Foster mum encourages others to 'give it a go'

Nikki Stephens has been fostering with her husband Gary for 15 years and said it is "extremely rewarding"

A mum who has been fostering children for 15 years is urging others to do the same as the number of foster parents goes down.

Nikki Stephens and her husband Gary, from Quedgeley, in Gloucestershire, have fostered more than 30 children - some for a couple of weeks, others for a couple of years.

"The difference for those children was amazing. They blossomed, things in their life just got better," she said.

Since 2019 there has been a national downward trend in the number of people coming forward to foster, official Government figures show.

Official Government figures show a downward trend in the number of people coming forward to foster

Mrs Stephens said she used to teach in a school with a lot of vulnerable children.

"We saw children who were so hungry, they picked up food from the school hall floor. I then saw some of those children go into foster care," she said.

Mrs Stephens decided she also wanted to help and after speaking with her husband and two children - who were 11 and 14-years-old at the time - they took in their first foster child.

"We just went for it and we've done it ever since," she said.

'Extremely rewarding'

Mrs Stephens said she made sure to always involve her children in conversations about fostering and that they were "very up for it".

She added she would urge other people who may be considering fostering to "give it a go".

"It's extremely rewarding," she said.

"Their pictures will all stay on our wall, we will never forget them because they are part of our family.

"We've got a huge extended family."

Tammy Wheatley, head of service for fostering at Gloucestershire County Council, said while the county is doing better than some other areas when it comes to foster carers, more are still needed.

"We have quite a few children in care in Gloucestershire, and we haven't got enough foster parents to enable all children in care to live in a family environment," she said.

Children's minister Rachel de Souza said foster care families are the best place for children in care to grow up, but that the system is struggling.

"Children do so much better when they're in a home-like situation, so we want them with foster carers, we don't really want them in children's homes," she said.

"Siblings often have to split up and lots of teenagers come into care - some of those things are opportunities to get creative about fostering."