Empowering foster families to support each other and overcome problems, as well as offering children a more positive experience of care, Gloucestershire County Council Fostering launches its third Mockingbird constellation programme in the county.
Mockingbird has been running since 2015 and has evidenced improvement in placement stability, safety, and permanency for children and young people in care, and to improved support for, and retention of, foster carers.
It's a different way of fostering — based around the concept ‘it takes a village to raise a child’. It is an evidence-based model structured around the support and relationships an extended family provides.
The programme uses the concept of a 'constellation' — the term used to describe the fostering community involved within the model — where six to ten satellite families live near to a dedicated hub home which provides peer support, planned and emergency short break care, and regular social activities.
There's three key roles within the programme, including the liaison worker — a qualified social worker employed by the local authority. They provide support to the foster families in the constellation in many ways, including helping plan constellation activities, reviewing the progress and needs of the children in the constellation and reporting the outcomes.
As well as the hub home carer — an experienced, approved foster carer who provides support, guidance, and leadership to foster carers and children within the Mockingbird constellation. The hub home carer is a central point of support for all families within the constellation, this includes day care and planned sleepovers for children and young people living with satellite families.
And the satellite carers — there is between six and 10 satellite families within each constellation. These families are all approved foster carers with Gloucestershire County Council, and are supported by the hub home carer. They actively contribute and be a part of the constellation, participating in regular social activities, support groups and training opportunities.
One satellite carer said: 'I am really enjoying being a part of Mockingbird and can’t sing its praises any higher! Every foster carer should have this in place. Not only is it fantastic for the children to be a part of but also the support and reassurance it provides for the carers, too.'
For more information or a no-obligation chat with the Gloucestershire County Council Fostering team, call (01242) 532654, visit gloucestershire.gov.uk/fostering or email fostering@gloucestershire.gov.uk.
