“The best moment is seeing a child settle with you, flourish and come out of their shell.”

Meet foster parent Leanne who is new to fostering, starting her journey in early 2023. She shares her fostering highlights and how her previous career as a teaching assistant has helped her to transition into the role of a foster parent.

Meet foster parent Leanne, a previous teaching assistant from Buckinghamshire

Meet Leanne from FCA Thames Valley, who after a difficult journey with IVF decided to go down a different route to starting a family.

It was the motivation that they had a three-bedroom house with lots of room and love to spare that they wanted to give one of the many children in need of care a loving home. Now, with her partner, they foster a sibling group of two young boys.

Speaking about her fostering journey, Leanne said: “My background as a teaching assistant helped me to transition into the role of a foster parent. I had worked with the same age group of children I now have in my care so understood how to help them with their reading and writing, and really bringing out the best in them.”

“My fostering experience so far has been excellent, a few challenging moments in-between, but we’ve had FCA every step of the way to help us through those. FCA have been really supportive and helpful in giving us guidance; from how to deal with the children’s needs, to how to ensure a welcoming home environment.”

She continues: “The best fostering moment is seeing a child really settle with you, flourish and come out of their shell.”

“My advice to anyone considering fostering would be to do your research, really think about whether this journey is right for you, because the children are the main priority in your life, you need to make sure you have time for them.”

When asked for a top tip for welcoming a child into your home, Leanne replied: “The main thing is to listen to that child, make your home as welcoming as possible, and let them have their own space when needed.”

If you’ve been thinking about fostering, then speak to one of our friendly advisors today and discover what it’s like to foster with FCA.

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