Surrey County Council encourages residents to foster 

Any of us can foster – that is the message from Surrey County Council (SCC) as it celebrates the launch of a new national recruitment video campaign for foster carers.

Yesterday (28 September 2023), foster carers and Councillors from across the county, including SCC Leader Tim Oliver and Chair of the Council Saj Hussain, attended a launch event as the organisation said a big thank you to its foster families for the important role that they play in providing a stable family setting for children in care. They heard from experienced foster carers and musician Fiaa Hamilton, who came through the Surrey care system and spoke about how her positive experience in care has contributed to her success as a recording artist. 

Sinead Mooney, Cabinet Member for Children and Families, said: “I was delighted to welcome foster carers, councillors and colleagues to the launch of our new fostering recruitment film today. We desperately need to increase the number of foster families in Surrey so that we can ensure all children are able to stay connected to their local communities, giving them the best possible opportunities in life. There are a lot of misconceptions around the eligibility criteria, so I encourage everyone to find out more before ruling fostering out.”

In Surrey, there are over 1,000 children in care and SCC has just under 400 foster families. Whilst 42% of fostered children in Surrey are placed with in-house foster carers, the council is hoping to increase this to 70%. Nearly half of Surrey’s looked after children are currently living outside of county, far away from friends, family, and schools and this is why we need more foster carers. 

Over 80 councils have jointly funded the short film, Any of Us, which aims to raise awareness about fostering, particularly among those people who may not have previously considered themselves suited to fostering. 

Fostering is an incredibly rewarding experience that can transform the lives of both the children being fostered and the foster carers themselves. Children who enter the care system have often experienced trauma and instability in their lives, and a caring, stable foster family can make a significant difference in their wellbeing and development. Nationally, there are currently over 70,000 children living with around 56,000 foster families in the UK. However, there is still a significant shortage of foster carers, with around 9,265 new foster families needed in the next year alone.   

SCC is encouraging anyone who has ever thought about fostering, to take that first step and find out more. The more people who consider fostering, the greater the chance of finding loving, stable homes for children in Surrey who desperately need them. 

You can contact Surrey Fostering Service on 0800 096 9626, via email at fostering.recruitment@surreycc.gov.uk or by visiting the website: www.surreycc.gov.uk/fostering. You can also connect with them on social media via @surreyfostering 

The council themselves are a Fostering Friendly employer, offering foster carers flexible working and paid time off for training and settling a new child into their home. 

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