@fostersupportcouk
CEO of a Not For Profit organisation providing high quality support to fostering families: FosterSupport Ltd Here to raise awareness of fostering and disability issues. https://www.fostersupport.co.uk/
It was a very effective impromptu role play which really made the DfE stop and think about why there's a retention crisis.
Join us at Westminster on 4th March when we will push ahead with our call for a public inquiry to fight for justice for everyone who has been put through this injustice.
I then explained to the Department of Education team that those were actual scenarios which we had dealt with at FosterSupport.
We then told him sorry the "professionals" have already made their substantiated decision and you're guilty, oh and there's no right of appeal. You have to be deregistered and referred to DBS because the allegation was substantiated.
The allegations included not making a child Christmas dinner and not celebrating another child's 4th birthday.
He had photos of both the Christmas dinner and the child celebrating their 4th birthday.
Then I told him that his supervising social worker was coming to tell him that there had been an investigation without his knowledge or input where a decision had been made.
We completely excluded him from the "professionals" meeting where we talked about him and decided that the allegation was substantiated.
🚨Department for Education employee found guilty.
Yesterday at the Department for Education I chaired an impromptu mock LADO investigation where we notified a DfE employee that he had an allegation against him.
Thanks Mark.
But I can tell you what it is.
It is the united voice of foster carers showing up together as one collective voice demanding to finally be heard.
Together we will do you proud and your truths will be heard.
Today we head to London.
Foster carers from 3 different organisations meeting with the DfE and Children's Minister.
It may well be tokenism. It may well be consultation box ticking in their minds. Who knows.
Our members will lead the drive for change through the input of their lived experience, knowledge and passion into the public inquiry and together we will seek justice for our peers who were harmed by a cowboy system with no checks and balances.
A full public inquiry would focus everyone's minds on why a workforce with zero rights and protection at the mercy of a public sector with zero accountability and consequences for misconduct has led to the foster carer retention crisis.
There are public sector workers who have never been held to account for their malpractice.
There are children who were wrongly ripped away who still have no idea why.
Efforts to improve things do not address these past tragedies.
After many years of supporting foster carers and advocating for change I personally feel that a public inquiry must happen regardless of engagement with Ministers and the DfE.
There are 1000s of ex foster carers out there who's lives were destroyed because they chose to give their time + love.
If you have any feedback or comments on the Department for Education consultations documents please let us know.
As our members know we have been invited to a meeting with the Department for Education and the Children's Minister. Optimism for real change isn't really on my radar though.
Foster carers in Kent please get in touch 9f you are affected by this £1.2 million cut to fostering services.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Meanwhile those of us who actually know because we're at the coal face supporting mistreated foster carers 24/7 fight on.
More importantly the evidence that the powers that be knew the real truth is there too.
Theyre going to have a lot of explaining to do at the public inquiry.
Finding "solutions" without addressing the actual problem. These people will fall into 2 categories.
The ones who know but don't want it to be heard and the ones who assume that they know but really don't.
Isn't it lovely how busy everyone suddenly is on the back of the foster carer retention crisis?
Holding conferences.
Having consultation events and press launches.
Making money.
This is a particularly difficult situation for foster carers as they do not have PR and guidance from social workers is contradictory at best see sawing between safeguarding and Human Rights.
Keep an eye out for your time travel devices in the post my fellow minions.
How could foster carers navigate multiple long distance school runs, meetings, family time and training obligations when they would literally be sitting in traffic all day.
Apparently social workers are coming under this regional umbrella too. I'm sure that they'll love the traffic too.
Move to regional care cooperatives.
It may work well in areas such as greater London where local authorities overlap in a small geographical area.
However places like West Yorkshire?
It can take 2 to 3 hours to get to another city in rush hour traffic.
Work full time - not as foster carers obviously because our master tells us that is not work.
Expand our houses and cram in as many children as possible. But remember our master isn't keen on remuneration either so don't expect to be financially supprted - that's what a real job is for remember.
Morning.
I'm waiting with baited breath for the next big announcement for foster carers.
You know what it's going to be?
Teleportation devices or time travel equipment.
How else could we function in MacAlister's brave new world?
Yeah I agree but it has reach on a professional level to get the message out there
Threads is quite good I'm also on LinkedIn but never go on Twitter anymore
There's an email going out plus details on social media too.
Yes it's on we're meeting at Westminster at 11.15.
It makes me so angry that they are knowingly selling a broken system luring unsuspecting victims into potential tragedy. People have died and lost their homes, careers and families. Instead of taking this seriously and investigating it they're just pushing for more victims.