Blue Sky Fostering News

January 2008

The New Year is now upon us and we are looking forward to a year of increased expansion. The Christmas Party was a great success with everyone enjoying the skittles match and the disco. Santa made a special appearance and all young people went away happy, especially the two lucky winners of the BMX bikes that were part of the raffle the was arranged in aid of Clic Sergeant. With the nights drawing in early and the weather seeming to be a constant round of heavy rain and floods it can be a difficult time for families and we would like to thank all our fostering families for working together to see us through to the Spring.

December 2007

With Christmas around the corner we would like to wish all our caring families a Merry Festive Season. In the office we are all proud to have received the highest possible grade in our recent OFSTED report and wish to thank you all for assisting in officially making us an "Outstanding" agency. Of course we are not about to rest on our laurels and will be looking to become even better throughout the next year. The office will be closed from the 21st December to the 2nd January but we are running the 24 hour duty system as usual and are still open for new placements throughout the Holiday.

August 2007

We have undergone several adjustments in the last few months, both in staffing, carer allocations and the way we do things, all to make sure we still provide a fully supportive service to our carers. Welcome to Nick who has taken over as Placements Advisor and to all our new carers - we now have a complement of 35 foster families. We have also introduced a monthly newsletter focused solely for our carers in answer to their request for regular updates and information. We hope to provide something similar for the children in our care soon.

April 2007

Spring has sprung and the newsletter is out!! This issue is full of great articles and stories including news of Dave's achievements in Judo and Kirsty's brilliant book review. We are always looking for new stories and things to put in the newsletter and it would be great to hear more about what you've been up to. The next issue will be out at the end of June so get writing and keep us posted will all your news!

January 2007

Happy New Year to all our foster carers and colleagues, we hope you had a relaxing and enjoyable Christmas and are feeling refreshed for 2007. This year promises to be an exciting time for Blue Sky as we continue to grow and develop our services further. We would welcome any comments, suggestions and feedback from you all to help us maintain the high standard of care and support that we are committed to providing.

December 2006

We held our Christmas Party a little early this year to ensure everyone would be able to attend and to get everyone into the Christmas spirit for December! The party went with a swing with a barn dance band providing the entertainment and a hog roast by a local Hampshire producer. For some it was their first experience of both a barn dance and a hog roast, but both were enjoyed by carers, children and staff alike.

November 2006

This month we are very pleased to welcome our two new members of staff to the social work team. They bring with them a wealth of experience and will help Blue Sky continue to provide a very high standard of support to our carers.

October 2006

We are pleased to announce the appointment of two new members of staff who will be joining us in November. They will be joining the social work team as a result of our growing number of carers and children placed with Blue Sky, and we look forward to working with them soon.

September 2006

CSCI made a visit to Blue Sky this month to complete their usual inspection which resulted in some very positive comments, and recommendations to further improve the high standard of service given by Blue Sky. We were particularly pleased to receive their comments on the talented members of staff working at Blue Sky and how impressed they were with our level of team work.

Summer 2006

We have had a great Summer here at Blue Sky with two BBQ's to look forward to and bring everyone together.

The first was held at a carer's house in Poole at the beginning of the school holiday in July. It was during the heat wave that hit the UK so we were all glad to be out in the sunshine for the afternoon and the kids made great use of the swimming pool in the garden! For some of our new carers it was a great opportunity to meet up with other carers in their area and get to know better some of the staff at Blue Sky.

The second was held towards the end of the holiday in August at a carer's house in Camberley. Again we were lucky with the weather and were able to play in the garden and all sit to eat delicious food together. After lunch we organised a game of Rounders teaming up carers with children, which saw some of our carers more competitive sides come out! It was a close finish with some very tactical play and great enthusiasm.