Meet The Team: Emma Harris, Senior Practitioner in Dorset.

How did you come into your role at Blue Sky?
I've always known that I wanted to be a social worker. I've wanted to be a social worker since I was 14. I was blessed in life that I just knew what I wanted to do. I never had those, "Oh God, what's my calling?" kind of thing. So I did back-to-back education  - school, college, uni - without any breaks. 

I went straight from university into my first job, which was for Hampshire County Council as a Social Worker. And then through that, I worked closely with lots of other people in my team, including Blue Sky Fostering. I got a call one day from Blue Sky and they said, "We think you're lovely. Would you consider maybe one day coming to work for us?" And I said, "I'd love to!"

Is your role at Blue Sky different from your previous position?
I was the children's Social Worker with the Local Authority, and at Blue Sky Fostering, I'm the foster carers Social Worker. So I'm working from a different perspective.

What do you enjoy about working for Blue Sky?
I think I was definitely drawn to how Blue Sky work with children. When I was a Social Worker in my previous role, Blue Sky stood out as the best independent fostering agency that I'd worked with, and I'd worked with probably five or six. Blue Sky were always so good at replying and getting back to me; calling and updating. Just the morals of what they stood for really attracted me. One of the other aspects of Blue Sky I was attracted to is how trauma-informed they are.

I've never been like this, but these days I'm a real nerd and I really like my job!  I think at Blue Sky you're just part of something. You're really valued and I've never had that before. It's the first job where I can say that I can see myself working here for a while. I'm quite settled. I don't plan on going anywhere. I can't imagine myself anywhere else.

What do you find the most challenging about working at Blue Sky
It's probably still being able to only do so much. In every job, there's just only so much you can do, isn't there? I would love to have a magic wand and help all the kids everywhere all at once, but then I have to also be realistic.

What's your favourite genre of music? 
Alternative rock, such as Chinchilla, Cassette, Nothing More, Nothing But Thieves, Sleep Token.

What is your ideal weekend? 
Oh, my ideal weekend is probably running, walking the dog, going somewhere new. 

What do you wish that everyone knew about fostering?
I would wish that everyone understood that - even though it feels like you're not making any difference at all - the child will forever remember everything you do. I often have a conversation with foster carers where they'll say, "It's just not working; nothing's going in." 

In reality, the child is remembering everything, and all of those attempts will one day mean something. They'll look back even if they were with you for a week and think you were part of their journey. I just think there's such a bigger picture than what we can see sometimes.

What might someone be surprised to know about you?
I've run a half marathon, and I'm training for a full? Maybe that's a good one... Although I really like plants, and I've got a jungle in my lounge! 

What has been your highlight of working at Blue Sky so far? 
Seeing my young people make progress and being part of it. Being witness to it all is an ongoing massive highlight I think.