Fostering can mean everything to those involved. That is the message of a powerful new fostering film from over 100 councils, of which North Lincolnshire Council are proud to be a part of.
‘Everything’ has launched today – Thursday 17 October and is the seventh film produced by a growing partnership of councils and children’s trusts to promote local authority fostering. The ‘Everything’ project is the largest collaboration yet, with participants from Cumbria to Devon and Lancashire to Essex.
Cllr Julie Reed, cabinet member for children, families and communities, said: “In North Lincolnshire we value our children and work hard to support them to enable them to be the best that they can be, especially those children who need our care and protection, this is where excellent, high quality foster care is essential. We are extremely proud of the outstanding care, love and service our foster carers provide in North Lincolnshire and this film highlights this most important work.
“For us as a local authority, we firmly believe our foster carers are real champions for our children and quite rightly are highly valued by myself and our Fostering Teams. We have a number of foster carers who have fostered for many years as well as those new on their fostering journey, but each of them and their families plays a huge role in the lives of all of our children in care.
“The film truly showcases the enduring bonds formed between foster carers and the children in care that live with them, representing how foster care and fostering families are inspirational and really do change lives. Our dedicated foster carers, enable our children to grow and flourish, remain in their local schools, communities and with their friends; something so very key to their development.”
The film follows foster carer Mike and his family on a journey through time with two of the children they have looked after, who are now adults. A surprise 60th birthday party for Mike gives Will and Zara a chance to reflect on how being fostered made a difference to their lives, thanking him for everything.
Thanks to footage shot on a genuine old camcorder, there is a time hop to the 1990s, to see how Will settles into the family. The film jumps back to the 2010s, when a young Zara is being taught to play the guitar by Mike, something that comes full circle when she performs a song at the party. Mike’s son Chris is involved throughout, showing the important role the children of foster carers play.
The concluding message of the film is that what you do with your life could forever change someone else’s – encouraging people to foster in order to make that change.
Sam Harper, North Lincolnshire foster carer, said: “We have been a fostering family since 2011 and became foster carers after a long discussion with our birth children about our childhood and how different it was for us as their parents.
“We all as a family agreed it was something we would like to give back also after losing our eldest son to a tragic accident, helping little ones see that out of heartbreak things can shine.
“I often tell those who want to foster to go for it and open their hearts and homes. I can honestly say, when the time comes to say goodbye it is extremely hard but it’s for their future and they need it and that another little one will need them to support them until their future is ready for them.”
The film was developed with the input and insight of foster carers and people with care experience, was produced by Reel TwentyFive and project managed by public sector media partner CAN/Rachel Brown.
Project Director, Rachel Brown describes the main message of the film: “Many people don’t realise how common it is for relationships made through fostering to last well beyond the ‘official’ caring role. This has a huge impact on the lives of those who have been fostered, giving them stability and security well into adulthood.
“We also wanted to reflect how the children of foster carers make a difference to children when they come into care, helping them to feel part of the family.
“Having over 100 councils taking part in the project, the film will reach a very wide audience, encouraging people to find out more and take the steps towards becoming a foster carer.
“Fostering with your local council or children’s trust means you can better support local children and young people who need a safe and nurturing home where they can grow and thrive.”
Sarah Thomas, chief executive of The Fostering Network, says: “The Fostering Network has been proud to support the collaborative film projects since ‘Giants’ in 2017. It’s great to see local authority fostering services pooling resources to produce another amazing film. ‘Everything’ will help to amplify their message about the chronic shortage of fostering households, encouraging more people to come forward and foster.
“One of the main characters in the film, Chris, shows how important other family members are when it comes to fostering. This is something we champion throughout October, which is Children of Foster Carer’s Month.”
‘Everything’ is the latest in a series of film collaborations that started in 2017 with ‘Giants’, which was supported by a small number of local authorities in the midlands and has now grown into a national project across England, reflecting the need to recruit more foster carers.
The North Lincolnshire Council version of the film is available to watch on YouTube and people can find out more about fostering in North Lincolnshire on our website, by emailing fostering@northlincs.gov.uk or calling 01724 297024.
