Going back to school after the summer holidays or moving to a new year group can be a big adjustment for any child. For those in foster care, these transitions can be especially challenging. As a foster carer, your support can make a huge difference. Here’s a guide to help children smoothly transition back to school or start high school:
1. Communicate Effectively with Teachers
Building a good relationship with the child’s teachers is key to a smooth transition. Here’s how you can help:
Share Relevant Information: Provide teachers with an overview of the child’s needs and any relevant background information. This helps teachers understand how best to support the child.
Schedule a Pre-School Meeting: Arrange to meet with the teacher before school starts. Discuss the child’s strengths, any areas where they might need extra support, and any concerns you have. This sets up a positive partnership from the start.
Keep in Touch: Stay in regular contact with the teacher throughout the year. Update them on the child’s progress and any changes at home. This ensures that the child receives consistent support.
2. Establish Routines
Routines provide stability and help children adjust better to school life. Here’s how to set up effective routines:
Create a Consistent Schedule: Establish a daily routine that mirrors the school day as closely as possible. This includes consistent wake-up times, meal times, and bedtimes. Predictability helps children feel secure.
Set Up Morning and Evening Routines: Develop specific routines for the morning and evening. Morning routines might include preparing school materials and having a healthy breakfast, while evening routines can focus on winding down and organizing schoolwork.
Organize Study Time: Set up a quiet, dedicated space for homework and establish regular study times. This helps the child develop good study habits and reduces stress about schoolwork.
3. Support Social Inclusion
Making friends and adjusting to a new year group can be a challenge. Here’s how you can help:
Encourage Participation in Activities: Suggest joining clubs or extracurricular activities that interest the child. This provides opportunities to meet peers with similar interests and feel more included.
Facilitate Social Opportunities: Arrange playdates or social gatherings with classmates outside of school. This helps the child build friendships in a relaxed setting.
Work on Social Skills: Help the child practice social skills, such as starting conversations and making friends. Celebrate their efforts and progress to boost their confidence.
Overall whether returning to school after a break, moving into a new year group, or starting high school, transitions can be challenging for children in foster care. Your support is crucial in helping them adjust smoothly. By communicating effectively with teachers, establishing stable routines, and supporting social integration, you can help the child feel more comfortable and confident in their new school environment. Your role in providing a supportive and understanding environment makes all the difference during these important transitions.
Welcome, foster families! Whether you’re new to the area or have lived here for years, Leeds and Bradford offer an abundance of activities perfect for creating cherished memories with your foster children. These vibrant cities are brimming with opportunities to bond, learn, and have fun together. From thrilling outdoor adventures to enriching cultural experiences, there’s something here for every family.
Being a foster carer means providing a supportive and nurturing environment, and what better way to do that than by exploring new places and trying new things? In this blog, we’ll guide you through some of the best family-friendly activities around Leeds and Bradford. Whether you’re looking for an educational outing, a creative workshop, or a day of pure fun and laughter, we’ve got you covered.
So, gather your little ones, and let’s discover the wonderful adventures that await your foster family in Leeds and Bradford!
Leeds Youth Service
A variety of youth clubs and projects across Leeds offering arts, sports, and personal development activities.
Offers a range of activities including sports, performing arts, and life skills workshops.
Website: hunsletclub.org.uk
Getaway Girls (Leeds)
Supports young women through various activities, trips, and personal development programs.
Website: getawaygirls.co.uk
Bradford City Youth Development
Focuses on sports, particularly football, offering training sessions and development programs.
Website: bradfordcityafc.com/youth-development
Leeds Play Network
Organizes play sessions and events for children and young people, including those with special needs.
Website: leedsplaynetwork.org.uk
The Shine Project (Bradford)
Provides activities and support for young people to develop their skills and confidence.
Website: bradfordcouncil.org.uk/shine
The Children’s Society (Leeds and Bradford)
Provides support and programs for young people, including those in foster care, to help with emotional well-being and personal development.
Website: childrenssociety.org.uk
Fostering Network – Support Groups and Events
Provides resources, support groups, and events for foster carers and children.
Website: thefosteringnetwork.org.uk
Pets at Home
Offers free educational workshops for children to learn about pet care and animal welfare. These sessions can be a fun and interactive way for children to engage with animals.
Website: petsathome.com
Leeds Museums and Galleries
Free entry to museums and galleries with family-friendly events and activities across the city.
Website: museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk
Bradford Museums and Galleries
Interactive exhibitions and educational programs suitable for children and families.
Website: bradfordmuseums.org
The Rainbow Factory
A creative online store offering storytelling, arts, and crafts packages for children.
Website: rainbowfactorykids.com
Breeze in the park
Interactive play events in parks and green spaces.
Activities include sports, games, art, music, and inflatables.
Locations include Queens Park in Pudsey, Potternewton Playing Fields, and more.
Foster care opens doors to a multiverse of different cultures. Embracing and celebrating cultural diversity is vital—it honors each child’s heritage and fosters a sense of belonging. It also brings carers and foster children together by sharing traditions and stories.
Embracing Differences
Each child brings a unique cultural background. Embracing diversity means respecting and learning about their traditions and beliefs. By doing so, you help them feel valued and understood, giving them a sense of belonging.
Learning Together
Take time to understand the cultural backgrounds of the children in your care. Engage with their communities, ask questions, and show interest in their customs and celebrations. This builds trust and creates meaningful connections. It may also be important for your foster child to learn more about their own cultures and background. This benefits both you as the carer and gives the child education on their own culture.
Sharing Cultural Joys
Celebrate cultural holidays and festivals as a family. Cook traditional meals, participate in cultural activities, read books, visit cultural places, and explore music and art from different backgrounds. These experiences educate and bring joy to everyone. This also links into learning; while these experiences may be familiar to your foster child, you are learning more about your foster child with each experience.
Impact of Celebration
Celebrating diversity strengthens children’s resilience and broadens their understanding of the world. It empowers them to embrace their identity proudly and navigate life’s challenges with confidence.
Your Role as Carers
As foster carers, you have a unique opportunity to nurture a culture of respect and curiosity. By celebrating diversity, you create a warm and supportive environment where every child can thrive. It also brings great fun and beneficial learning for both the child and foster carer.
In conclusion, fostering cultural diversity is a rewarding journey that transforms lives. Together, let’s celebrate the beauty of cultural diversity in foster care
As what feels as though the longest January ever ends, take a look back to see everything that you have achieved over this last month. Schedule yourself an hour at some point this week to sit down by yourself, take yourself to a coffee shop away from the chaos of your home, go for a walk or a swim, or something that you enjoy doing and create a list of your achievements for the month. Whether this is a mental list, a list in your phone or written in a notepad or diary. As humans we strive for better outcomes for ourselves, so it is important to note and celebrate our successes, rather than just focusing on our failures.
Developing self-reflection will help you to become more self-aware around the choices you are making, the experiences you are creating and how you are developing yourself, whether this be in your personal life or as a foster carer. So what that your pile of washing is coming out of the washing basket, your sink has some washing up from breakfast in it still. You are still doing a good job as a foster carer and making a difference to young people’s lives, children long for warmth and love, not a spotless home.
When you feel like times may be getting a bit tough take some time out and think about your successes and choices. Take the time to listen to your body, it is normal for everyone to get burned out, tired, or stressed with their job and as foster carers these feelings are still valid. For me I find it good to write down how I feel when things are getting too much. Try think about these following questions when you are having these feelings.
· How am I feeling right now?
· Why am I feeling like this?
· Is there anything I can do, or anyone I can speak to about how I am feeling?
· How much has my life changed since fostering?
· What have I done to make myself proud this month?
· How have I taken time to myself this month?
· What do I enjoy about being a foster carer?
· How can I develop in my role? Can anyone give me guidance on how to achieve this?
· What have I found challenging over the past month?
· What would I like to do differently next month? And how will I be able to do this?
You can choose to share these answers with another person or keep them to yourself but remember to keep note of these to look back on in the future. Remember fostering, like your normal life will have many ups and downs and many challenges. The decision you have made to become a foster carer will have a massive impact on the lives of young people, even if this difference is only small the changes it can make to a young person’s life can be significant. What could be more special than that?
In this blog we are focusing on children who are exhibiting challenging behaviours whilst in foster care and ways in which their foster carers can support them.
There is a misconception that children who are ‘behaving badly’ are ‘naughty children’. This can be correct, but usually there is reason behind the behaviours.
Every child who enters the care system will be there for different reasons. Some may need some short-term care whilst a parent/carer is managing an illness, others may have experienced extreme abuse and neglect throughout their childhood.
Due to this some children may be perceived as challenging and exhibit “bad behaviours”. However, there are steps as a foster carer you can take to try and prevent this and help the foster child settle into your home.
What can I do as a foster carer?
1. Set some clear house rules
When a foster child is coming into a new environment, they will not know all the rules of the house. Your job as a foster carer is to sit down with the foster child/children and explain the house rules to them. You need to ensure that the whole family is abiding to these rules and not just the foster children. If the foster children receive different rules from the others in the household, they may start to feel vulnerable which could in turn cause upset and anger towards the foster carers.
This will usually be done with your supervising social worker in a Safer Caring Agreement meeting. The meeting will include the foster carer/s the foster child/ren and your supervising social worker, it may also include the child’s social worker from the local authority.
Adults within the household who are implementing the rules need to ensure that they are on the same page when instilling the rules to the children. The approach needs to be consistent if not the foster child may notice the inconsistency in authority within the household and attempt to challenge this.
2. Outline expectations
When trying to manage behaviour it is vital that you as the foster carer outline all the expectations of the foster child. For example, this could be something such as keeping their bedrooms tidy or helping unload the dishwasher three times a week. By giving specific expectations to the foster child, it can instil a sense of responsibility and purpose.
3. Lead by example
Behave as you want children to behave, it is incredibly important that you behave positively to ensure that this is reinforced. For example, we all have times of disagreement, however these disagreements should be settled in a calm manner, through discussion rather than resorting to volatile language and shouting.
4. Praise!!
Praise is so important to any child. Praise will help to build confidence and self-esteem. It is not uncommon that children within the care system have low self-confidence and self-esteem, yet with giving praise where praise is deserved these attributions will improve. With better self confidence and self-esteem, it will allow the foster child to express themselves positively.
Managing behaviour of young people and children is not just an art, there is a considerable amount of thought, training and experience that will support the work needed to be done.
This is by no means a complete guide but more of a small insight to working with children with challenging behaviour, we hope you found this useful as there are an immense amount of resources one can explore.
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