Providing extensive training and support to help you look after the most traumatised young people.
We believe all children should have the opportunity to flourish in a loving and safe family environment. Due to their experiences, some young people require additional therapeutic support to both settle and thrive in a family home. This is why our therapeutic service was created.
Therapeutically Led Care, also known as TLC fostering, is Blue Sky's established and thriving therapeutic service that has been successfully supporting carers and young people since 2012.
Our TLC service is very much a team around the child approach, providing high levels of support, training, and guidance to both the carer and young person.
To be a TLC carer, you don’t need to have a therapeutic background, all we ask is that you can nurture, be reflective, willing to learn and ready to parent in a creative way that involves turning traditional parenting on its head and instead utilises trauma informed therapeutic re-parenting.
Therapeutic fostering is a challenging but hugely rewarding role. And we know it works. We’ve delivered therapeutic-led care for more than 10 years and have seen the results for ourselves.
We spoke to a young person who has been cared for by one of our TLC foster carers. We asked them how the care they received has impacted on their life:
“I think my time with Blue Sky under the TLC programme made me into the person I am today. It taught me patience, respect, and the value of having people that care about you and the positive impact that can have on your life. I don’t think I would have got to where I am today without the time, effort and support that Blue Sky gave to me.” Serea, Care Leaver
If you're interested in understanding why we need therapeutic foster carers, this short video helps explain how childhood trauma can impact a young person's development.
If you'd like to find out more about childhood trauma, we recommend visiting the ChildTrauma Academy which has some excellent online resources.
If you'd like to know more about training to become a therapeutic foster carer with Blue Sky Fostering, we would love to hear from you. Complete a quick enquiry form and we look forward to speaking with you.
A single mum to three boys and a therapeutic foster carer to a young girl, Vikki shares her personal insights into her journey so far.
"I thought, if I could give just one child the most amazing experience that my three children have had, then they would be lucky - and I would be just as lucky to be fair."
Can you guess what the top qualities you need to be a therapeutic foster carer? We spoke to our TLC team, asking them to share the top 5 qualities our brilliant therapeutic carers have.
Opens in new window The Top 5 Qualities of a TLC Foster Carer!
