Haringey’s Fostering team launched the innovative Mockingbird programme in February.
The Fostering Network’s Mockingbird programme is a new method of delivering foster care using an extended family model, which provides sleepovers and short breaks, peer support, regular joint planning and training and social activities.
The programme improves the stability of fostering placements and strengthens the relationships between carers, children and young people, fostering services and birth families.
Mockingbird delivers a family model that centres on a constellation where one foster home acts as a hub, offering planned and emergency sleepovers and short breaks, advice, training and support, to six to ten satellite households.
The Mockingbird model aims to:
- Improve the stability of fostering placements and strengthen relationships between carers, children and young people, fostering services and birth families.
- empower families to support each other and overcome problems before they escalate or lead to placement breakdown.
- increase protective factors around children and young people.
- build links with other families important to the care plans.
Outcomes from the programme that have been experienced so far include: placement stability, placements in residential care have been avoided, costs have been reduced and it has helped to stop carers resigning.