Fostering Promise launches first-ever Greater Manchester Fostering Fortnight

Leaders from all ten councils across Greater Manchester came together on Monday (16 October) to publicly sign the Greater Manchester Fostering Promise.

Led by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, joined by directors of children’s services, fostering staff and foster carers from the local councils, the Greater Manchester Fostering Promise officially launched across the city region.

Representing Rochdale Borough Council, Councillor Rachel Massey, cabinet member for children’s services and education, Sharon Hubber, director of children's services, and Tracey Johnson, head of service, cared for children, were the first of the GM councils present to sign the Fostering Promise.

Councillor Rachel Massey, cabinet member for children’s services and education, said: “Our foster carers in Rochdale are the heart and soul of our community, offering love, stability, and unwavering support to our children.

“By proudly signing the GM Fostering Promise, Rochdale Borough Council solidifies our commitment to ensuring a brighter future for every child in our care. Our foster carers are true heroes, and their dedication is the cornerstone of building a nurturing environment for our children to thrive.”

Through the promise, councils are committing to create a culture based on trust and loyalty that is caring, respectful and responsive to the needs of foster carers.

The launch of the Fostering Promise marks the start of the first-ever dedicated fostering fortnight for Greater Manchester.

 

 

The Greater Manchester Fostering Fortnight will be taking place from Monday 16 October to Sunday 29 October. Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and all 10 Greater Manchester councils will be shining a light on the real-life experiences of Greater Manchester’s community of over 1,400 foster carers to help local people explore fostering and decide whether it’s right for them.

The two weeks will see a drive in activity to celebrate the existing fostering community across Greater Manchester and highlight the importance and value of fostering for your local community.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “We have a shared mission to make Greater Manchester the best place the grow up in the UK. We want this to be a place where everyone can fulfil themselves to their full potential and that they get the most stable, supportive early part of their life, we recognise we can’t fulfil that mission without our foster carers.

“I’m delighted to support this new promise that we’ve brought together as a city-region, with our ten councils playing a part in writing and developing it. It’s great to see those really clear commitments to provide clear and honest support to our foster carers.

“It's inspiring to see the work each ten local authorities do in their boroughs, but also how all ten are working together into this collective effort, it’s a good example of how Greater Manchester can add voice and value to the work each of our councils do.

“This promise, alongside the Fostering Unfiltered campaign and Greater Manchester Fostering Fortnight, is a classic example of where the Greater Manchester Combined Authority can help local councils work better individually and better for us collectively as a city-region.

“Hopefully with this promise, we will get that message out to people that this is a good place to be a foster carer and make that big contribution to society that we appreciate so much, as that’s how we will change young lives.”

Stockport foster carer Geoff Durbin said: “When we foster children, we promise to keep them safe and loved in a stable, caring family and for children who've been let down time and time again, promises are massively important to them and when foster carers deliver on these promises, you see wonderful things happen with those children.

“It's great to see such bold promises across all ten Greater Manchester authorities. Just like with our children, what we expect now from our fostering services is to deliver on those promises."

Fostering Unfiltered has the clear ambition to inspire more people in Greater Manchester, from all walks of life, to become foster carers and provide loving and stable homes to children across the city-region. The campaign embraces the realities of fostering with refreshing honesty and reflects the real lives of existing foster carers by sharing their everyday experiences and challenges.

If you’re interested in fostering, or simply want to find out more about the role, then visit fostering-unfiltered.org and contact Rochdale Borough Council.