Midlands Enterprise Awards 2020

42 | Midlands Enterprise Awards 2020 Oct20222 Most Dedicated Child Care Charity 2020 With regional offices across the UK and more than 75 years of experience, The CFT have got a great story to tell. To start, Jessica begins by providing us with a brief overview of the firm and offers more insight into its typical clientele. “The Children’s Family Trust was established in 1945, and we have looked after many children and young people from diverse backgrounds with a variety of needs within our dedicated and committed foster families. Many of the children that we care for have not had the best start in life and for one reason or another are unable to live with their birth families. This often means that they have faced great adversity and are in need of a stable and secure home. “Naturally, our aim is to provide the highest quality care we possibly can. Regional offices across England are supported by a central head office team and we are currently expanding our presence in the East Midlands area, hoping to find a more permanent office base next year. This is a really exciting development for us and will hopefully enable us to provide more loving homes for children. “The ethos of The CFT is ‘Changing Futures Together’, which demonstrates the commitment we make to any child that has been, is currently or will be in our care. Regardless of the time spent in our care, the door is always open to any child or young person that has been placed with us. “As an organisation we have developed and changed over time and today we look after more children than ever before. When our founder, Paul Field, started our organisation in 1945 following the war, he asked the local authority to send him a handful of children who needed homes and said that he would take them into his family as his own children. Following the success of this, Paul then recruited other families to help him do the same. “Today, we still support some of those ‘original families’ who gave up so much of their lives to help these vulnerable children, and we call them our ‘Lifetime Carers’. These carers still live-in properties that are owned by the organisation and we continue to help them in their retirement.” As a fostering agency, The CFT is one of only a handful in the UK that are non-profit. With its priority being to ensure children have the best opportunities in life, the team go to great lengths to differentiate themselves from some of its competitors as Jessica explains further. “To ensure our children and young people access the help and support they require, we offer additional tutoring, therapy and other services where needed, which may help them develop and feel safe. Additionally, we are continually looking for ways in which we can advance and develop, allowing our children to feel better supported. Fostering can be a challenging job but it is also hugely rewarding”. The outbreak of COVID-19 this year has had a major impact on most sectors, including childcare. As a result, the company has adapted its ways in order to thrive during these difficult times as Jessica explains further. “As with most companies, we are having to change the ways in which we carry out our business. Currently, we are unable to attend events, so we have had to reconsider how we reach prospective foster carers and have moved most of our recruitment efforts to online and radio. Despite the global pandemic, we have continued to received referrals from local authorities regularly and the need for foster carers is as great as ever.” Finally, Jessica comments on the benefits of its Midlands location before looking ahead to 2021 and beyond. “Although we are based in the Midlands, we work across the country. Our central location means most clients are within easy reach. Sadly, our plans to open a new office in the East Midlands have been delayed due to COVID-19. However, we are confident that once things begin to settle down again, we will be able to open an base in the area. We are continuing to recruit fostering families in the East Midlands during this time ready for our opening. In addition to this, we are also working on a number of projects to enhance our services, including enhancing our website, reviewing our children’s guides and further developing our programme of support for those children leaving care or those who have moved on to independent living.” Company: The Children’s Family Trust Contact: Jessica Harper Web Address: www.thecft.org.uk The Children’s Family Trust (The CFT) is a children’s charity and independent fostering agency. Following the firm’s well-deserved success in the Midlands Enterprise Awards 2020, we caught up with Jessica Harper to find out more. “The Children’s Family Trust was established in 1945, and we have looked after many children and young people from diverse backgrounds with a variety of needs within our dedicated and committed foster families.” Marina Mulholland, CEO, with Award