Meet Hannah, our Foster Parent Training and Retention Manager

A question we are often asked as an agency is ‘what training and support do you offer?’ and that is where Hannah comes in…

Hannah is our ‘Foster Parent Training and Retention Manager’ here at FFP, and today we had the opportunity to sit down and ask her about her role within the agency.

Hannah explains ‘My background is working in training and development and in family support. I am a qualified trainer, specialising in safeguarding training and delivering training in attachment and trauma.’

As an independent fostering agency, we pride ourselves on the high level of support and training that we are able to our foster parents. ‘Foster parents working with Family Fostering Partners can expect to receive lots of support from their designated link worker, and the FFP team as a whole. There is regular training, support groups, a closed Facebook community, lots of meet ups, workshops and opportunities for foster parents to come together and be part of the fostering community. This allows them to not only receive support from their peers, but staff members as well.’

‘We also offer a 24 hour on call system. During opening hours, your designated link worker will be available but outside of those hours there is always a link worker available for foster parents to ring and to seek advice and support from should they need to.’

All approved foster parents also have access to a ‘Foster Talk’ membership, click here for more info.

As an agency, we are often met with myths and misconceptions about fostering, Hannah helps to debunk one our most common questions; ‘Do you need qualifications to be a foster parent?’

‘NO! To be a foster parent you don’t need any qualifications. If you have any to bring to the table, then that’s great, but we will provide you with all of the support and training that you’ll need. There is a lot of mystery around fostering, and people might think they do not have the skills to do it. At FFP, we are very open and honest. If anyone is interested in fostering, then there is always someone here to have a conversation with them. We are here to provide the support, guidance and training to make you feel more confident in your abilities.’

If you’re thinking of fostering, but not sure where to start, here are Hannah’s top tips.

• Find the right agency for you. Look around, ask questions, and find an agency that are passionate about our children.
• Make sure the right support is there for you, and that everyone is working together for the best outcomes for our children.
• Remember that we all have skills and attributes that may be invaluable to fostering – we’ll help you discover them 😊