An independent fostering agency is reaching out to families in the North West to consider fostering in the wake of the refugee crisis.

Chief Executive Officer of Olive Branch Fostering, Ziafat Ali says a national shortage of foster carers means it will be difficult to place the child refugees coming to the UK from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan.

“It is very important that a child’s needs are met when considering a fostering placement. As an agency we must ensure that each match is carefully considered so there is a minimal chance of a placement breaking down.  “Unaccompanied asylum seeking children have particular emotional, practical, language, cultural and religious needs and we must find suitable foster families that can meet these needs.”

A report by the Fostering Network states, “Asylum-seeking children may have experienced persecution for their beliefs, or because of their ethnic or social group.

“Some may have seen adults they loved murdered, beaten tortured or raped; others may have had members of their family ‘disappear’ with no warning or explanation.

“Some may have come from a country where they would have been forced to fight as a child soldier if they remained.

"The largest number of unaccompanied children, at the moment, come from Albania, followed by Eritrea and Afghanistan. Syria is in fourth place, with numbers increasing fast.

“We are appealing to Muslims in the North West to understand issues concerning fostering from an Islamic perspective.

“Some Muslims mistakenly believe it is not permissible in Islamic Law to foster a child. That is incorrect. It is in fact a Sunnah.

“The Prophet (SAW) was ‘fostered’ in the sense he was not raised by his biological parents and he himself fostered Zayd Ibn Haritha (RA).

“There are also many verses in the Quran and Hadith which encourage Muslims to care for orphans.”

The British Government have confirmed that they will be taking in 6,000 unaccompanied asylum seeking children from Syrian refugee communities as part of their resettlement scheme.

“The official strategy will be set out by the Government in May 2017, but in the meantime we want to prepare foster carers with the required skills and training. It takes approximately 3 months of training to become an approved carer.

“We carry out background checks, deliver Skills to Foster training and complete a social work assessment. The process is quite thorough as you can understand but we will be with you every step of the way.

“Once approved, every foster family is given all the necessary support needed to look after the child. We offer a 24-hour support service, 7 days a week. There is a dedicated social worker for every family that will work very closely with them to ensure they are fully supported.

“Each foster carer is paid a weekly allowance of up to £390 per child per week.

“Fostering is not limited to simply looking after children.

"It’s about developing a career in social care, working with other professionals to ensure children in foster care thrive emotionally, physically, psychologically and achieve economic well-being.

“As well as paying a generous fostering allowance, we provide ongoing training courses as part of a comprehensive personal development plan and help build the foundations to become a qualified social worker if you wish to.

“In the North West, the Asian community hasn’t fully embraced fostering.  “There are still many myths that prevail, that all children in foster care are extremely challenging but this is not the case. Each child has their own needs and we work with the foster carers to ensure the child settles within their new home and enjoys their time with their foster family.”

Joanne Sharples, Registered Manager at Olive Branch said, “It’s an emotionally driven decision to foster and it is definitely a huge commitment but the role of a foster carer is one of the most rewarding jobs one can ever experience.

“We need people to come forward who have considered fostering and are passionate about looking after children. You will need a spare bedroom in your house and be willing to offer a safe and nurturing environment for a child.”