More New Team members before closing 2024!
So in the second half of 2024, we've been lucky enough to welcome a number of new staff team members in both the Operations and Social Work teams. This reflects our steadily growing fostering community, as we welcome new families, supported and cared-for children and support workers into our network.
To begin with, in October we welcomed Josh to the Operations Team, providing general support to the team and in partcular with a focus in family-finding for children referred to the service.
Josh has been involved with fostering his whole life; growing up in a family who fostered, welcoming foster children in his household at a young age. He has seen this opportunity to work at fostering together to be a great chance to learn more about the fostering process from both sides of the coin!
At Fostering Together Josh will be supporting the Operations and Social Work teams through various administrative responsibilities who focuses a lot of his work on dealing with all the referrals that fostering together receives to begin the family matching process.
Next was Nikki, who joined the team the following week in late November as a Senior Social Work Practitioner, based in the West Midlands to provide more local support to our community in the East and West Midlands.
Nikki has wide ranging experience of working with children and young people in a variety of settings over the last 25 years. She have previously worked with children and young people in schools, youth centres, children and young adults with disabilities.
Before joining Fostering Together she was also a children’s Independent Reviewing Officer for a local authority. Nikki first qualified as a social worker in 2008, and has worked in child protection and family support, as well as over ten years in fostering and have extensive practice knowledge and experience in this area of social work. She has been a regional practice manager for almost five years in an independent fostering agency, leading a team in assessing, training and supporting foster carers. Whilst working there, she was a senior lead in safeguarding for the agency, providing safe and nurturing foster placements for children and young people.
... And then last, but certainly not least, we also welcomed Amy to the Social Work team as a Senior Social Work Practitioner in early December. Amy will be supporting families across the South East and Essex and joined us at a great time amidst our festive celebrations!
Amy has worked in Health and Social Care settings for over 15 years before joining Fostering Together and has been a registered Social Worker since 2016. She's worked for Local Authority Services, CAFCASS and for charities in a range of roles from supporting disabled adults in residential settings, to pre-birth assessments and international family court proceedings. Her initial background is in Child Protection in South London, but more recently has had the pleasure of working on the other side in Fostering Services.
Amy really enjoys the role of supervising social worker; doing her bit to contribute and see the positive outcomes that carers and children achieve, after the challenges that have brought about this outcome. Amy would describe herself as a non-judgemental, approachable professional who enjoys bringing humour and humanity to the role. The passion required for social work comes naturally to her and therefore she is tenacious in advocating and supporting individuals and families in the way they want and need to be supported. Amy in particular is a stickler for anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practice, so wants to place a priority on inclusion, equality and diversity, everywhere she works. She look forward to working as part of the Fostering Together Family specifically because she shares the refreshing company values and desire to “Do the right thing”.
