To take on child of your own as foster carer is for some the biggest life change and for others, it is simply an extension of the family they already have.
For Colin Daly, 57, from Wythenshawe, he had always thought about beginning to foster whilst being an active father to his own children.
The father-of two was already working an intense job as a prison guard, however, the stories of children needing a place to call home and support resonated with him over the years.
In 2020, he reconnected with his childhood sweetheart, Susanne, and after both going on to live separate lives, they both also shared the fact they were parents to grown up children who had started new lives away from home.
But they had always “loved a busy household,” particularly with Susanne’s sisters having been foster carers for the last 20 years, the couple had first-hand insight into the experience.
Colin and his partner did their own research too and before they knew it, they became registered foster carers in the spring of 2024.
Just a week later, they received a call from their social worker that a little girl needed somewhere to call home.
As new carers finding their feet, the couple wanted a short-term placement and so their foster child happily moved on with a new family in Wales a few months later.
Colin says they received positive praise from social workers on the child’s development in the four months they had her.
To be a foster carer means managing the inevitable changes and progress of looking after children which is monitored closely with the support of specialised social workers.
Numerous factors are considered including in regular check-ins with the children and foster carer such as financial means, training and life circumstances to ensure both the foster carer and children are in a placement that continues to work for everyone.
On the day the couple’s first foster child left, they welcomed a pair of siblings and later took on their eldest sister, whom the couple still look after till today.
Colin recalls that in the early days of looking after the children, he was helping them deal with bereavement after losing a loved one and getting them used to following a day-to-day routine.
Building a bond and developing a closeness with them as she would have with her own children, filled Colin with a deep sense of contentment that he was in fact “making a difference”.
They fell right into a busy family life in Wilmslow, but the children’s early years began in Wythenshawe, so after a few months of going back and forth between the two areas, they decided to start again in Wythenshawe for the children to feel more comfortable.
As a former prison guard, Colin says he’s developed a knack for dealing with all types of people – even his own foster children – and says raising them is very much about making them feel he is not “telling them what to do but more asking them to do it”.
Along with frequent calls home from their school about how well the children are doing, Colin said their youngest foster child recently asked if he could start calling, him and his partner aunty and uncle – to which they happily agreed.
Colin, now a full-time foster carer, has recently joined the Council’s Mockingbird Network – a place for dedicated foster carers and their foster children to find community.
The group meet once a month and organise bike rides out at the park, children’s activity centres or sometimes it could be something as simple as dropping in for a cup of tea.
The foster children by extension make a new network of friends with similar backgrounds and she provides support for first time foster carers too, sharing their lived experiences and advice for the journey.
Coupled along with regular training from the Council’s fostering service, which Colin said is open for the whole family to get involved with, including the couple’s grown-up children, its testament to the overall commitment that entering fostering carries for the entire family.
With a foster child who is now a teenager and the other two following close behind, Colin is due to begin training about supporting foster children in their teenage years.
As an active male foster carer, Colin recognises he’s rare in a field often with pre-dominantly women in child caring roles. He believes this is down to stereotypical roles that have been placed on many household dynamics, but he hopes that in sharing his story that he inspires other men to give fostering a go.
It’s full house in the Daly household; with three foster children, eight grandchildren and their adult children and his sister-in-law's own foster children who visit home regularly, Colin says he couldn’t be happier with the family he’s been given.
For more information on Manchester City Council’s fostering service, please visit Fostering.
Colin Daly, a foster carer for three children, said: “I would encourage everyone to think about applying to become a foster carer. It doesn’t feel like fostering, it just feeling very normal for me and the rest of the family.
“The Mockingbird Network has been a great support system not just for the children to meet other children like them, but also for me. As a full-time foster carer, it’s important to have meet other people that are in the unique position of taking care of children that are not theirs and to share their experiences openly and feel supported.
“For Susanne and me, we are just lucky to have the children we do. It come’s natural to us, it’s as if they’ve been with us forever and feels very normal. It’s always about bringing the kids along with you to everything; the family parties and holidays, it’s like any other day for us.
“My advice is don’t think twice, just do it. And if you do the right thing, the right things will happen to you.”
Councillor Julie Reid, Executive Member for Children, Early Years and Young People, said: "Manchester City Council's fostering service is dedicated to providing a safe and nurturing environment for children who need it most. Our foster carers offer stability, love, and support, helping children to thrive both emotionally and academically through advance training and placements that are routinely monitored to ensure foster carers, and their children work happily together.
“The benefits of fostering are profound, not only for the children but also for the carers who receive comprehensive training and support. We urge those interested in making a positive impact on a child's life to consider fostering and join our community of dedicated carers."