helping swansea schools build better futures for local children
foster wales school champion
There are around 7,000 children in care across Wales, and around 800 additional foster households are urgently needed. Schools play a vital role in raising awareness of fostering, supporting care-experienced children and young people, and helping communities understand the life-changing impact of local authority fostering.
That’s why Foster Wales Swansea is inviting schools across the city to become Foster Wales School Champions – a new initiative designed to recognise schools that actively support care-experienced children, champion fostering, and help create stronger, more inclusive communities.
By ecoming a School Champion, your school can help ensure that more local children have the opportunity to stay connected to their schools, friends and communities when they need foster care.
What is a Foster Wales School Champion?
The Foster Wales School Champion programme recognises schools that demonstrate a commitment to:
- Supporting care-experienced children and young people.
- Raising awareness of fostering within their school community.
- Promoting local authority fostering.
- Creating an inclusive environment where all children can thrive.
- Supporting foster carers and fostering-friendly workplaces
award levels
Schools can work towards one of three award levels:
bronze award – foundation level
Fostering awareness – initial / basic commitment
- Supporting your local authority fostering service by sharing four campaign posts via your social media channels.
- Display marketing materials in school and online – pull up banners, posters or leaflets in reception, Foster Wales links on school websites.
- Staff reading information booklets from Foster Wales – to raise understanding of fostering, eliminate profit, and how to support colleagues who work and foster.
- Schools have a designated person for care experienced children and young people – that acts as a key person for foster carers and social workers.
- Each care experienced child and young person has a key person at school they can reach out for support.
- The school participates in one fostering awareness event annually (such as Foster Care Fortnight).
- Personal Education Plans (PEP’s) are produced by gathering views from all key people, including the child and the foster carers.
silver award – development level
Active support and engagement
Includes all of the bronze criteria, plus:
- Staff engage in a training session delivered by the fostering service and foster carers.
- Inclusion of fostering in curriculum or assemblies to promote understanding (e.g. foster bear initiative).
- School hosts two fostering-related events per year (e.g. information sessions).
- Strategic plans to maximise attendance and engagement in learning and reduce the need for reduced timetables and school exclusions.
- Demonstrate how they use their PDG-CLA funding strategically to support individual needs and aspirations.
gold award – excellence level
Leadership and Advocacy
Includes all of the bronze and silver criteria, plus:
- School has policies and plans in place to support staff members who foster.
- The school annually seeks to receive feedback from care experienced children, their foster carers, and social workers, and can evidence how they implement changes as a result of the feedback received.
- School can evidence the impact (e.g. improved outcomes for foster children, positive feedback from foster carers).
- School has a pupil representative for fostering – that matches the school pupil voice process (e.g. fostering committee or fostering rep on school council)
Celebrating success: 🌟A First for Foster Wales Swansea! 🌟
Sketty Primary School has become the first school in Swansea to achieve the Foster Wales School Champion Bronze Award.
The school’s commitment to inclusion, wellbeing and ensuring every child feels valued, supported and able to thrive made them a deserving recipient of the award.
Through initiatives such as Think Equal and No Outsiders, alongside nurturing spaces, wellbeing support and strong pupil voice opportunities, the school demonstrates how children remain at the heart of everything it does.
Congratulations to everyone at Sketty Primary School on this fantastic achievement.
champion schools
The following Swansea schools have successfully become a Foster Wales Champion School, supporting our need to find more foster carers in Swansea
sketty primary school
Sketty Primary School have successfully achieved a bronze award.
Could your school be our next Foster Wales School Champion?
We would love to hear from schools across Swansea who are committed to creating inclusive, supportive environments where all children can thrive.
Get involved
To find out more about becoming a Foster Wales School Champion, please contact:
Jessica Jones, Retention Officer, Foster Wales Swansea
Email: [email protected]
Together, we can help ensure more local children have the opportunity to stay local, stay connected, and thrive.
