The delivery of foster care using a pioneering model of support in North Yorkshire is being hailed a success after the launch of a fourth hub.
The Mockingbird Family Model which originated in America and has now been embraced in North Yorkshire involves a centralised “hub” providing support to other foster carers.
Foster couple Dean and Ellie Smith, from Selby, who have looked after dozens of children, have taken a bold new step in becoming hub carers empowering foster families to support each other.
Fostering North Yorkshire, part of North Yorkshire Council, joined the Fostering Network’s The Mockingbird Family Model Programme, along with 22 other fostering services around the country in 2019, empowering families to support each other.
The project has been so successful that another hub network has officially opened in Selby – becoming the fourth hub in the county which will be run by Mr and Mrs Smith.
The couple thought about fostering after hearing about it on local radio, together with a chance conversation with one of Dean’s work colleagues, who was also a foster carer.
And just a year into their fostering journey, they’ve welcomed 23 children and young people into their home while both working full-time.
Mrs Smith, who has recently retired, said: “Because we’ve had experience with such a broad range of children, we were asked to take on the Mockingbird Hub role and it’s something I think is really worthwhile.
“It’s a bit like having an extended fostering family. Meeting with other foster carers, we also learn from and support each other, as we all understand what the others are going through.”
Mr Smith said: “I had just assumed you couldn’t work and be a foster carer. But when I heard the article on the radio I read up on it a bit more. There were all sorts of misconceptions I didn’t realise, like you can be single, you can pretty much be any age, and you can be working.”
The Mockingbird Family Model was originally developed in 2004 by The Mockingbird Society in America. The model centres on a “constellation”, with one foster home acting as a hub that offers planned and emergency sleepovers care, advice, training and 24/7 support to between six and 10 “satellite” fostering families.
The hub home foster carer builds strong relationships with all the families in the constellation helping them to support each other and overcome problems before they escalate or potentially lead to a breakdown between the child and foster carers. This in turn improves the stability of fostering homes and strengthens the relationships between carers, children and young people, fostering services and birth families.
Like an extended family, the constellation develops a supportive community through regular activities, providing children and young people with a positive experience of care. The Mockingbird model also offers supportive peer relationships for sons and daughters of foster families and foster carers.
The first hub for North Yorkshire was opened in Scarborough in 2019. A second was opened in Thirsk in 2022 and another launched in Scarborough two years ago.
The children and young people who have had a temporary home with Mr and Mrs Smith have been aged from newborns to up to 17 years old, with some needing emergency or respite care, while others have stayed for a longer time.
Mr Smith explains that one thing they have found that is different from bringing up their own three children is needing to be available for various meetings, and that if they are looking after children who attend different schools, the school run can take a bit more thought.
But it is something he says they would not change, and that the rewards far outweigh any logistical planning.
Mr Smith added: “Having a child arrive at your home, perhaps upset and confused, and being able to give them the support they need at that moment, that’s a real privilege. If they stay with us a while, watching them develop and start to relax and have fun again, doing normal kids’ stuff is so fulfilling.”
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for children and families, Cllr Janet Sanderson, said: “This is the fourth Mockingbird hub that I have personally launched, so I am confident this is good news for Selby.
“Having this support network in place will bring significant benefits to all of the foster carers and children involved, with the opportunities to build new friendships and seek advice from others in similar circumstances and life experiences.”
Anyone wishing to find out more about the support available can log onto https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/fostering-north-yorkshire
To find out more details about the mockingbird programme, please visit https://www.thefosteringnetwork.org.uk/programmes/mockingbird-programme/
