Every child in care has a story. For some, that story includes trauma, loss and uncertainty. But with the right support, the next chapter can look very different.
Children and young people with complex emotional and behavioural needs need more than a place to stay. They need someone with the skills, experience and resilience to help them feel safe, build trusting relationships and overcome challenges.
Warwickshire Fostering has developed an enhanced specialist fostering offer, providing dedicated support, specialist training and increased financial recognition for carers supporting children and young people with more complex needs.
To support the new offer, a new campaign called 'Written Together' has been launched. The campaign is designed to inspire people with relevant skills and experience to consider specialist fostering and the difference they could make to a child's future.
The Written Together campaign is built around a simple but powerful message: every child has a story, and what happens next matters. The campaign highlights how specialist foster carers help young people move forward from trauma, instability and uncertainty towards safety, trust and hope.
At the heart of the campaign is a new short film, shot at locations across Warwickshire, which follows a teacher, a social worker and a healthcare professional as they support children through difficult moments in their working lives. The film has been designed to encourage people working in education, healthcare, social care, youth services and other caring professions to consider how their existing skills and experience could make a life-changing difference as specialist foster carers.
Warwickshire Fostering is particularly looking for carers for its specialist schemes, including Breathing Space, Solo, Emergency Duty, Treehouse and Parent and Child fostering. These schemes support children and young people whose experiences mean they need a higher level of care, understanding and therapeutic support.
Many children and young people who enter care have experienced significant trauma, loss or disruption in their lives. Their behaviour can reflect experiences most children never have to face. Specialist foster carers provide the stability, patience and understanding that helps children feel safe, build relationships and begin to believe in themselves again.
Councillor Wayne Briggs, Portfolio Holder for Children and Families, Education and SEND at Warwickshire County Council, said:
"We're proud to be investing into specialist fostering through enhanced training, dedicated support and increased financial recognition for foster carers. By strengthening our offer, we hope to attract more people with valuable professional experience and give more children the opportunity to remain close to their communities, schools and support networks.
"Every child deserves the chance to thrive, and specialist foster carers have the power to help make that happen."
The campaign takes its name from the belief that positive futures are not created by one person acting alone. Instead, they are built through relationships, trust, consistency and care. Because while every child's story is different, the right foster carer can help change how the next chapter unfolds.
Anyone who believes they have the skills, resilience and compassion to support a child with complex needs is encouraged to find out more about specialist fostering.
To learn more, watch the Written Together film and explore Warwickshire's specialist fostering schemes by visiting https://fostering.warwickshire.gov.uk/types-fostering/specialist-fostering