Whilst we are a young service, the staff within modus have a wealth of varied experience to offer. The beauty of this combination is that we can operate as a close-knit team; we aim to make our carers feel valued for the challenging and important work that they are undertaking. However, our combined experience also enables us to operate in a highly professional manner with the ability to communicate and negotiate with bigger partners. Whilst we aim to expand our service to reach out to more children, we are determined not to forfeit our high standards.

At modus, we believe that the support and advice that we are able to offer our carers is second to none. Support is an essential element of success in fostering. It is at the times of greatest stress that support comes in most useful and we can guarantee that one of our staff will always be on hand to respond to any emergencies you may be facing.

Furthermore, the resources that we are able to access mean that you and the children that you look after will have all the opportunities that you need. Not only do we have an excellent ratio of social workers to foster carers but we also have family support and learning support services readily accessible. Therefore, if you have a child placed with you who has particular difficulties, whether it be within their home life or at school, we will be able to offer the advice and practical support to help you in overcoming those problems.

At modus, we invest heavily in staff development. This is applicable to the social work team but with the same level of commitment, the foster carers. Following your assessment, a personal development plan will be formulated and the appropriate training will be offered. We have an extensive rolling programme of relevant training and we respond to the needs of the foster carers when we are developing the annual training programme, although some of our training is mandatory. We are a City and Guilds approved provider of the NVQ 3 programme and this is made accessible to all our carers. We are also currently piloting a new City and Guilds award in Safeguarding.

One of the areas we have recently developed is regular activity days for foster carers, their families and the children/young people in placement. These offer opportunities for carers and young people to get together in a less formal setting, which is not only a good way to get support from each other but also good fun.