'It's the best thing we did' - the Stockport couples who are fostering siblings in their community

Fostering transforms lives - both for the children involved and for the foster carers who welcome them into their homes. For Foster Care Fortnight, two sets of Stockport foster carers have shared their experiences about fostering siblings and children with disabilities.

The two couples - Debbie and Les, and Helen and Andy - became foster carers through Stockport Council and have become part of the fostering community - both through the support offered by the council and from others who foster local children in their community.

As it is vital to keep families together, Stockport Council are particularly looking for those who can foster sibling groups, as well as older children and children with disabilities, to provide them a home within their local community - allowing the local children and young people to maintain their friendship groups. By fostering through the council you will be paid competitive tax-free allowances, alongside receiving local training and extensive support.

The council is also part of the Mockingbird Project, which provides practical support for foster carers through the concept of an 'extended family'. The project, which has been running since 2015, works through a 'hub' home with specially trained carers providing things such as support and social activities for foster carers and their families.

This year's theme for Foster Care Fortnight is ‘fostering communities’ and here, these two couples explain how they've become part of the fostering community in Stockport.

It was a decision they'd deliberated over for a while. But Debbie and Les say that choosing to become foster carers has proved to be "the best thing we did".

The couple began fostering four-and-a-half years ago. After attending a