Fostering in the West Midlands

Nicky has worked in social care for more than 35 years in residential care and in frontline child protection work. In 1993 she found her niche working in fostering. She believes that foster parents are a special breed of people who have the ability to turn around the lives of children in our society and, as such, they deserve the best support we can give them.

Polly joined the West Midlands team in July 2020 as the Fostering Administrator. Polly has previous experience of working in Administration, and enjoys the variety of tasks and responsibilities. She conducts statutory checks, document preparation, and is the first point of contact for the office reception. What Polly likes about St Christopher’s is that the charity really strives to make a positive difference to young people’s lives, which is really fulfilling to see.

Sunita has been working in social work since 2003. She has worked in varied social work teams, such as in an intake and assessment team, working with older adults, and specialised work with unaccompanied children, before moving to work in kinship care and fostering. Sunita supports foster carers who care for children and young people in their own homes, providing them with nurture and positive experiences that enable children and young people to flourish.

Marcus is dedicated and passionate about supporting children and young people with issues and experiences that they may face through their experiences of being in care. He aims to empower young people and offer guidance throughout their transition into independence and adulthood. He is a firm believer that “the youth of today impacts the youth of tomorrow”. Before moving into youth work, Marcus was an apprentice trainee at Walsall and West Bromwich Albion football clubs and completed a foundation degree in youth and community work.

Michelle has worked for St Christopher’s since 2007 and has 16 years’ experience working in charities. For the last four years she has worked within the fostering team as the first point of contact that people speak to when they want to learn more about becoming a foster parent. She believes fostering can make a real difference to a child’s life and is committed to finding the best possible foster carers and homes for young people.

Annette has 25 years’ experience as a social worker and has worked in a variety of residential settings, adoption and fostering services, and as a commissioner for children’s services. She oversees St Christopher’s fostering services and is part of The Fairer Fostering panel, a group for charitable fostering agencies.

Sonia qualified in 2011 with her predominate experience being in fostering. Sonia is passionate and enthusiastic, striving hard to achieve the best possible outcomes for the lives of children and young people through providing a high quality support to foster carers. Sonia thoroughly enjoys working for a charity, where the needs of children are at the forefront of everything we do.

Debbie has worked at St Christopher’s since 2008 and has extensive experience in the charity sector. Debbie manages the panel that recommends new carers to foster for St Christopher’s and meets them again when they return for their Annual Reviews. In her personal life she has some experience as a family and friends foster carer so really enjoys working with our fostering teams. She has also volunteered for children’s charities and really enjoys following our foster carers’ journeys.

Barbara has been a qualified Social Worker since 2003. For the past twelve years she has worked within the fostering field. She believes that fostering is both rewarding and challenging and enjoys working with and supporting foster carers to make a difference to a child’s life. Barbara enjoys delivering training to our foster carers and loves watching them grow and develop.