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11 Kitting out your home-Carmarthenshire

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6 Benefits and Entitlements Carmarthenshire

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11 CYM Kitting out your home-Carmarthenshire

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8 CYM Benefits and Entitlements- Parents

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7 CYM Benefits and Entitlements Education Carmarthenshire

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6 CYM Benefits and Entitlements Carmarthenshire

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5 CYM Employment- What I need to know Carms

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We can run workshops for young people on any of the topic areas covered in our resources.

In the one-to-one workshops we are able to go into more depth on an issue, providing guidance based on the individual's needs.

For more information contact Bethan Wilson, Development Officer, Children in Wales. gettingready@childreninwales.org.uk

Gallwn ni gynnal gweithdai i bobl ifanc ar unrhyw rai o’r meysydd pwnc sy’n cael sylw yn ein hadnoddau.

Yn y gweithdai un-i-un byddwn ni’n gallu edrych yn fanylach ar rywbeth, a rhoi arweiniad ar sail anghenion yr unigolyn.

I gael rhagor o wybodaeth, cysylltwch â Bethan Wilson, Swyddog Datblygu, Plant yng Nghymru. gettingready@childreninwales.org.uk

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Getting Ready Project Summary/ Crynodeb o'r Prosiect Paratoi

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Getting Ready Project Summary/ Crynodeb o'r Prosiect Paratoi

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A guide for young people/ Canllaw i bobl ifanc

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Your options post 16 education/ Eich opsiynau addysg ôl-16

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Your options post 16 education/ Eich opsiynau addysg ôl-16

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12 CYM Keeping my money, possessions and myself safe

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12 Keeping my money, possessions and myself safe

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Helping Young People with Budgeting/ Helpu Pobl Ifanc gyda Chyllidebu

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Helping Young People with Budgeting/ Helpu Pobl Ifanc gyda Chyllidebu

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Money Saving tips/ Awgrymiadau Arbed Arian

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Money Saving tips/ Awgrymiadau Arbed Arian

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Kickstart Your Finances | Level Up | HSBC UK

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MoneyHelper joins up money and pensions guidance to make it quicker and easier to find the right help. MoneyHelper brings together the support and services of three government-backed financial guidance providers: the Money Advice Service, the Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise.

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Free and impartial help with money, backed by the government | MoneyHelper

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MoneyHelper: free and impartial help with money and pensions. Formerly Money Advice Service, The Pension Advisory Service and Pension Wise.

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Budget planner | Money management | The Prince's Trust

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Use this budget planner from the Money Advice Service to make sure you're in control of where your money is going.

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Carmarthenshire Community Money Advice Centre 

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Carmarthenshire Community Money Advice Centre 

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The centre will offer debt advice to those living in the town of Carmarthen and the surrounding area. It will be an integral part of the current Xcel project which includes foodbank, furniture recycle scheme and community shop.

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Discretionary Assistance Fund (DAF)/ Cronfa Cymorth Dewisol (DAF)

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Discretionary Assistance Fund (DAF)/ Cronfa Cymorth Dewisol (DAF)

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The Discretionary Assistance Fund provides 2 types of grant that you do not need to pay back.

Emergency Assistance Payment (EAP)

A grant to help pay for essential costs, such as food, gas, electricity, clothing or emergency travel if you:

are experiencing extreme financial hardship

have lost your job

have applied for benefits and are waiting for your first payment

You cannot use it to pay for ongoing bills that you cannot afford to pay.

Individual Assistance Payment (IAP)

A grant to help you or someone you care for live independently in their home or a property that you or they are moving into.

What you can use the grant for

Use the grant to pay for:

a fridge, cooker or washing machine and other 'white goods'

home furniture such as beds, sofas and chairs

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The Discretionary Assistance Fund provides 2 types of grant that you do not need to pay back.

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Heating your home/ Gwresogi eich cartref

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Heating your home/ Gwresogi eich cartref

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There are a number of financial benefits to help you with reducing your fuel bills. The Winter fuel payment (sometimes called the Winter fuel allowance), cold weather payment & warm homes discount payments are made automatically to those who are eligible. However it is always best to check that you are receiving these payments.

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Cost of living advice/ Cyngor ar Gostau Byw

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Cost of living advice/ Cyngor ar Gostau Byw

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Rising energy, petrol and food prices; everyone is being hit by the current cost of living crisis. To help you weather rising bills and costs, we have put together these pages to help provide useful tools, links and information on the cost of living.

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Join over 8 million people with a Monzo account. See, save, and spend your money with Monzo.

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Chip is a savings app you connect to your current account via 'Open Banking'. It then uses an algorithm to work out how much you can afford to save, and automatically puts that aside for you - great for those without the self-discipline needed.

Autosave with Chip and get 0.7% interest. Normally autosave apps pay little interest. But Chip* has partnered with Allica Bank to offer a 0.7% AER variable interest easy-access account - which beats the top normal savings account - though Chip charges a £1.50 fee every four weeks, which would outweigh the interest gain for most.

Yet if you're new to Chip we've a code to get £20 cashback, which covers the fee for over a year. Sign up to Chip's app* and select the 'ChipAI' plan, and it'll set up a Chip Savings Account. Once you've registered, enter code CHIPMSE07 in 'Earn and track rewards' on the app's 'Profile' tab. Save at least £1 with Chip by 11.59pm on Tuesday 12 October and the £20 is paid on Saturday 13 November - just keep £1+ there until it's paid. You can then withdraw it to your linked current account to cover the fees, which are charged to your debit card. The cashback is only for new Chip customers.

How to get the 0.7% interest: The standard Chip Savings Account doesn't pay interest, so head to the 'Accounts' tab and open the Allica Bank account (min deposit £1, max £30,000; interest paid daily). Make sure you go into your 'Autosave settings' to ensure that's where your autosaves are going. If you reach the max £30,000, autosaves will automatically stop.

Want the 0.7% interest without autosaving? Follow the same process as above to register with Chip and set up the Allica account. Then pause autosaving by going to your profile in the app, then 'Autosave settings' then 'Skip autosaves' and choose a date - it allows this for up to three months at a time so you'll need to remember to keep doing it. Note that the maximum you can deposit in a single transaction is £5,000 - if you want to save the full £30,000 you'll need to do it in six lots of £5,000.

Which current account providers does it work with? Chip connects to most (but not all) major current account providers. It will work with Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Danske, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Monzo, Nationwide, NatWest, RBS, Revolut, Santander, Starling, TSB and Ulster Bank.

Are my savings safe? The money you put in is held by Allica Bank, which has the usual £85,000 per person protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. If you have any money in the Chip Savings Account, that's covered by ClearBank's protection.

How long do I have to keep the account? You can withdraw your money whenever you want - but you'll need to keep £1+ there until at least Saturday 13 November if you want the cashback. If after that point you want to save elsewhere, you're free to do so.

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Chip is a savings app you connect to your current account via 'Open Banking'. It then uses an algorithm to work out how much you can afford to save, and automatically puts that aside for you - great for those without the self-discipline needed. Autosave with Chip and get 0.7% interest.

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AER - Annual Equivalent Rate which is a type of interest rate for savings account (a charge to your savings account).

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Other savings ideas:

Have a ''no spend day''

Meal Prep

Shop Mid-week (in the evenings) - Stores try to get rid of food before sell-buy date so you can freeze them.

Turn everything off before leaving the house (WIFI, lights, kettle etc)

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Help to find a job/ Help i ddod o hyd i swydd

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Help to find a job/ Help i ddod o hyd i swydd

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Are you unemployed? If you’re looking to get into work, we can help. Our employment support team can help you overcome barriers to get back into work, making sure you have all the support you need along the way. As part of your application, we will help identify the right skills programme for you. This will include:

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Employment Support for young people 14-35 years old:

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Employment Support for young people 14-35 years old:

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Employment Support for Young People | Pembrokeshire and Carmarthen Mind - Mental Health Support in Pembrokeshire

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Profi is an organisation that helps you to develop the skills you need for the world of work.

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Profi – ᴅᴀᴛʙʟʏɢᴜ ꜱɢɪʟɪᴀᴜ ʙʏᴅ ɢᴡᴀɪᴛʜ ᴘᴏʙʟ ɪꜰᴀɴᴄ | ᴅᴇᴠᴇʟᴏᴘɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜɴɢ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ’ꜱ ᴇᴍᴘʟᴏʏᴀʙɪʟɪᴛʏ ꜱᴋɪʟʟꜱ

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Pembrokeshire Supported Employment Programmes/ Rhaglen Cyflogaeth a Chymorth

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Pembrokeshire Supported Employment Programmes/ Rhaglen Cyflogaeth a Chymorth

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The Supported Employment Programme is a group of local authority based enterprises that employs over 75 people with a disability or work limiting health condition. As well as offering paid supported employment, it also offers work experience, training and a work based day opportunities to a further approximately 75 people each week.

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You will need to make and manage your Universal Credit claim online so you will need to find out where you can access the internet and how to use it.

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Council Tax is set by the council to help pay for the services provided in your area. Council Tax is the current form of local taxation for domestic properties which local authorities use to raise money to pay for around 20% of the cost of local services such as Education, Social Services, Refuse Collection and so on.

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Council Tax is set by the council to help pay for the services provided in your area. Council Tax is the current form of local taxation for domestic properties which local authorities use to raise money to pay for around 20% of the cost of local services such as Education, Social Services, Refuse Collection and so on.

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Carmarthenshire Citizens Advice Benefits Service/ Cyngor ar Bopeth Sir Gaerfyrddin Gwasanaeth Budd-daliadau

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Carmarthenshire Citizens Advice Benefits Service/ Cyngor ar Bopeth Sir Gaerfyrddin Gwasanaeth Budd-daliadau

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The Prince’s Trust can provide young people with a Development Award. The amount of each Award depends on your unique needs, future career goals and personal development plans. Awards are available from £10 right up to a maximum of £500.

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Get funding to train and learn | Development Awards

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Our grants for 16- to 30-year-olds remove the financial barriers preventing you from taking your next steps into work, education or training.

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Welsh Government Learning Grant, funding for Further Education/ Grant Dysgu Llywodraeth Cymru, cyllid ar gyfer Addysg Bellach

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Welsh Government Learning Grant, funding for Further Education/ Grant Dysgu Llywodraeth Cymru, cyllid ar gyfer Addysg Bellach

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How and when to apply for Welsh Government Learning Grant, Further Education | Student Finance Wales

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If you're new to the Welsh Government Learning Grant Further Education (WGLG FE) for academic year 2024 to 2025, you'll need to fill in the application form. There are guidance notes to help you fill in the form.

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Education Maintenance Allowance/ Lwfans Cynhaliaeth Addysg

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Education Maintenance Allowance/ Lwfans Cynhaliaeth Addysg

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Education Maintenance Allowance, funding for Further Education | Student Finance Wales

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If your circumstances change during the academic year, you'll need to update your application. Changing your application may affect how much student finance you can get.

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We provide services to support children, young people and families across Carmarthenshire.

Most children and young people will have their needs met by their family and universal services such as leisure centres, parks, libraries, schools and health services.

Some families may need early support or a little extra help to manage things such as children's behaviour, budgeting and housing advice, improving their community and support networks.

We also provide targeted support for children, young people and families who are experiencing difficulties and have multiple needs such as difficult and challenging behaviour, poor emotional health and complicated family dynamics.

A smaller number of families will have significant needs that requires a specific Care and Support plan to ensure families are safe and not at risk provided by Children's Services.

The Mid and West Wales Regional Safeguarding Children Board (CYSUR) has produced "The Right Help at the Right Time framework" to explain what services are available at different levels of need.
We want to hear from you
We want this framework to be as helpful as possible and so we need your feedback to make improvements. If information is missing or out of date please contact childreninfo@carmarthenshire.gov.uk

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Right Help at the Right Time - Carmarthenshire Family Information Service

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We provide services to support children, young people and families across Carmarthenshire. Most children and young people will have their needs met by their family and universal services such as leisure centres, parks, libraries, schools and health services.

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Young Parents Project/ Prosiect Rhieni Ifanc

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Young Parents Project/ Prosiect Rhieni Ifanc

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Young Parents' Hubs... provide friendship networks, peer-support, develop future aspirations and support young parents in their new caring role as well as young people. Other Projects What the Young Parents Project do... The young parent groups bring together parents under the age of 26 along with their children for weekly sessions that include crafts, talks,...

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Housing Support and Advice/ Cyngor a chymorth tai

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Housing Support and Advice/ Cyngor a chymorth tai

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A member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible. Please note this will be during office hours, Monday – Friday 08:30 – 18:00.

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Do you: care for friends or family members? have a physical or learning disability, or have a family member who does? find daily life impacts your mental wellbeing? have difficulties understanding and navigating housing support services? If the answer is yes to one or more of these questions then Connecting Carmarthenshire can help.

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Carmarthenshire Tenancy Support - Caredig

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Our Floating support services provide housing related support to people living in their own homes (the service is not tenure specific).

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Find out the current numbers of fostered children and foster carers in Wales, as well as our latest recruitment targets, or read more about fostering legislation in Wales.

Fostering Communities

Fostering Wellbeing

Fostering Wellbeing is a Welsh Government funded programme based on the principles of social pedagogy. The programme aims to help all participants, irrespective of professional status, to identify the core values and principles which will help children and young people who are looked after to thrive. After a successful pilot in the Cwm Taf region, we are now rolling the programme out across WalesFostering Wellbeing will encourage professionals to work together and create a shared framework and language to improve wellbeing outcomes.

Click to find out more about our innovative and exciting programme.

For more information about Fostering Wellbeing please email the programme team:

gemma.struthers@fostering.net - Programme Manager

sarah.evans@fostering.net - Project Manager

joseph.bowers@fostering.net - Project Manager

angharad.rees@fostering.net - Project Manager

Training and Consultancy in Wales

Our training is designed to meet the identified needs of the team around the child, supporting children and young people who are looked after in Wales to achieve their best possible outcomes. We are constantly updating and adding to our portfolio of courses for foster carers, supervising social workers and professionals in the education and health sectors.

All of our training can be delivered in house for your agency and jointly or regionally commissioned, while our most popular subjects are included in our annual open course programme.

Our highly skilled and experienced associate trainers will also develop bespoke training and consultancy programmes for your organisation.

Our training reflects the core requirements of the All Wales Health and Social Care Induction Framework and Post Approval Learning and Development Framework for Foster Carers. Attending our courses will equip participants with evidence of knowledge and skills to include in their learning and development portfolios.

For more information see our training pages or email Sarah Mobedji, learning and development manager on learn@fostering.net or call her on 029 2044 0940.

Fosterline Wales - Information, advice, and assistance

The Fostering Network is able to provide unrivalled bilingual information, advice and support to foster carers and other professionals. We operate the free bilingual Fosterline Wales helpline 0800 316 7664 open from 9.30am - 12.30pm daily.

Fosterline Wales have also produced factsheets for foster carers in Wales. These focus on issues ranging from allegations to pets to saying goodbye and can be found here.

We also operate an independent support service for local authorities and independent fostering providers, to provide an independent advocate when needed to foster carers.

The Foster Carers' Charter in Wales

The Foster Carers' Charter covers issues such as supervision, involvement in planning and decision-making, and information and payments. The charter is an important way forward for fostering services in Wales, as it is a promise for service delivery that is owned by everybody invovled: the council, the fostering services, and foster carers. To ensure that the foster carer charter is embedded into everyday practice, The Fostering Network wants to help enable fostering services to develop and implement their own local charter. This will help foster carers get the recognition they both deserve and need in order to provide children with the best possible care.

As part of the Fostering Excellence programme (2016 - 2020) we developed an implementation framework and toolkit which embraces the charter and takes it to the next level.

Find out more about the charter resources and work.

The National Fostering Framework

For some time there has been a strong consensus in Wales that there is a need for a National Fostering Framework. Through working with Welsh Government and colleagues from across the fostering sector we have been vociferous in our influencing activity to address some of the key challenges that are threatening to undermine the effectiveness of fostering services in Wales.

For example, the involvement which young people have in their care planning issues to do with recruitment and retention of foster carers, the support, protection, status, respect and recompense afforded to foster carers and, in particular, the relationships between local authorities and independent fostering providers.

As a member of the Strategic Steering Group associated to The National Fostering Framework, we have been pleased to contribute to a strategic plan aimed at transforming fostering provision in Wales.

One of the Phase 3 workstreams was the development of a Post Approval Learning & Development Framework for foster carers in Wales. We worked with AFA Cymru to consult with key stakeholders across Wales and design the draft framework which sets out core topics and consistent learning outcomes . We then worked with Regional Development Managers to produce an implementation package, including guidance on cross referencing learning to the All Wales Induction Framework for Foster Carers in Wales. The framework is being formally launched and implemented from September 2019

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The Final report of the National Fostering Framework 2018 - 2021 can be read here.

The report outlines the journey in developing a co-ordinated Wales wide approach to supporting foster care services in Wales. This includes specific initiatives, regional work programme, improved data and information as well as a co-ordinated team approach to improving local authority fostering services through local authority, regional and Wales wide arrangements.

The National Fostering Framework Wales foster care allowances and payments survey 2016-17

The Fostering Framework in Wales Phase One report identified the payment of foster care allowances and fees as a key issue. It was recognised that the current pattern across Wales would present particular challenges but that these should not be ignored.

As part of the Phase Two development of the National Fostering Framework, The Fostering Network was commissioned by the strategic advisory group for the National Fostering Framework to undertake a survey of local authorities 2016-17 foster carer payment structures across Wales.

The subsequent report has demonstrated the scale of inequality of financial arrangements for foster carers across Wales, in particular in relation to fees.
Read the report here
Research in partnership with Cardiff University (CASCADE, DECIPHer and School of Social Sciences) and funded by the TRIUMPH Network (2021 - 2022)

The strengths and challenges of online services and interventions to support the mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced children and young people.

Young people who have been in care are at increased risk of poor wellbeing and mental ill-health. There are range of programmes and services that aim to offer support, but the majority of these are delivered in-person. The Coronavirus pandemic and its associated lock downs and restrictions prompted a move from these face-to-face interactions to more remote forms of engagement that relied on telephone or online contact. This had consequences for the type and frequency of mental health and wellbeing services and interventions that were available to care-experienced children and young people and their foster and kinship carers.

This report presents the views and experiences of online mental health and wellbeing provision among young people, carers, and health and social care professionals in Wales during the Coronavirus pandemic. The participants discussed the strengths and challenges of online and in-person services and offered recommendations for future practice and interventions.

The findings from the study noted some benefits of online mental health and wellbeing services and interventions for care-experienced children and young people, including accessibility, privacy and being able to engage or disengage remotely without the pressures of face-to-face interactions. However, accessibility, a lack of privacy and the format of online interactions were also cited as some of the challenges of remote forms of contact. Therefore, the advantages and disadvantages of online versus in-person contact were complex and intertwined.

We would like to acknowledge the TRIUMPH Network for the funding and support they contributed to this study.

Education and looked after children

The Fostering Network is working closely with Welsh Government in order to support foster carers who already play a vital role in raising aspirations and supporting children in care. Click here to read about our recent work including our guide 'A foster carer's guide to the education of looked after children' and the 'Making it Happen', 'Greater Expectations' and 'Working Hand in Hand' magazines for foster carers.

The emotional and mental health needs of children and young people in care

In September 2017, the Fostering Network took part in a response to the Welsh Government's (Children and Young People's Education Committee) Inquiry into the emotional and mental health of children in Wales. Consultation work was carried out with foster carers from across Wales and a comprehensive consultation report was prepared. This consultation report informed our five page submission to the inquiry.

In addition to the response to Welsh Government, an in-depth report has been written and published in which details the further issues raised relating to the emotional and mental health needs of children and young people who are looked after. It not only draws on foster carers views, opinions and experience but also upon the broad, collective experience of The Fostering Network, including discussions with a range of professionals in health, social services and education, and as stated, the outcomes of a specially convened focus group of foster carers and birth parents of fostered children to explore the issues raised in the terms of reference of the Inquiry.

The impact of allegations made against foster carers in Wales

This 2019 report highlights the impact of allegations made against foster carers and also the need for substantial improvements in the way the allegations investigation process is carried out. It has been informed by the experiences of foster carers throughout Wales who have given personal accounts of their experiences, and also draws on their wisdom about how the allegations process can be significantly improved for all involved.
Read the report
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Find out the current numbers of fostered children and foster carers in Wales, as well as our latest recruitment targets, or read more about fostering legislation in Wales. Fostering Wellbeing is a Welsh Government funded programme based on the principles of social pedagogy.

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Health and Wellbeing/ Iechyd Meddwl a'th Lesiant Meddwl

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Health and Wellbeing/ Iechyd Meddwl a'th Lesiant Meddwl

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Gaming and Gambling/ Chwarae Gêmau a Gamblo

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Gaming and Gambling/ Chwarae Gêmau a Gamblo

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Money Ready is a financial education charity dedicated to creating a financially fluent population. We believe that financial literacy should be considered a right for all because the language of money is a language for life.