Become a Mockingbird carer
What is the Mockingbird Programme?
The Fostering Network's Mockingbird programme is a new way to deliver foster care using the Mockingbird Family Model™.
The Mockingbird Family Model™ involves a group of up to ten fostering families called a 'constellation'. At the centre of the group there is one foster home called the 'hub'. The hub home foster carer offers planned and emergency sleepovers and short breaks. They also give advice, training, and support to up to 10 other foster families. These other foster families are called 'satellite' households.
The programme aims to increase the strength of fostering households and improves the relationships between carers, children and young people, fostering services and birth families.
We are looking to grow our Mockingbird programme with more constellations across Surrey.
For more information visit The Fostering Network and Mockingbird, or watch What is Mockingbird? and Mockingbird: a really big family
Becoming a hub home carer
A hub home carer is an approved foster carer who is the central point of support in a group of fostering families, known as a Mockingbird constellation.
The hub home carer will support the other families in their constellation. This will include overnight care as well as planned and emergency support to the children's main carers.
To become a hub home carer, you will need to have two spare bedrooms in your home. Or, you may have one spare bedroom and a spare bed in an appropriate space within your home. You will also need to be at home full-time.
What is the role of a Mockingbird hub home carer?
At the heart of each Mockingbird constellation is the hub home. Hub homes must have one foster carer at home full-time. The hub home carer provides support and leadership to adults and young people. As well as caring for the children and young people, they provide emotional support and guidance to the foster carers and families within their Mockingbird constellation.
Each Mockingbird constellation has no more than 10 families, including the hub home carer. The carer will be supported by their supervising social worker to carry out this role. They will work together to support the needs of the foster families in their Mockingbird constellation. They will get to know the children, young people and adults in their constellation and support them to have fun and thrive.
What are the support and benefits for hub home carers?
There is a lot of support available to hub home carers. There is also coaching and mentoring available from The Fostering Network
Hub home carers benefit from:
- Ongoing training, support, supervision, and help to run events
- Therapeutic Parenting and/or Social Pedagogy training
- The opportunity to complete the Social Pedagogy or Therapeutic Parenting Diploma as career development
- Payments of over £500 per week
- One day off each week and one weekend off each month
- Four weeks paid holiday each year
For more information or to apply to be a Mockingbird hub home carer please contact us