People and families making a difference to the lives of Tameside children in care have been celebrated at an annual Foster Carer Awards event held at Dukinfield Town Hall.

The event, organised by Tameside Council Fostering Service and hosted by the Civic Mayor, Cllr Mike Glover and Assistant Executive Member for Children’s Engagement, Corporate Parenting and Care Leavers, Cllr Janet Cooper, celebrated milestones in service from local foster carers.

Certificates commemorating five, 10, 15, 20 and 20 plus years of service were awarded to carers in recognition of their dedication and commitment.

Guests were greeted with a welcome drink on arrival before speeches were delivered by Cllr Glover, Cllr Bill Fairfoull, Deputy Executive Leader with responsibility for Children and Families and Ali Stathers-Tracey, Director of Children’s Services at Tameside Council.

The speeches paid tribute to the foster carers and thanked them for their service.

Proud of carers: Cllr Bill Fairfoull

Cllr Fairfoull said: “Our foster carers are a great pride in our community and we are so fortunate that we have so many people who are dedicated to providing loving homes for children in Tameside.

“Each milestone year that these awards acknowledge, represents a year that a child received a safe and stable home from one of our foster carers. And that really is something worth celebrating.”

After the success of last year’s awards event, organised by Cllr Cooper, the event has become an annual celebration to honour the work of foster carers in Tameside.

Anyone who would like find out more about fostering for Tameside and how to help provide a safe and stable home for a local child or young person can visit www.tameside.gov.uk/fostering or call 0161 342 2342.

Read more from the Tameside Reporter

Click here for more of the latest news

Click here to read the latest edition of the paper online

Click here to find out where you can pick up a copy of the paper