Some foster carers offer sleepovers' to help support children and their foster carers.
This provides both the children and their family with a break. Arrangements are made to suit the needs of the family.
This scheme is often attractive to people looking to build up their experience of fostering, or when your current work patterns restrict your ability to offer full time care.
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Alison has always wanted to foster and when her grown-up son and daughter moved out of the family home she found herself with the space and time to do it.
Aged (48), from Goose Green in Wigan, Alison Rogers is a respite foster carer and fosters Josh* for one weekend every six weeks.
Josh is aged 13 and is in long-term foster care with another family.
Alison said: “It was something I always wanted to do and when the children left home the house needed something more than just me in it.
“After I changed my job to work in the Wigan area, I had more time to be able to foster”.
“People say I am brave fostering on my own but I think it is the young people who are brave. I wanted to try and make a difference.”
On their first weekend together, Alison took Josh to see the Blackpool illuminations and they enjoyed a family party with a Bonfire and sparklers on his second visit.
Alison said: “He is very polite and likes to help. He’s got a lovely nature. He has been welcomed into our family and has fitted in very well.”
For his next visit Alison is planning to take Josh to the cinema and to take her mum out for lunch.
She said: “I hear lots of people say they have always wanted to foster and I want to encourage them to just do it!
“If you don’t face your fears you don’t succeed! So far I am really enjoying it and we are getting on great. For me it’s about the children and helping them have the best life they can.”