Real stories

Meeting a fostered little girl in her former job as a teaching assistant set the wheels in motion for Viv and her husband Ian to share their home and shape the lives of young people in ways they never dreamed possible.

Karen has been a short-term foster carer for 11 years alongside her husband Brian who works as a motor vehicle technician. They live with their 18-year-old daughter who works a nursery school and son (11 years old) who attends a SEND school and they are currently caring for a 7 month old baby.

Single mum, Leigh, 34 has been fostering since 2020. She has so far focussed on short-term fostering, welcoming several younger children into the family home she shares with her daughter, 10, and their adorable dog, Dexter

Sarah loved working with, and seeing young children learn every day in her job as a nursery manager, but when her son arrived, and with health issues that had niggled since childhood worsening during her pregnancy, she started to re-think the whole idea of going back to work.

As the innovative Mockingbird fostering model is introduced in all local authority partners of Foster with North East, we spoke to hub carer Lesley to bring you real-life insight into the scheme which has been pioneered by The Fostering Network.

After 16 years, Kath and her husband, Alan, haven't lost any of the motivation or drive for their roles as foster carers, which at first seem a world away from their previous careers in law and the RAF. Speaking to Kath about her passion for fostering, it's clear how she's inspired others around her to try fostering for themselves.

Joanne was always drawn to fostering but as a young married mum-of-two aged just 22, she thought fostering would be something her and her husband would do in the future.