Wigan Borough is proud to be part of Greater Manchester's Fostering Promise

Wigan Council has joined its counterpart authorities across Greater Manchester in signing the GM Fostering Promise.

At the official signing event this month Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham was supported by directors of children’s services, fostering staff and foster carers from across the city region.

The promise will see the councils create a culture based on trust and loyalty that is caring, respectful and responsive to the needs of our foster carers.

It is a clear demonstration of respecting the professional role of a foster carer around the young person, supporting them emotionally, valuing their expertise and helping them develop.

Across Greater Manchester we are committed to creating an environment for foster carers that is built on refreshingly honest communication and unwavering support.

We know fostering can be challenging and we recognise the invaluable contribution made by our community of foster carers to provide safe, nurturing homes for Greater Manchester’s children in care.

Cabinet Member for Children and Families at Wigan Council, Councillor Jenny Bullen, said:

“It’s fantastic to come together with the other local councils from across Greater Manchester and make this shared commitment to our foster carers.

“We’re very proud to be part of this important initiative.

“I hope the fostering promise shows just how much we value our foster carers in Wigan Borough and across Greater Manchester.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “We have a shared mission to make Greater Manchester the best place the grow up in the UK. We want this to be a place where everyone can fulfil themselves to their full potential and that they get the most stable, supportive early part of their life, we recognise we can’t fulfil that mission without our foster carers.

“I’m delighted to support this new promise that we’ve brought together as a city-region, with our ten councils playing a part in writing and developing it. It’s great to see those really clear commitments to provide clear and honest support to our foster carers.

“It’s inspiring to see the work each of the ten local authorities do in their boroughs, but also how all ten are working together in this collective effort, it’s a good example of how Greater Manchester can add voice and value to the work each of our councils do.”

Councillor Bullen added;

“We are always looking for more people to come forward and consider being part of our fostering community and there are lots of benefits to both foster carers and to the young people if you foster through your local council rather than through an agency.

“If you’re interested in finding out more about becoming a foster carer, I’d encourage you to get in touch with your local council first. We would be so happy to hear from you.”

To find out more visit our fostering pages.