From finance to foster dad 

Some foster parents begin young, whereas others have had careers that have spanned most of their adult lives, switching to fostering because they want to do something more meaningful. For Andy, he felt his high-pressure job had become unrelenting, and he needed a change. 

He said, “I retired early to foster. I worked in finance and was the lead data consultant for Capita. By the end of it, I was working seven days a week, and it was just crazy. I couldn’t physically keep it up. One day, I thought, let’s just stop.” 

“When my marriage ended, I moved and bought a little house. And then thought, right, I used to foster. I fostered with another agency with my ex, but due to my job, I didn’t have enough time to spend with the kids as I would’ve liked.” 

“So I thought, I’m going to dip my toe in that because I really, really, enjoyed working with the kids and fostering is, quite simply, the right thing to do. More of us need to do it. These kids often haven’t had someone consistently looking out for them. They just need a person who’ll give them the love and care they need.” 

Understanding each child’s experiences 

Since starting his fostering journey as a single person, Andy has cared for five children. Three of these children are still in his care, and Andy works hard to understand how each of their experiences impacts them, coming up with creative ways to explore their personalities and bond as a family.   

Andy said, “Every child is a bit like a picture story book. You get to see the pictures in the book in the way a child presents, but the words are hidden, and you don’t know the story behind what you’re seeing.” 

“You’ve got to be really careful not to project your own story onto those pictures. When you see something, you have to think ‘What is it they’re trying to say’ rather than what you’ve been brought up to assume those behaviours mean.” 

“Every child is different, so you can’t predict how a child will respond in a certain situation until you’ve lived with them, watched, and learned.” 

Andy is always finding creative ways to engage with the young girls in his care, often using unconventional methods to encourage natural conversation, bringing the family closer together.  

He said, “We go out for drives in the evening. When it’s dark, we’ll just get in the car and drive. We’ll take turns around the car every time we hit a junction. Left, right, straight ahead and when the deadline hits, I bring everyone home.” 

“We explore like that, and because everybody is sitting next to each other, and part of the adventure, they talk. On these trips, my 10-year-old will say, ‘Look at that beautiful view,’ while my 5-year-old will say, ‘There isn’t a McDonald’s, and my teenager will say, ‘I still don’t have signal.’ This shows how each child sees the world and responds to things differently.”