Foster carers urgently sought for 'rewarding' role

Foster carers are being urgently sought by a council, as more than 100 children are living outside of their hometown.

At a special event, Swindon Borough Council leader and former foster carer Jim Robbins joined mayor Fay Howard and members of children's services in encouraging people to become carers.

Of the 346 children currently being fostered from the borough, 130 live more than 20 miles away due to a shortage of carers.

Foster carer and council worker Sean Taylor said making a difference to young people's lives was "fundamentally rewarding" and that the role came with training and financial support.

"We've been approved for just over six months," Taylor said at the event at Swindon Designer Outlet.

"We've got one child at the moment. He's a 14-year-old lad, and he's doing fantastically.

"[Without a carer] he could have been taken outside of the borough, or could have gone into a children's home."

Taylor said: "Fostering is fundamentally rewarding. One example from a few weeks ago, we took our young man out for the day. All went really well, and while chatting, he said: 'Oh, thanks, guys. I love you a lot'."

"There's lots of of opportunities to get training and you get financial support to do the best job you possibly can."

Robbins said he hoped giving prospective carers more information about the role would encourage people to sign up.

"It's a really important role and brilliant to keep children close to home, close to their schools and their friends, what is obviously a really difficult time for them."

"We are looking at the right environment for the child, and we are really flexible about single parents, about same-sex couples, not just two-parent, man and woman homes," he added.

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