YOU are an amazing person YES,YOU!

Do you want to make a positive difference to a child’s life? Do you want to help change and shape a child’s future either by caring for them one weekend per month, (classed as respite care where they are placed with other carers) or offering them a permanent home yourself?

The Specialist Foster Carer Scheme will offer you up to £350 for a weekend or £52k per year in full-time care.

Gemma Gerrish, Director of Children’s Social Care at Cheshire West & Chester Council, said: “We are looking for special people to work with children who have had a difficult start in life and have been cared for in residential care previously, but who would love to be part of a family environment.”

“Specialist fostering can be an extremely rewarding option where YOU can make a huge difference to a child’s future.

“Are you a current or previous Residential Care Worker, Nurse, Police Officer, Teacher or Probation Worker perhaps? Maybe you’re already a foster carer with additional experience in complex and challenging behaviour?”

Fostering is an incredible journey and if you choose to join, you’ll receive a generous professional fee and a fostering allowance will be provided to cover other fostering expenses such as mileage, Christmas and birthday money. You will also receive multi-agency support and fantastic training opportunities.

Carers within the scheme will be part of a wraparound professional support team composed of a social worker, teacher, therapist and family support worker. Regular short stays will also be offered to the young person to enable a break for both them and their foster carer.

To reflect the skills required to care for our children and adolescents, you will be paid a professional fee of £52,000 per annum or up to £350 a weekend.

There are key requirements to becoming a

Specialist Foster Carer, some of which are listed below:

• Live in the Cheshire West and Chester area or close by and be a car driver.

• Successfully complete a foster carer assessment and approval by Cheshire West and Chester Council including being able to fulfil a successful DBS check.

• You must have room to support a child or adolescent in your home and be available on a full-time basis to care for the young person placed.

• Be able to offer unconditional positive regard and encouragement to a young person, even whilst challenging unacceptable behaviour if needed. To express your interest in the scheme, visit www.foster4.co.uk or call the team on 01925 444100.