05/12/2023
Toby is a lovable, lively 5 year old boy with big brown eyes and brown hair. Toby needs a long-term foster home where he can be cared for by adults who can provide him with a safe and nurturing environment where he can grow and develop.
Toby enjoys being outdoors, he loves play parks and being active. He loves to move, spin, climb and slide. He loves bubbles and blowing up balloons to let them go. Toby likes to use his iPad to watch his favourite cartoons and he likes to copy words and logos from these.
Toby is very affectionate, he loves being held and having lots of hugs.
Toby has experienced delay in his sensory development and play, language and motor skills. He is very much a visual learner and can be helped to understand what is happening throughout his day with the use of visuals such as pictures, photos and objects.
Toby has a special educational needs Statement and he attends school each day until lunchtime and he is great at using the interactive whiteboard for his work.
Toby has really benefitted from the predictable, structured routine that his current carers have put in place for him. Toby is a sensory led child whose carers pay close attention to his environment and how it can be best utilised to meet his needs.
Toby’s foster carers will need to be able to think about his story and understand how trauma has affected his development in order to offer him safe, trusting relationships from which he can grow.
To continue the great progress he is currently making, Toby would be best cared for within a two adult home where he is the only young child, with one foster carer at home full-time so there is an adult available to him who is fully attuned to his needs throughout the day. Toby could live in a home alongside an older teenager.
Toby’s foster carers will need to be dedicated to assisting him in the development of his communication, sensory processing, play, and motor and language skills with the support of the Therapeutic services currently involved.
Toby has regular family time and needs foster carers who will be supportive of this.
As Toby’s foster carers you will receive:
- Full training in all aspects of being a foster carer.
- Specialist training in Trauma and Attachment and other relevant areas to help understand Toby’s specific developmental needs
- Advice, guidance and support from the key professionals including the Speech and Language therapist, the Occupational Therapist and Clinical Psychologist, who form a team around Toby to provide a therapeutic plan that addresses his specific needs.
- Fostering allowances plus an additional fee of £39,000 per annum to reflect his needs.
- Support from your supervising social worker as well as Toby’s social worker.
- An opportunity to be part of a foster carer support group where you can meet with other carers and share experiences.
- Paid membership of The Fostering Network to ensure you are protected, connected and supported in your role as a foster carer.
*name changed and stock image used to protect his identity
If you would like to find out more about fostering Toby, you can register for one of our virtual information sessions to hear more about him.
Date: Thursday 7 December 2023
Time: 7.30pm -8.30pm
To register: Call 0800 0720 137 or email your contact details to: info@fostering.hscni.net
or
Date: Tuesday 12 December 2023
Time: 7.30pm – 8.30pm
To register: Call 0800 0720 137 or email your contact details to: info@fostering.hscni.net