What support the Hives offer
Hive family activities
- Social, training, childcare, and family events for foster carers and children (including kinship carers and special guardians)
- Events planned and delivered by local foster carers
Safe families activities
- Support for local family events tailored to Hive members
- Practical help and support for fostering households
Local skills and resources directory
- List of local contacts including experienced foster carers, tradespeople, and social care professionals
- Signposting to external services and advice
Foster carer co-ordinator
- Led by a foster carer
- Coordinates social, recruitment, support, and training activities with Manchester fostering service staff
Training co-ordinators
- To support local fostering skills training session
Home-school transport rota
- Financial support for transporting children to family time and school
- Locally planned transport rota
Specialist appointments
- Access to:
- CAMHS (child/adolescent mental health services)
- Outreach support from Alonzi hub
- Virtual school advice
Match celebration events
- £100 provided to plan a celebration event when a new long-term match is established
New SGO (Special Guardianship Order) payments
- One-off £2,500 celebration payment for new special guardianship orders
"Refer-a-friend" finder’s fee
- £500 welcome payment to new foster carers (after first review)
- £500 finder’s fee to the referring foster carer
Foster carer mentors and buddies
- Peer support and mentoring through pairing with nearby foster carers
Foster carer ambassadors
- Local ambassadors highlighted to support aspiring new foster carers
Foster carer association reps
- Local representatives available for contact by foster carers
Family hubs
- Access to existing family hub resources for foster carers
"Fostering friendly" employment support
- Hives engage with employers to promote 'fostering friendly' practices
- Ensures employment accommodates family responsibilities
"Buzz" emergency carers
- Local emergency carers on retainer
- Standby support for children in urgent need
Hive daycare and sleepover activities
- Support for arranging daycare and short stays outside the home
- Carers pool time and resources