North Yorkshire foster carers thanked at annual conference

Foster carers in North Yorkshire have been thanked at an annual conference.

Their commitment has been heralded as vital as some of the longest-serving recruits to the service were honoured for more than a century of combined service.

More than 50 foster carers attended an annual conference at the Lakeside Conference Centre, in Sand Hutton on the outskirts of York. Eighteen of them received certificates, a badge and a gift voucher for the long-service awards for a combined total of 115 years.

Dawood Beck and Wafaa Benchekroun, Emily and Michael Gould, Angela and Ian Jones and Karen and John Pownall received certificates for five years of service.

Alison Borg and Tom Herring, Theresa and Ronald and Karen Medcroft celebrated 10 years of service.

Mick and Jakki Wilby received recognition for 15 years of service, Ellen Danks was recognised for 20 years’ service and Allison and Alan Cooper celebrated 30 years.

Mr and Mrs Wilby said: “We have looked after children as emergency cover, short-term and long-term – you name it, we’ve done it! It’s lovely to be recognised for our work today, but we don’t do what we do for this recognition, we do it because we love it. It keeps you going and it’s lovely to see the difference you make to the children you open up your home and heart to.”

Mr and Mrs Cooper said: “We love fostering and the reward is seeing the smiles on the children’s faces. Our first set of children were three sisters we took on as emergency cover and since then we’ve looked after hundreds. Fostering hasn’t changed our lives; it’s enriched our lives. You take in a child who doesn’t trust anyone and then one day they smile a real smile or take your hand – that’s why we do it.”

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for children’s services, Cllr Janet Sanderson, handed out the long-service awards and gave the closing speech.

She said: “During Covid, our foster carers made huge sacrifices giving little regard to their own risk as they continued to care for the foster children in their families. It’s only right that we show our appreciation for their dedication, day in day out – especially through the fear and unknown that the pandemic brought. It’s important that we don’t lose sight of this and that we come together to celebrate the long-service awards.

“Fostering North Yorkshire is unique. They provide care for North Yorkshire children placed with carers often in the local community. The majority of our children are from North Yorkshire and the shared culture and community with the carers they are placed with is why it works so well.”

North Yorkshire Council says as part of its planned commitment, they have approved new measures to help foster carers navigate the financial pressures on them and increase the number of potential carers coming forward.

The measures include:

• More mileage paid (carers can now claim the first 100 miles).

• A bridging payment for when a carer does not have a child for three weeks.

• Access to the council’s employee benefits scheme, which includes discounts at supermarkets and leisure activities.

• Recommend a friend payment of £500.

The attendees at the conference on Saturday, April 22, also got to see the Fostering North Yorkshire logo, which has been refreshed to better reflect the fostering journey. Earlier in the year, several foster carers and children gave their views on what it is like to foster and be fostered. These views were taken on board to create the design.

Anyone interested in becoming a foster carer can visit the North Yorkshire Council website or call the 24-hour enquiry line on 01609 534 654.