About us
Changing lives through fostering
Who are Blue Sky Fostering?
Since our beginnings in 2005, our vision has been to provide foster carers with quality training and flexible and dedicated support. All delivered with a family feel you do not get anywhere else.
We will never lose sight of what really matters. We’ll be ambitious for the children in our care and will all go the extra mile to support our highly valued foster carers. We’re all in it, together.
Simon Lockyer, Founder.
Our history
Founded in 2005 by Social Worker Simon Lockyer, Blue Sky Fostering has grown from a modest office in Hampshire to one of the south of England’s leading independent fostering agencies, rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted five consecutive times since the very beginning.
We give our foster carers the tools they need to help achieve the best possible outcomes for vulnerable young people in our care, providing localised support from Kent to Cornwall and up to the Cotswolds.
Since our beginnings in 2005, our vision has been to provide foster carers with quality training and flexible and dedicated support.
We’re here to guide and support you through your journey. We’ve got your back, whilst you’ve got theirs!
Our core values
We are one family. We stand shoulder to shoulder
Whatever your role, you are valued for your contribution. We discourage unhealthy competition between colleagues and teams. We are one team, and we all work together to ensure that the whole company is a success. We support each other, and we take care of each other. We will always strive to provide children, carers, colleagues and our customers the opportunity to be the very best they can be.
A problem shared is a problem solved
We learn from our mistakes. We don’t hide them for fear of blame. Making an honest mistake when you’ve thought something through and done things for the right reasons is fine. We share problems so we can work collaboratively to find solutions. We all take responsibility for sharing ideas and nurturing other people’s ideas. We encourage a ‘can-do’ attitude.
Treat others as you would want to be treated
We treat others with kindness and respect, even if we disagree. We don’t say negative things about Blue Sky, our customers, carers or colleagues. We don’t moan – If we have an issue, we deal with it openly, respectfully and sensitively. We will always be considerate of people’s feelings. We recognise that everyone is a unique individual. We will always seek to understand others and to see the other person’s point of view before we seek to be understood ourselves. We will strive to listen more than we talk. Whenever we work with or make decisions that affect the children in our care, our aspirations will always be the same as those for our children.
We keep our promises
When we say we’ll do something or get back to someone, we do it. We don’t let people down – colleagues, carers, customers, or children.
Our accreditations
We're Ofsted 'Outstanding'!
We've been rated Ofsted Outstanding since 2008 on five consecutive occasions! We achieved the highest possible accreditation in 2008, 2011, 2013, 2017 and again in January 2022, praising the support given to foster carers and improving outcomes for children and young people locked after across the South of England.
Simon Lockyer, Founder of Blue Sky Fostering, puts it down to the agency's commitment and dedication:
It's all down to the dedication of everyone in Blue Sky. Our foster families and all my colleagues have an incredible commitment to those in our care. Everyone's loyalty and enthusiasm are key to helping vulnerable children and young people achieve their goals and realise their ambitions, and I'm beyond proud!
In their latest inspection, Ofsted said:
Children are looked after by foster carers who are caring, encouraging and compassionate. Children are treated as part of the family and made to feel included. The excellent relationship between all caring for the children means they make good progress. Professionals are consistent in their views of carers, and words such as 'nurturing', 'aspirational' and 'excellent advocates' were used to describe the care they provide to children.!
Read our latest report here
On this page
A message from Rupert, Director of Relationship and Engagement
I’ve been with Blue Sky since the beginning, and I now manage my team working on carer engagement and carer training and our participation activities. Although I started in the health industry working in gyms, I changed direction and worked in children’s homes for several years. This inspired me to qualify as a social worker. Once qualified, I worked in a Local Authority child protection team before working in the same authority’s fostering service before joining Blue Sky in 2005.
I most enjoy talking to staff, seeing carers and young people when they come into the office and, oh yes, seeing everyone at the events we organise!
A message from Nici, Agency Director and Responsible Individual
I joined Blue Sky in 2013 to develop the newly formed therapeutic service in the agency, having worked for several years before joining a therapeutic fostering service for a national children's charity. My work passions are crisis intervention, risk management, action planning and ensuring we continue to learn and develop within the agency. During my time in Blue Sky, I've worked in most social work roles, including practising as Supervising Social Worker, Family Consultant, Area Manager and TLC Director.
I love having the opportunity to still meet up with carers and young people and to hear about the amazing progress everyone is making.
