Worcestershire Fostering celebrates children of foster carers

Worcestershire County Council's fostering service is celebrating the children of foster carers and the important role they play in helping foster children feel safe, welcome and part of the family.

Children of Foster Carers' Week (12 to 18 October 2026) is an annual campaign led by The Fostering Network to recognise the vital contribution made by the children of foster carers.

When a child first comes into foster care, they will often build trust with other children in the household before they feel comfortable with adults. Children of foster carers can play a key role in helping new arrivals settle in, understand family routines and feel safe and included.

To mark the week, Worcestershire Fostering spoke to foster carers Em Simons and Paul Simmons and their twelve-year-old son, Ollie, about their experiences. Em and Paul have been fostering for eight years, mainly caring for babies and toddlers, and say fostering has had a positive impact on their whole family.

They said: "Ollie has made lots of new friends through fostering, with other birth children, our foster children and also their new siblings when they move to their forever homes. It's like we now have a very big extended family which is amazing. He loves meeting up with them all, seeing them grow up and keeping that bond as strong as ever. I would say that growing up in a fostering family has helped him to be more understanding of other people's situations and has definitely made him a more empathetic and caring child. We are very proud of him!"

Ollie said: "Fostering is fun. You get to meet lots of new and different people and do lots of fun things together. It's like having lots of new brothers and sisters."
He also explained how he helps children feel welcome when they come to stay.

"The best thing about fostering is having lots of babies to cuddle, making new friends and meeting up with all the babies when they are with their forever families. I help them to learn to do new things like rolling and crawling and I read them bedtime stories."

Ollie said that when a new child arrives, he helps them settle in by choosing a teddy bear for them and giving them lots of cuddles.

Worcestershire Fostering urgently needs more people to become foster carers and is encouraging families across the county to find out more about how they can provide a safe and loving home for a child in need.

Councillor Natalie McVey, Worcestershire County Council's Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Children and Families, said: "One of the questions we are most often asked by people considering fostering is how it will affect the children already living in their home. Ollie is a wonderful example of the positive impact fostering can have on the whole family. Not only are looked after children welcomed into a caring and supportive environment, but birth children also gain valuable life experiences that help them develop empathy, understanding and confidence. We urgently need more foster carers in Worcestershire, so if you think you could offer a safe and loving home to a child who needs one, please get in touch to find out more."

Find out more about fostering at the Worcestershire Fostering website.