On 22 June, The Mayor of Maidstone visited the Diagrama Foundation recruitment event to learn more about the urgent need for additional foster carers.
On 22 June, the Diagrama Foundation Fostering team was delighted to welcome Mayor of Maidstone, Cllr Gordon Newton and his wife Carol Newton to a fostering event at the Maidstone Community Support Centre.
The event was held in response to the urgent need to recruit more foster carers across the county. Diagrama Foundation invited Maidstone residents who wanted to discover more about this rewarding career, to join the charity fostering team at a drop in event.
The event was hosted by Head of Fostering and Adoption for the Diagrama Foundation, Kate Patel who welcomed the Mayor and his wife and spent half an hour with them talking about the rewards of foster care. Kate asked the Mayor if he might consider fostering, but he told her that it was doubtful as he was too old, however Kate pointed out that there was no upper age limit!
Kate Patel, Head of Adoption and Fostering, Diagrama Foundation said, “It was a pleasure to meet the Mayor of Maidstone, Cllr Gordon Newton and his wife Carol Newton at our Fostering Event. There are currently record numbers of children in care and I was pleased to have the opportunity to explain to the Mayor our urgent need to find people in the Maidstone area who might want to talk to us about a rewarding career in fostering.”
Mayor of Maidstone, Cllr Gordon Newton said, “I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Kate Patel who explained the close collaboration between the Kent based charity and social workers to find safe and secure foster homes for children and young adults. I knew very little about foster care before my visit but I left with a very positive impression of this wonderful organisation and the very important work they are doing in our district.”
Foster carers need to be over 21 and must have a spare bedroom in their home. They can be retired, working full or part time, single or married, any race or cultural background and no experience of having children is necessary as full training will be provided.
Kate Patel continued, “Those who choose to foster with us can be assured that they are in very safe hands. Not only do we provide 24/7 support but we are thrilled that our recent Ofsted report rated our service as GOOD and highlighted that ‘Children say that they feel safe and well cared for by their foster carers’ and ‘Children and foster carers benefit from the expertise that the leadership and management team bring in the areas of child placement, social work with children and families, and safeguarding’”.
To find out why fostering with an independent, not-for-profit fostering agency might be for you, visit www.diagramafostering.org.uk or call 0800 802 1910
Notes to Editors
According to the Fostering Network there are record numbers of children in care and around 12 per cent of the foster carer workforce retiring or leaving every year. The Fostering Network estimates that fostering services across the UK need to recruit at least a further 7,200 foster families in the next 12 months alone. A further 1,091 fostering households need to be recruited in the South East of England. There is a particular need for foster carers to look after teenagers and sibling groups.
About Diagrama Foundation
Diagrama Foundation is a Kent based charity that supports vulnerable children, young people, and adults to live their best life.
Diagrama has a Supported Living Service across Bromley, three homes for adults with learning disabilities in Orpington, an eight-bed care home for adults with learning disabilities in West Sussex a fifty-bed care home for the elderly with nursing and dementia needs in Essex, and a fostering and adoption service in the southeast.
- The Supported Living Service, cares for 35 adults with learning disabilities, in nine homes across Bromley helping them to develop skills and confidence to live in their own house either on their own or with others.
- At Cabrini House in Orpington the charity promotes the development of core skills for 23 adults with learning disabilities so that they can lead independent lives integrated within their community.
- Duckyls Farm in West Sussex, a care home for eight residents with learning disabilities, joined the charity care provider in February 2023.
- The team at their nursing and dementia care home, Edensor Care Centre in Clacton on Sea, support vulnerable residents to live life to the full.
- Diagrama’s adoption and fostering service cares for children in South London, Kent, Sussex, and Surrey.
Many vulnerable children and adults don’t get the support they need to develop their true potential, but the Diagrama team know that when someone has time and belief invested in them, they come alive, because that investment has made them feel valued and worthy.
