Fostering News

“Fostering is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. To know that you are going to impact somebody’s life for the better is one of the greatest gifts any job can give you.”  -Phil Walters  Meet Phil Meet Phil, an exemplary foster parent here at Clifford House. Phil and his wife Leanne are experienced foster … Celebrating Father’s Day Together as a Fostering Family

We’ve been busy working with award winning author, N.C.Emmett, who has very kindly gifted us an exclusive new book, dedicated to our foster families as part of Foster Care Fortnight™️.  Meet ‘Filby The Fire Dragon’. This story is about Filby’s journey towards finding his identity and confidence as a fire-breathing dragon. It is also about … Introducing Filby The Fire Dragon…

Ready for Mother’s Day this year, we chatted to Jenny about what it’s like to be a foster mum on a day where everyone is celebrating the mothers and grandmothers in their lives. Meet Jenny 59-year-old Jenny has been fostering for more than 24 years and has fostered an applaudable 61 children. She is currently … “The word ‘mother’ can be quite an upsetting word to some children so we have to be respectful”

Meet Clifford House foster dad Phil, who is encouraging men to open up and consider fostering. Philip (Phil), 44, has been a foster dad for nearly two decades now and is sharing his experience to encourage more dads to take up fostering and open up. After a successful career as a banker and part-time foster … “You’re not solely responsible for holding the fort down… The world has moved on from that mindset and we need to recognise that”

Monday the 15th May marks the annual return of Foster Care Fortnight, the UK’s biggest foster care awareness campaign run by the UK’s leading fostering charity, The Fostering Network. Running over two weeks, the campaign aims to raise the profile of fostering and show how foster care transforms lives. This year’s theme is Fostering Communities, … Foster Care Fortnight 2023: Fostering Communities

Self-esteem issues can be common with foster children because of the feeling of abandonment and the experiences they have had to go through. If you’re a foster parent who truly cares, then you may feel distressed if the child you foster seems to have a poor sense of self and a bad self-image. This is … Building Your Foster Child’s Self-Esteem

Meet Sarah, a foster parent from Worcestershire who celebrates 3 years of fostering, and the amazing difference it’s made to both herself and her own children’s lives.   A single carer, Sarah fosters alongside her own three children; aged 18, 16, and 5. She shares how fostering was always a big part of her family … “Clifford House have helped to bring us together as a family.”

Yesterday, the government made the big announcement in the 2023 Spring Budget the much welcomed news that foster parents would receive a significant tax relief increase on their fostering allowance from the 2023/24 tax year. ’ Here’s how these changes will benefit foster parents… Since its introduction in 2003, Qualifying Care Relief has remained at … How Foster Parents Will Benefit From The Spring 2023 Budget

Meet Jennifer, a foster parent from the West Midlands who has devoted the last two decades to looked-after children. Fostering for over 20 years, including over a decade with Clifford House, Jennifer and her husband have in total welcomed 61 children into their home. She shares her incredible fostering journey so far to encourage more … “We’ve never looked back. We’ve very rarely been without a child in our care.”

We are pleased to announce that we have just received a ‘Good’ Ofsted report for the care it provides to vulnerable children We were inspected in February 2022 for the first time since 2017 as a result of the pandemic and our registered manager, staff team and foster parents received some lovely feedback. The report … We’ve Just Received a ‘Good’ Ofsted Report

In light of recent Government social distancing instructions, we have amended our recruitment and assessment processes, to ensure we can still recruit new fostering family during this difficult time. During this unprecedented period, we know many children are still in need of good foster care and as we are all uncertain how long social distancing … Fostering Assessments with Clifford House During Social Distancing

A message from our CEO, Jo August. At Clifford House, we take the health and safety of our children and young people, foster families and employees very seriously. Following Government advice as a precautionary measure, from Monday 23rd March we have decided to close all of our offices until further notice. We believe that we all … Our Response to COVID-19