Lauren from Rochdale had a successful career working in family law representing parents whose children were in care. It was because of this experience that she decided to make the change to become a full-time foster carer.

“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done,” she says. “I can truly say that fostering is my vocation in life.

“I was working at a solicitors and I would attend meetings to hear all about these plans for the children and just thought, ‘that’s what I want to do, I want to help children’.

“I didn’t want to focus on the parents anymore. That wasn’t where my passion lay. Rather, I wanted to make a difference to a child’s life by being the one that cared for them.”

Initially Lauren started her fostering career as a respite worker offering planned and temporary care to young people. This was because her legal career at the time only left her with weekends spare.

“Soon after getting our first placement, a fifteen-year-old girl, we learned more about her circumstances and how she really needed a full-time placement,” explains Lauren. “So we adapted our lives to fit around being able to look after her full-time.”

Lauren became a full-time carer and the rest is history.

“I wouldn’t say there that there’s a particular skill to fostering teenagers,” she says. “But what I would say is that teens, more often than not, are open to having a conversation, which gives you a golden opportunity to help solve problems. To sit down, get to the root cause of a problem and help find a solution to help kids move forward with their lives and achieve their absolute best is an amazing thing and we love it.”

Lauren tries to have at least one foster family holiday a year and really values the time away and the positive memories these experiences can create.

“We try to get abroad if possible,” she says. “It makes them feel part of the family. School holidays can be a testing time for fostered children as the routine and structure of their lives is changed. Little things like still getting up at 7.30am can help keep routine but that’s OK as it means we’ve got more time to do exciting things!”

What is Lauren’s greatest memory of being a foster carer to date?

“Being the birth partner of a young lady who was in our care,” she beams. “Being there when the baby was born, holding him. It was a beautiful experience.

“But that’s just one experience,” she says. “All the kids we’ve had in our care have given us great memories. Seeing children pass their GCSEs when no-one ever thought they would. It’s all about giving young people the chance to make a sense of progress in their lives.”

Lauren from Rochdale had a successful career working in family law representing parents whose children were in care. It was because of this experience that she decided to make the change to become a full-time foster carer.

“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done,” she says. “I can truly say that fostering is my vocation in life.

“I was working at a solicitors and I would attend meetings to hear all about these plans for the children and just thought, ‘that’s what I want to do, I want to help children’.

“I didn’t want to focus on the parents anymore. That wasn’t where my passion lay. Rather, I wanted to make a difference to a child’s life by being the one that cared for them.”

Initially Lauren started her fostering career as a respite worker offering planned and temporary care to young people. This was because her legal career at the time only left her with weekends spare.

“Soon after getting our first placement, a fifteen-year-old girl, we learned more about her circumstances and how she really needed a full-time placement,” explains Lauren. “So we adapted our lives to fit around being able to look after her full-time.”

Lauren became a full-time carer and the rest is history.

“I wouldn’t say there that there’s a particular skill to fostering teenagers,” she says. “But what I would say is that teens, more often than not, are open to having a conversation, which gives you a golden opportunity to help solve problems. To sit down, get to the root cause of a problem and help find a solution to help kids move forward with their lives and achieve their absolute best is an amazing thing and we love it.”

Lauren tries to have at least one foster family holiday a year and really values the time away and the positive memories these experiences can create.

“We try to get abroad if possible,” she says. “It makes them feel part of the family. School holidays can be a testing time for fostered children as the routine and structure of their lives is changed. Little things like still getting up at 7.30am can help keep routine but that’s OK as it means we’ve got more time to do exciting things!”

What is Lauren’s greatest memory of being a foster carer to date?

“Being the birth partner of a young lady who was in our care,” she beams. “Being there when the baby was born, holding him. It was a beautiful experience.

“But that’s just one experience,” she says. “All the kids we’ve had in our care have given us great memories. Seeing children pass their GCSEs when no-one ever thought they would. It’s all about giving young people the chance to make a sense of progress in their lives.”