Advice

2020 was a year like no other, and one we’re glad to see fading into the distance. The COVID-19 pandemic upended our lives – it tore us away from loved ones, locked us in our homes, and created anxieties around the simple acts of a hug or a handshake. As we face into 2021, there is hope on the horizon. Vaccines are rolling out. The days are getting longer. Spring is about to, well, spring. The world might be closing down right now – but

At Orchard Fostering, we understand the importance of Christmas. Christmas in foster care can be a difficult time – but it can also be a time of joy. Family is at the heart of Christmas, and it’s at the heart of everything we do, too. This year, we reached out to one of our people in care and asked them all about their Christmas in foster care. They shared their foster family Christmas traditions, their foster care Christmas stories, and touched on a foster child’s

Christmas – it’s the most wonderful time of year, right? In 2020, this sentiment might elicit a few more ‘Bah, humbugs!’ than usual. COVID-19 has put a dampener on the holiday spirit, but that doesn’t mean you have to go full Ebenezer Scrooge. If you’re feeling overwhelmed this Christmas, don’t worry – Orchard Fostering are here to help. We’ve consulted with Santa’s elves and have pulled together some tips for foster parents this Christmas. Read on to find plenty of fun Christmas activities for foster

At Orchard Fostering, we pride ourselves on our foster carers. They are the bedrock of the work we do. But what does a day in the life of a foster carer look like? How exactly does it all work? To answer these questions, we reached out to Nicola, one of our foster carers. Nicola, along with her husband and two daughters, have been foster carers with Orchard Fostering for the past three and a half years. Nicola kindly took the time to answer a few

Separation anxiety disorder impacts many foster children in care. It encompasses anxieties created by a separation from the home or a separation from a parent. In this article, we take a look at separation anxiety in foster children, run through some tips for helping foster children cope with separation and loss, and discuss foster care support and training services offered by Orchard Fostering that can help you and your foster child cope with separation anxiety. What is separation anxiety?  Separation anxiety is a form of

Providing long term foster care to a child is often foster applicant's ideal scenario and central to their motivation to foster, with long term fostering depicted as the most rewarding type of care for both the child and the foster carer. Long term foster care involves a child being cared for in their foster placement for a number of years and often up to and beyond their eighteenth birthday– allowing foster children to build long-lasting and stable relationships over time. However, children are rarely received