What we can achieve by working together

In a new series of interviews we will be asking Progress foster carers why they choose to foster and why despite some challenges, fostering can bring a lot of joy. Here’s Joanna’s story. “You don’t help someone to get a pat on the back. My husband and I foster because we love it. Seeing a...

It was late one evening when Sasha arrived. She was just a year-old, dressed in a pink padded coat and carried through the door. ‘She looked so scared and dirty,’ says Pauline who was there to open her heart and give her a home. Later as Pauline gently placed her in a warm bubble bath,...

  Foster carers are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Opening up your home and heart to children is not easy, but as Gail explains, it’s a rewarding experience. Gail, a foster carer, was in the kitchen when Amy received the telephone call to say she had passed her GCSEs.  Amy was a teenager who had no confidence in...

Do you have the skills to support a child that has just arrived in the UK without any parents? Are you able to support a child that has suffered persecution due to their ethnicity, religion, culture, views or spoken language? Would you be able to make a child feel safe, secure, and loved within your...

A big well done to one of our Residential Support Worker Venice Campbell, who has been collecting donations for a local mother and baby hostel and the neonatal ward at New Cross Hospital. Venice became increasingly aware of the number of perfectly-good toys going to waste and ending up in landfills every year. Working in...

Fostering is one of the most selfless and courageous things one can do; however, it can come with anxieties and common misconceptions surrounding the process. If you’re someone who has considered fostering, but has unanswered questions – you are not alone. In this blog post we take some of the most common misconceptions about fostering...

We are pleased to officially reveal that we will be sponsoring Warstones Wanderers FC for the 21/22 season! As we are so passionate about supporting our local community, we pride ourselves in going above and beyond to showcase this in any way we can – hence why we were keen to get involved with this...

The community support worker on the importance of mentors, giving back, and listening. I am a head of the year in a mainstream secondary school and have been doing this for the last thirteen years. Some of the children in the school are in care or have SEN (special education needs). I wanted to gain...

One of the most frequently asked fostering questions is about the type of support a foster carer will receive. As a foster carer, we want to ensure you are equipped to manage a child or young person’s behaviour. Therefore, the Progress Skills to Foster training is our chance to prepare you for the challenges of...

The Team Leader at Oak Cottage, on the benefits of working together, his life experience, and being yourself at Progress. I grew up in challenging circumstances. I was brought up in care and was in foster care too. So, I can relate to the young people I care for and empathise with them. I can be...