Oldham fostering firm appeals for foster parents ahead of Father’s Day

Chris Chatterley and wife Janet

Father’s Day is fast approaching (Sunday 16th June) and Oldham-based fostering firm ‘Safehouses fostering’ has highlighted that over 7,000 new foster families are needed across England.

Safehouses Fostering works to provide personalised fostering solutions to vulnerable children and young adults.

61-year old Chris Chatterley, along with his wife, became foster parents in 2011 and have since looked after 33 young people and children providing respite and short- term care to offer their regular carers as a break.

The couple often take in foster children if they require an emergency placement, meaning they can receive a call in the middle of the night for someone in need of an urgent foster home.

Chris, who is a foster carer for Safehouses Fostering in Oldham said, “The children that come are always vulnerable for one reason or another, they just need somewhere to go to be safe and be looked after.

Every child that comes to you has their own individual needs and personality, that’s what has got to be nurtured. You have to make them feel they have a purpose I suppose.”

The couple have also provided parent and child placement care, a specialist type of fostering where a young parent or parents and their baby, stays with foster carers when they’re in need of extra help and support.

When fostering many aspects are considered before a child is placed with a carer or family, and every effort is made to ensure that the child and a Foster Carer’s own family are well matched.

Chris believes that the education surrounding fostering isn’t enough and this could be one of the reasons for the shortfall in foster families across the country.

He said, “I just don’t think people know enough about it, instead of thinking about doing it, they should just do it.

People need to go in with their eyes open and when you get the end result- you know you’ve done the job and it’s so rewarding.

It is difficult, and you think you’ll just get hardened to it but when the children move on it is like losing somebody. We have a couple of days of being down, then you get over it and start again.”

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