Training and Support

By the Bridge do things very differently. We believe there is no greater healing power than a caring family and, with our support, it is the Foster family that can make amazing differences to a child’s life.

We go to great lengths to show our families how much we value them. These are not just words, this is the thinking behind our entire organisation, and it is entwined in everything we do.

We’ll provide you the right support, training, development opportunities and, more importantly, the appreciation you deserve. We understand that the quality and availability of support is key to helping Foster Parents support the children in their care, and in turn this leads to the best futures for children and young people.

Fostering Training and Development

Whether you want to gain new qualifications or be trained to enhance your Fostering skills, we treat and train Foster Parents as professionals with the tools to build strong relationships with their children and to adapt their skills to think therapeutically in their approach to parenting.

At By the Bridge, we want you to feel secure and confident in your work. We will work with you to identify training to meet your needs, as well as those of your Foster children and family. 

Better outcomes for Foster Children

Our training aim and philosophy is to have highly professional and skilled Foster Parents to benefit and support the needs of children from birth to independence.

Our Therapeutic Thinking Training leads to positive outcomes for children in our care and makes our Foster Parents highly demanded. Children Fostered with us typically stay in education longer and do better academically than children looked after in other settings.

Foster Parent Support

It’s not just great training we offer, it’s practical help when you need it, too. There will always be someone to talk to, to help you work out a way forward that is right for you and the child. That’s what we mean by being at the centre of a team of experts – day or night; you’ll never be alone with a problem. 

• Monthly home visits and weekly calls from your dedicated SSW
• Monthly group supervisions at your branch (with lunch provided)
• Dedicated Out of Hours support staff - 24/7
• Dedicated referrals team
• In-house Psychotherapists and personalised Therapeutic care-plans where needed 
• Birth children and co-Foster Parent support groups
• Regular Foster Parent Consultancy Groups
• Children's savings administered by By the Bridge
• 21 nights paid respite – utilising our large pool of experienced Foster Parents (or you can use your own friends and family.) 14 days of respite can also be re-claimed if unused.