A powerful new film made with input from more than 100 councils released on 17 October 2024, emphasises the impact that fostering can have on everyone involved.
‘Everything’, which is now available to view on YouTube, is the seventh film produced by a growing partnership of local authorities and children’s trusts to promote fostering, with participants from Reading and Essex to Lancashire and Devon.
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.
The message to take away is that what you do with your life could forever change someone else’s – encouraging people to foster in order to make that change.
In July, Reading joined 19 other councils from across the south east to create the country’s largest local authority fostering partnership, with the goal of recruiting more foster carers for our children and young people in care. Reading is represented by Brighter Futures for Children, which delivers children’s services, including fostering, on Reading Borough Council’s behalf.
Di Smith, Board Chair of Brighter Futures for Children, said: “The ‘Everything’ project has given our fostering agency an incredible film that shows the long-term impact fostering can have, with the relationships between carers and children lasting well into adulthood.
“There is an urgent need to recruit more foster carers, with more than 11,000 children in care across the south east and fewer than 3,000 local authority approved foster carers, so a collaborative piece of work like this will hopefully show people how rewarding and life-changing fostering is.”
Cllr Wendy Griffith, Lead Councillor for Children, said: “It is fantastic to see Reading represented in such an important piece of work and having more than 100 councils take part will ensure the film reaches a wide audience.
“Every child and young person deserves to have a safe, loving family, and the hope is that the more people learn about being a foster carer, the more people will consider the life-changing decision.”