M
ockingbird is a global award winning and pioneering programme led by The Fost
ering Network. It nurtures the relationships between children, young people and foster families, supporting them to build a resilient and caring community through a community constellation of six to ten families which is led by a hub home carer.
What difference does Mockingbird make to our foster carers?
Mockingbird gives foster carers peer support in a non-judgemental way. Foster carers who are part of a Mockingbird constellation gain help that improves their wellbeing, role satisfaction, retention, and thus placement stability. Feedback from foster carers is consistently excellent – they report feeling genuinely well supported by their hub home carers and other families within the constellation. They can call on each other in times of need, and have access to 24 hour support in a crisis. This helps to ensure the needs of children in their care are well met. It strengthens relationships between foster carers and their children, through the importance of shared activities, and improves social networks for everyone.
What difference does Mockingbird make to our children and young people?
Children and young people in care are less isolated (The Mockingbird evaluation also demonstrated that children and young people felt that the programme was important to them in making friends. During the last eighteen months particularly, children have been isolated from their peer groups and missed out hugely on the benefits which come from socialisation and having fun.)
Children and young people have a greater sense of identity and belonging because of an increased number of fostering families who they get to know within their local area.
Data from The Fostering Network has shown that across the Mockingbird programme, the additional support of the hub home carer and constellation has resulted in fewer disruptions for children and young people and fewer carers resigning.
Services offering Mockingbird have also reported that they have been able to support children and young people to stay close to their friends and families – and have even been able to support some children to stay within fostering families when previously they may have ended up in a residential care placement that did not meet their needs.
Contact us
If you have any further questions about Mockingbird, please contact:
Lisa Wilms, Team Manager - Mockingbird by email at lisa.wilms@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk .
You can also find out more about the Mockingbird Programme on The Fostering Network’s website.