Swindon Designer Outlet hosted a display on Tuesday 18th February, featuring an archway made up of colourful bags.
Each bag represented a child placed away from Swindon due to a shortage of local foster families.
Council leaders, carers and fostering staff attended the event to highlight the impact of children being moved away from their schools, friends and relatives.
Mayor of Swindon, Fay Howard, who has previously fostered, said:
“It’s really important that if we have children in foster care, that if possible they are housed in Swindon, where their connections are, where their families are, where their schools are and where their friends are.
“It’s such a sad thing that we have 130 children who could be in Swindon, who are actually placed outside Swindon.”
She said there are many different types of fostering available.
“People are probably not aware of how many different types of fostering there are,” she said. “You might not be able to foster full time. Maybe you can do respite. Perhaps you can offer an overnight bed when a child first comes into care before they move to a more stable placement. There are so many different types of fostering.”
Laurie-Mo Gullachsen, team manager for fostering at Swindon Borough Council, said the campaign aims to challenge common myths.
“We know that children placed closer to home get to keep connections with their families, their schools, their friends, people that matter to them,” she said. “Unfortunately, we need more foster carers.”
She said many people assume they are not eligible to apply.
“You just need to be an adult, potentially have a spare room if you’re looking after older children, and have space in your heart and your home.”
Addressing financial concerns, she said: “We pay £300 per child per week, plus a skills payment of up to £185 per week depending on experience. For children with more complex needs, there can be additional payments of up to around £200 per week per child.”
She added: “One of the big myths we need to bust is that the borough does pay generously. We really value our foster carers and believe they should not be financially worse off.”
Brenda McInerney, Director of Children’s Services at Swindon Borough Council, said distance can make it harder to secure positive outcomes.
“We can’t get the best for our children when they live at a distance,” she said. “We want them in their town, in their school, able to see their friends and family.”
She said fostering is open to a broad range of people.
“It doesn’t matter if you rent or own your home. It doesn’t matter about your working arrangements. We have a child who will be right for you.”
Sean Taylor, who has been fostering with his wife for six months, said the experience has been rewarding.
“It was a real eye opener,” he said. “We wanted to help Swindon children.”
Speaking about the young person they are caring for, he said: “It’s been a phenomenal experience. A couple of weeks ago he turned around and said, ‘I love you guys.’ That was heart melting. We absolutely appreciate we’re not their parents, but knowing you’ve made that impact makes it worthwhile.”
Council leader Jim Robbins said fostering locally benefits children and the authority.
“The key thing is giving those young people the best possible start in life,” he said. “If they can keep their friendship groups and their ties to their local school, that’s really important at a time when there’s a lot of change going on.”
He added: “There is a real need for foster families across the country. Swindon isn’t an outlier. Demand is going up, and we need to keep finding those families.”
Residents can find out more by visiting Swindon Borough Council’s fostering page
