We understand that fostering is a big responsibility and that you need to make sure you can afford to switch careers. That’s why one of the most common questions we get asked here at Mosaic Foster Care is: “How much do our foster parents get ...
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Are you thinking about becoming a foster parent in the UK? Then you will want to know exactly what the process is and how it works.  As an Independent Fostering Agency (IFA) based in Essex, we have shared below the ...
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As a foster parent, you want make a difference to a young person’s life, providing them with unique experiences and thrilling challenges that prepare them for adulthood. However, going on fun holidays abroad and planning exciting activity days can often cost a lot of money – ...
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As a parent, it is completely normal to experience ‘parenting stress’ – a form of stress which is caused by intense feelings of not being able to cope anymore with the demands and pressures. After all, being a parent is one of the most stressful (yet rewarding) jobs out ...
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On the 10th October, World Mental Health Day was observed globally – a day recognised by the World Health Organisation each year. This year’s theme was ‘Mental Health in An Unequal World’ and for us here at Mosaic Fostering In Essex, there has never been a more relevant theme for the world of looked-after ...
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Throughout October, Black History Month is celebrated across the world every year. The month is designed to remember both important people and events in the history of the Black community in the West. Alongside understanding Black culture, it also aims ...
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It was great to attend this annual conference, in person (!), after the last two events were cancelled due to Covid. There were a wide variety of speakers at the conference as well as giving local authorities and providers the ...
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As the director of an independent fostering agency, the best part of my job has to be meeting with our current families and hearing about all of their fantastic achievements and milestones from the last few months. This is because ...
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Check out this article on Resilience in Foster Carers that featured our Registered Manager Greg de Smidt, in a Fostering Network blog: https://www.thefosteringnetwork.org.uk/blogs/dom-tfn/resilience-foster-carers ...
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Someone asked me this week to describe what Therapeutic Parenting is and I thought long and hard about the answer. My mind went blank how to capture therapeutic parenting in words? Searching in the English Dictionary I found that to ...
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Reflective practise for foster carers is integrated into the core of all that we do at Mosaic Foster Care providing reflective groups for all of our team including foster parents, supervising social workers, support workers and office staff. Please take ...
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This is just one of many, many success stories that I felt I needed to share. After all, what is therapeutic fostering all about if not to help the young people achieve their full potential? From the supervising social worker: ...
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As a therapeutic foster care provider, we wanted to discuss how permanently excluding a child can affect their behaviour. Please take a look at this article recently published by The Institute of Recovery from Childhood Trauma: https://irct.org.uk/2021/02/16/make-permanent-exclusions-illegal/ ...
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NATIONAL DAY OF REFLECTION 2021 On this important and thought provoking day I felt it appropriate to share some helpful links to look after your mental health: Working from home https://www.lifecoach-directory.org.uk/blog/2021/03/10/rethink-your-wfh-set-up-tips-to-boost-productivity?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2021_week_10 5 fun remote things to do with friends and ...
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I have been thinking recently about the strain that the Covid Pandemic is placing on us all. I have noticed through personal reflection and discussion with others that our response to Covid has flowed like a wave over the course ...
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As I was listening to a foster parent talk about a torrent of abuse that had flooded out of their young person’s mouth, an image came into my mind, that the words might be experienced as bullets fired from a ...
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The role of the supervising social worker (SSW) at a therapeutic fostering agency is complex, involving managerial, supervisory, educative and support functions and is one that is not always fully understood or appreciated. I had a chat with one of ...
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How does a therapeutic parenting strategy work? It only works within a relationship where some kind of connection and attunement is present. Though as we know connecting with our children and young people can be challenging as they often reject ...
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January is always a time to reflect and 2020 certainly was a difficult year for so many people in so many ways. It was especially hard for those in lockdown who were suffering domestic abuse or violence and who’s home ...
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As an independent fostering agency in Southend, we know that support is vital for a good outcome in fostering.  Each of our young people have their own dedicated support worker with a plan unique to them, to enable them to ...
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A fostering question we are often asked is ‘Do we have to have had our own children to foster?’ and the simple answer is ‘No’. Last week at panel we had two households approved, a single female and a couple, ...
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STRESS – 5 STEPS TO STILLNESS by Nicky Clinch, writer at Counselling Directory We live in a world that is moving at 150 miles an hour. There just always seems to be big changes occurring, more to process and more ...
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Have you ever wondered what actually happens when you go to a fostering panel? Some applicants find the thought of this very daunting, but we want to reassure that you do not need to worry unnecessarily.  We will make sure ...
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As part of the assessment process to become a foster parent you are required to attend a 3 day training course called Skills to Foster.  It is a pre-approval preparation course to give you a deeper understanding of fostering, to ...
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Q. Why do we need foster parents? A. Because every 20 minutes a child comes into care needing a foster family There are 65,000 children in foster care which is 75% of all children in care, more than are in ...
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Have you ever wondered what happens after you enquire…. how does the process work….. how long is the process…. what are the various stages you go through to becoming an approved foster parent… ? Please take a look at this ...
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This week I spoke to one of our young person’s support workers to find out more about his role within our agency. “Hi, my name is Pete and I am a Support Worker for Mosaic Foster Care. My work involves ...
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We are pleased to announce the appointment of Aly Thompson as our full time Clinical Lead. With over 10 years as a foster parent herself, Aly has studied to Master’s level at Essex University as a psychodynamic organisational therapist. She ...
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At a time when many of us find ourselves in a different place, possibly physically as well as mentally, our world and circumstances can change depending on how we choose to look at things. French critic Alphonse Karr once said: ...
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I have worked as part of the Mosaic team for over 8 years and my main role is to find new people to be our foster parents.   I find this immensely satisfying as I know that together we are making ...
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As I mentioned in a previous blog, all industries have terms that you may not have come across before.  So today, here’s a list of people you might meet in your time in fostering with an explanation of their role: ...
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At the start of this year who would have thought that we would soon be living in a ‘virtual’ world for most of our everyday activities… speaking to friends and family, doing our shopping, going to the doctor, attending social ...
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Making it easier for you In all businesses acronyms are used which can be very confusing and sometimes it is awkward to ask what something means.  At Mosaic Foster Care we try to make it as easy as possible for ...
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An interesting article on how lockdown has affected those in foster care. The impact of lockdown on Foster Carers, children and young people. By Dr Jane Herd, Orb8 CEO As we come out of lock down and continue to manage the ...
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We know that it can be daunting taking that first step into enquiring about fostering. Typically people have been thinking about it for many years and then something triggers that thought and brings it forward.. the time becomes the right ...
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Depending on where you take your source of information from, the percentages change, but we all know that once lockdown releases further and schools fully reopen there will sadly be a massive increase in the number of young people in ...
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We are often asked about who will be sitting on Panel as it can be quite a daunting thought for some people. We want to assure you that we do all we can to put you at ease and make ...
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Mosaic, a leading foster care agency which specialises in helping young people and children who have had a difficult start in life has been rated as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted. Mosaic Foster Care, an independent agency based in Southend and Colchester, ...
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We take great pride in the work that we do with our young people.  We are a true therapeutic fostering agency and it is fantastic when professionals recognise us for the work we do. Recognition in the fostering industry “The young people ...
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We are excited to announce that in 2018 we launched our Appreciation Awards for our Foster Carers, to acknowledge the valuable contribution made to the lives of our Young People and dedication shown to our Fostering Agency. The Awards mark ...
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