An independent fostering agency that has been working across the UK for more than 30 years has expanded its service into the Bath area.
ISP Fostering provides specialist therapeutic support and services to vulnerable young people in care, and is looking to grow a local team of dedicated foster parents to help them build better futures for the children they care for.
In the UK, the number of children and young people seeking foster parents has grown by 44% since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
With reports showing there are over 6,140 children in care across the South West, with 186 in need across Bath and North East Somerset alone, the company is hoping its expansion will help decrease the number and ultimately find the right homes and families for youngsters in need.
In response to the growing number of children in care and the increase of fostering enquiries, ISP will be hosting weekly online evening sessions allowing individuals to learn about fostering with the aim of encouraging those individuals and families to consider becoming foster parents.
The new service, which plans to open a centre next year, will be under the Sussex registration, managed by Emma Hannett and supported by Susie Pickett from the Hampshire and Dorset centre.
Emma Hannett, ISP Registered Manager said: “I am so thrilled that we are expanding our services into the Bath area. Our main aim has always been and always will be to help transform as many lives of the UK’s most vulnerable children in care.
“Here at ISP, we care for children and young people who haven’t been given the best starts in life; many have suffered some kind of trauma.
“Our foster parents are provided with specialist training that enables them to provide a therapeutic environment where children and young people can heal from these negative past experiences.
“Since the beginning, we’ve always placed our foster parents and the children they care for at the centre of our organisation and surround them with a blanket of professional support, so foster parents have everything they need to rebuild lives and transform futures.
“These ‘wrap-around’ services include access to our in-house and qualified therapists, educational experts and fostering advisors, as well as ongoing professional training and an opportunity to gain professional qualifications too.”
During the pandemic, ISP Fostering has adapted to provide virtual support to their existing and prospective foster parents with home visits and assessments now being conducted virtually.
ISP is encouraging individuals to join their weekly Thursday evening sessions where they will be able to learn more about fostering as a whole and ask any questions.
To register interest, follow the link here.
