[C]onstruction and Infrastructure company Morgan Sindall is the latest employer to sign up to Cumbria County Council’s Fostering Friendly Employer initiative.
The Fostering Friendly Employer initiative gives local businesses the opportunity to support foster carers and Cumbria’s most vulnerable children and young people. A supportive and flexible employer will enable foster carers to balance their work and caring responsibilities.
Morgan Sindall joins 13 other businesses which have joined the Fostering Friendly Employer initiative since its launch in February 2015.
Dawn Moore, HR Director at Morgan Sindall, said: “We’re proud to be able to support Cumbria County Council’s Fostering Friendly Employer scheme which recognises the importance of foster carers and the support they provide to some of Cumbria’s most vulnerable children and young people.
“As a company, we’re committed to providing our employees with the right environment for a good work life balance. We understand the need for employees to have flexibility to allow for career development whilst managing the demands of family life. Morgan Sindall’s approach includes offering a range of options designed to support working families.”
In Cumbria there are over 600 children, of all ages, from various cultural and social backgrounds, placed in foster care for many different reasons. The council wants employers to come forward and implement changes as part of their corporate social responsibility to help support its work to recruit and retain foster carers in Cumbria.
The changes are simple and will have a significant impact on the children in Cumbria who require foster care. The scheme asks for companies to:
- recognise the needs of foster carers in employment policies
- help the county council celebrate fostering and foster carers
Gillian Johnston, county council foster carer and employee at Morgan Sindall, said: “As a foster carer having a supportive employer can make all the difference, I’m delighted that Morgan Sindall is now part of the scheme.
“My husband Wayne works for Sellafield which is also signed up, so both of our employers are now recognised as being ‘fostering friendly’. It’s an extra layer of support for us and allows us to be confident that our employers support our role as foster carers.”
Claire Lloyd, Fostering Service Manager, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Morgan Sindall onto the scheme; Fostering Friendly Employers can make a huge difference for children looked after in Cumbria.
“I think it sets a great example to other local employers and highlights how a company is taking its role in the community seriously, I hope more will follow their lead.
”The scheme is not one size fits all, our aim is that employers consider the needs of foster carers and do what they can to help. Be that giving time off for training, allowing swapping of shifts or sharing information on foster caring.”
For more information on the scheme visit www.cumbria.gov.uk/fostering.
