Meet some foster children
We have children from all backgrounds looking for a foster home. Learn a bit about them.
On this page
Benjamin, aged 13
My name is Benjamin, I like my school, seeing my friends, swimming and football!
Here's what others say ...
Benjamin is a 13-year-old boy who has a loving and caring personality. He enjoys going to school and interacts well with his peers and has good friendship groups. Benjamin is healthy and he enjoys playing football and is really proud when he scores a goal during a match.
Benjamin has some extra help at school due to low cognitive functioning and will need a loving family that can be patient and kind with him and make sure he knows that it is ok to ask for help. He needs information to be presented in a variety of different ways and lots of encouragement to help build his confidence and allow him to achieve new goals.
Those that know Benjamin well feel that he would benefit from ...
Benjamin has currently been placed with younger children and this has been good as he gets on well with other children. Benjamin will need a loving family to be with until he is an adult with lots of help to guide him on the way. Ideally, the placement would be near to his current school so that he does not have to change schools.
If I could have one special wish ...
I would love to be with a family that has a dog!!
Dee, aged 6 and Jim, aged 3
My name is Dee and I love painting, and Jim loves playing with his toy henry hoover
Let me tell you more about us……
We are really close and want to live together.
Here’s what Dee says….
My foster carers like my energy and admires that I can do a 100-piece jigsaw puzzle. I have a chromosomal condition which means my speech and learning is like a younger child. I get the help I need in my local primary school. I sleep well as I am on the go all day. I can dress myself with a bit of help. I like playing with lego, Barbie dolls and sticking and being outside. I can play on my own but I love attention from grown-ups. I need a family that has lots of energy and time to play with me.
Here’s what Dee’s foster carer says:
Dee has a beautiful beaming smile and loves adult attention. She needs constant reminding to stay by my side when we’re out. She has difficulty retaining what we say, so we need to repeat things. Her speech is coming on and I understand what she means even though her words can be indistinct sometimes. She eats and sleeps well. She gets on well with our grandchildren.
Here’s what Jim says….
My foster carer says I like cuddles. I need keeping an eye on as I like running around and I fall over sometimes or bump into things. I am good at climbing on things. I love adult company especially someone to play with. I like my food and sleep well. I sometimes struggle to find words to describe things but this is improving. I have a lovely smile. I have just started nursery which I enjoy. I am slightly unsure around animals and I don’t live with any at the moment.
Here’s what Jim’s foster carer says:
Jim is very sociable. He is a busy little boy and needs supervision all the time. He has the same chromosomal deletion condition as his sister so we don’t know what his needs will be as he grows up. Generally, he is a well-behaved little boy and he gets on well with other children. We get the occasional tantrum but it doesn’t last long. He is a lovely, smiley little boy. I think the children need two carers as they need keeping an eye on all the time.
Dee and Jim need a loving, nurturing family who can support them for the long term.
If we could have our own special wish
It would to have a friendly dog and a trampoline would be perfect.!
David, aged 5
My name is David, I love my foster carers dog Dotty!
More about David...
David is a lovely boy. He enjoys being outside, walking the foster carers’ dog, he likes reading and having a story read to him. He enjoys school. He likes cuddles for reassurance. He is interested in his surroundings, listens to explanations about things, he notices small details (like the leaves or the sky). He is easy-going and sensitive.
Those that know David well feel that he would benefit from...
David is processing his emotions and thoughts much more readily since he joined his foster family in July 2020. He still needs lots of encouragement to be active, to run around lots continuing to build his strength and stamina. He has a good sense of road safety and is a lovely boy to care for, needing a home where he can settle and build a life for himself.
David is a lovely boy to care for but will need a family who is patient and will help him build a secure bond with a permanent family. He can be cooperative and compliant – he accepts suggestions but can also assert his own ideas. He is careful and cautious, thoughtful and sensitive.
If he could have one special wish it would be...
I would like a pet of my own!”
Thomas, aged 10
My name is Thomas, I enjoy playing with my toys. I love Lego!
More about me……
I like to play with my cars and dinosaurs and can occupy myself for ages with the games I invent. I like watching the television and discussing what is happening on the programs. I like making conversation, I am very inquisitive about what is happening around me.
I quite like going to the play park, out for meals and shopping. I’m very competitive and love a game of football. I have a great time at school, I get on well with my teacher and teaching assistants. I’m learning about money and working hard on improving my social and emotional skills.
At bedtime, I love reading before I go to sleep, and David Walliams is my favourite books, I find this activity very relaxing. I enjoy my own company as long as you tell me where I can find you if I need support.
Those that know Thomas well feel that he would benefit from……
Thomas lives in Oxfordshire in a residential home with lots of his friends and carers who he gets on really well with. He has not been there long but has already learnt lots of things, but Thomas really needs to be living in a family environment now so he can really thrive.
Thomas’s disability social worker says he would love a family who can teach him new things, he likes to learn, and can be very independent with encouragement. He needs someone who can give him lots of attention and care. It is important to Thomas that he knows what is happening now and next, this makes him feel secure and able to cope in different or new situations.
Thomas’s teacher says “I have taught Thomas for the best part of two academic years. During this time Thomas has brought an enormous amount of joy to the class on a daily basis. Thomas is a wonderful, inquisitive and fun-loving boy”.
If he could have one special wish it would be….
I would love a family of my own!
Abby's story
Video transcript
Scene one – Intro
Girl addresses the camera. Images of her doing things with her foster family appear behind her (photo montage?).
Hi! I’m Abby. I’m in year 7 at school and my favourite subject is Art. At the weekend I like doing things with my family, we go swimming, play games on the Wi and take the dog to the park.. Life is pretty normal, but it wasn’t always like this.
Scene two – The beginning
Girl looks towards the images which get erased, and a new image appears of two adults in an argument.
This is where it all started. My Mum and Dad argued since I could remember, but one day, when I was 7, Dad left the house and he never came back.
Images of girl looking on from the stairs as Dad leaves the house.
Scene three – Mum’s depression
Girl looks at the images as they erase and turn into her Mum sat on a sofa, smoking, looking vacant.
This is what I came home to every day after school. Nothing I did cheered her up, and sometimes she’d get angry with me for no reason. She hardly ever went shopping so some days I wouldn’t get any dinner. I thought I’d done something wrong.
Scene four – Taken away
Girl turns to the images again and watches them turn into a younger version of herself being walked out of her house by a social worker.
One day a social worker came and told me that because my Mum was ill she couldn’t look after me. I didn’t know what was going to happen, and I was worried about my Mum too.
Scene five – First foster home
Girl looks at an image of herself sitting on a bed in a small room.
I ended up here, at an emergency foster placement. It was only for a few weeks while everyone talked about what was going to happen to me, but it felt longer. There were other children there and everyone was really nice to me, but all I wanted was to have my Mum and Dad back together so we could live as a family again. I knew that wasn’t going to happen though. I didn’t make any friends there, and I wasn’t doing very well at school I just felt really upset and couldn’t concentrate on what I was doing.
Scene six – Foster parents
Girl looks at an image of her foster parents (a family photo)
One day I was given this photo and told I was now going to live with these people. It wasn’t possible to live at Mum’s again, but I do still see her sometimes. I was really scared – I didn’t know who these new people were, so how could I trust them?
Image changes to a car parked outside a house, the girl in the back seat refusing to get out.
It took a while for them to persuade me to go inside because I was worried this new family would let me down just like my Mum and Dad. Eventually, I went inside and had some dinner. The family were actually really nice, and although it was hard at first, I began to settle in there.
Scene seven - Now
Images of girl with her foster family.
I’ve been with my foster Mum and Dad for three years now, and life is really different to how it was before. I’m less shy now because I feel at home here, and it’s really nice to be part of a family again. We’re no different from any other family really, we have arguments sometimes, but this family is different from my old one because I know no-one is going to walk out like my Dad did.
When I grow up I’d definitely want to be a foster parent too so I could give other children the same chance I’ve had – to be part of a real family.
I asked my foster mum why she wanted to foster me, and she said at first she was worried how we would all get on, but when she saw me smile for the first time she just knew it would all be alright. She gets lots of help from the fostering people, too. If you think fostering is something you would like to do, you should - just go for it.