big welcome

Foster Wales has launched a new way to allow a young person to look through the profile of a foster carer before they meet them.

The Big Welcome platform allows children soon to move to a new foster carer the chance to get to know the personality and home life of their new carer, and any family members or pets they might be about to share a home with.

meet amy and gavin

Amy Davies first went into foster care aged 11 before living with her nan from the age of 16. Amy then began her own journey as a foster carer by caring for her young sister as a kinship carer at just 21 years old. She’s now been fostering for 23 years, mainly caring for older children with her husband Gavin.

Amy said the Big Welcome will help children feel more at ease before meeting a carer and any new foster siblings.

“when I was younger and going into foster care, I think if I was able to have a look at who I was about to meet it would have made me feel less anxious. I was usually quite anxious about who they were or what they were like, but seeing a profile helps to take away a bit of that fear of the unknown.”

let’s see what Amy, Gav, and their wonderful family bring to the table

Thanks to The Big Welcome digital tool, children entering foster care can get to know the home they are going to before they arrive. It helps settle any nerves and make their fostering journey a little easier.

care experienced young people

Developed in partnership between charity Action For Children and social innovation agency Super Being Labs, the Big Welcome was designed through a series of workshops and 1:1 interviews with 120 care experienced young people and more than 75 foster carers. The research asked how a foster carer could make a child feel welcome and what made a young person feel anxious. The designers addressed identified needs including ensuring a child could see what their bedroom would look like. It gives children the chance to begin building a connection that could be life changing.

“this is exactly what we’ve been asking for. I wish I’d had this growing up in care” – Voices From Care Cymru

Child's bedroom image

the best possible start

Alastair Cope, Head of Foster Wales, said: “As the national network for not-for-profit local authority fostering services, Foster Wales is committed to building better futures for children and young people needing care.

“Our children told us that they wanted more information on where they were going to live. They wanted to know what their bedroom would look like, who the family pet was and what the foster carers like to do in their spare time.

“We’ve already heard from our social workers about what a huge difference this is making. The Big Welcome is providing the reassurance and connection needed to get a relationship off to the best possible start.”

 

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