Oldham Council launches pioneering Stepping Forward fostering campaign

Oldham Council has started the region's first scheme that moves teenagers out of children's homes and into family life. The Stepping Forward programme pairs each child with a foster carer trained to handle the jump from residential care.

Jo, a single senior manager who already fostered one child, is the town's first Stepping Forward carer. After a few months of visits and planning, a boy who had been living in a home moved in, chose his own bedroom paint and now laughs loudly enough for social workers to hear it through the door.

Connor Pinnons, the council's Children in Our Care team manager, said staff even matched the washing powder so the boy's clothes smelled familiar on day one. Since the move he has started joining clubs, his school reports have improved and he now seeks hugs when upset, milestones the team logs as signs of progress.

Carers are paid more than £75,000 a year and receive round-the-clock back-up from social workers, therapists and former police or youth-service trainers. The council says applicants can keep full-time jobs because the package pays for wrap-around help such as taxis to contact visits and after-school clubs.

Alex Dale, the boy's fostering social worker, stressed that residential care still suits some children but believes others are simply waiting for the right parent figure. The council will keep looking for people willing to take that role; callers who quote "Oldham Stepping Forward Scheme" skip the general queue.