't have what she has and to be able to make a difference in a child's life as there are a lot of children out there that aren't as fortunate and they have been through horrible things and we wanted to give something back.

We thought 'let's just look into it and we had the initial meeting and it was looking good, so we kept going. You never know if you're going to get accepted so you're looking forward to it but not sure if it's going to happen.

Sarah also explains the benefits of being a foster carer and says simply: He's part of the family now.  This little boy was quite angry. He hadn't done a lot of things - never ridden a bike, never swimming so just introducing him to these things he'd never done before, and you feel that you're able to help and do that for him and the happiness on his face is such a big reward.

Sarah has advice for anyone thinking about fostering: Definitely take that first step and find out more about it. I don't think there's anything you'd regret if you're that type of person who is passionate about wanting to help children and to have that experience. With us we started off doing respite so you weren't thrown in at the deep end - just go through the process, learn as much as you can and like I say, we're happy we did it.

Florah Shiringo, Interim Director Families and Children said: We have so many amazing foster carers who make such a difference to our young people's lives providing a warm, loving home and a safe place to stay. If you are thinking about fostering just give us a call or drop into one of our events and find out more. Our team is ready to answer your questions and if you decide it's right for you, to help you onto the next stage of the journey to becoming a foster carer.

Foster carers need to be aged 21 and over and have a spare bedroom (or people can use their own bedroom, if they have space for a cot, to foster a baby aged up to twelve months)

People need time to care for a child and a willingness seek to understand young people who have experienced trauma and loss. Fostering payments are from £410 to £760 a week, per child depending on skills and experience. 

To hear Joeanne's experiences as a foster carer visit https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrJBGaLNqeERdnzaezSbWfieifqNeMJ2F

To hear Cowan and Caroline experiences as foster carers visit  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrJBGaLNqeESmsEiGOniH7SHykqxggY2S

For more information on fostering visit https://fostering.wiltshire.gov.uk/(opens new window) email fostering@wiltshire.gov.uk(opens new window), call 0800 169 6321 or text the word Foster to 60002.