The year is flying by
We’ve been enjoying the warmer months here at Foster Care Associates Scotland. And, even with the summer approaching and lots of things starting to wind down, we have still had a great deal to celebrate and be proud of.
A huge thank you to everyone who took part in our recent charity weekend event. It was wonderful to hear all the stories from our foster families, and see the enthusiasm and community spirit throughout the weekend. These events are truly special – and just shows what we can achieve when we all work together.
We are proud to recognise our foster carers Louise and Peter on a great first year of fostering with FCA Scotland. You have both demonstrated immense care and dedication, and we are so grateful to have you as part of our community.
We are also pleased to welcome a new Supervising Social Worker – Gina – who has joined the East social work team.
Celebrating achievements
We are always immensely proud of all our children and young people and the wonderful things they achieve. Today, we’d like to say a massive well done to the following young people:
- K (15) who successfully completed their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award after doing the
final expedition - J (10) who received three badges from BB’s at their display and has also been promoted
to company section - J (10) who received their yellow belt in taekwondo
- F (9) who received 3rd place for skipping and running a race and also a sticker for the egg
an spoon race at Sport Day
- F (9) who scored 2 goals for their team
- F (10) who was awarded a Meta-Skills award in school for Curiosity and asking super
questions at a farm trip - J (10) who climbed conic hill
- A (12) who wrote a paragraph that will be published in a book
- S (10) who passed Level 1 cycling proficiency
- F (9) who passed Level 1 cycling Proficiency
- A (12) who received an award for their effort in classes, a faith award and a Tinto hill
badge - F (9) who scored a goal for their team
- A (12) who is enjoying being in S2 and working hard in all their classes
- L(15) who achieved part of their silver Duke of Edinburgh award by completing a 3 day
walk and 2 nights of camping
Start of summer
We’re excited about all of the events and activities we have planned for our foster families over summer. From trampolines and karting to adventure and amusements parks – it is set to be a fantastic summer.
Activity ideas
To help keep children busy during the school holidays, we have lots of ideas of different crafts and activities you can get involved in.
- Rock Painting – Collect smooth rocks and paint them to look like ladybirds, bees, or personalised plant markers.
- Treasure Hunt – Hide small treat or nature themed clues around the lawn to get them running about.
- Den Building – Use large sticks and old sheets and clothing pegs to build a secret backyard hideaway.
- Water Relay – A game with two teams. Each Team has two buckets and a sponge. Fill 1 of the buckets with water and put it away in front of the empty bucket. The point of the game is that one player from each team takes their sponge, runs down to the full bucket, fills the sponge with water, and runs back to squeeze as much water as possible into the empty bucket. Then the next player goes and so forth, like a relay. The team with the most water in their bucket wins.
An important reminder
One of our young people had an unexpected health scare and shared her story with us to remind us all how important health check-ups are:
“I want to share a personal experience to explain why health appointments really matter.
When I went for my yearly eye check up they found two retinal holes, something very
unusual at my age. If I hadn’t gone, I wouldn’t have known, and it could have been a
bigger problem like my eye sight deteriorating in that eye. I just want to say that even if
things feel okay, these appointments can really protect us in ways we don’t normally
expect even when staff are nagging us to go it’s because they care about us and health is
wealth.”
Thank you to A for sharing this reminder for us all.
Supporting our families
We continue to run our foster carer support groups, which are incredibly helpful for both experienced families and those who are new to fostering. Having reliable support around you when you foster is crucial for your foster care journey.
We also run a support group for men at FCA Scotland. It is a great group, run online, for male foster carers who are looking for a safe space to share experience, gain advice, or to chat to other foster carers who understand your role.
