Meet the team: Emma Miller

Hi, I’m Emma, I am a Team Manager here at Excel Fostering.

Prior to joining Excel in June 2014, I worked in a Local Authority Initial Assessment and Child Protection team. I first heard about Excel Fostering when I was completing my social work degree and I was able to complete my final placement with them, which is what brought me into contact with foster carers and helped me to realise what a valuable role they play.

Firstly, I would like to say thank you to all the fantastic foster carers who continue to support vulnerable children, offering safe and caring homes enabling children and young people to develop and achieve positive outcomes! Fostering is a challenging but rewarding role, however over the last ten months the Covid-19 pandemic has had such a significant impact on all our lives and has added more pressure to an already demanding role, but I have been amazed how you and your families have adapted to the circumstances and continue to do so!

During my time with Excel, I have worked in the role of a Supervising Social Worker, Senior Practitioner and in October 2018 I was appointed as a Team Manager. As a Team Manager, I am responsible for managing a team of social workers who provide support and supervision to foster carers registered with the agency. I feel very lucky to work with such an experienced, enthusiastic, and motivated team who are passionate about supporting foster carers and the children and young people in their care.

The most rewarding aspects of working for Excel is hearing about the achievements and progress children and young people have made because of the opportunities they have been provided with by their foster carers. It is also rewarding to see how foster carers have progressed as their experience and confidence develops through their fostering career.

As with any new role, when foster carers are first approved it can be a little daunting at the beginning, but as an agency we are committed to supporting you though your fostering career. The support we offer is having your own allocated supervising social worker who will provide reflective supervision, an induction programme, peer mentoring scheme, training personalised to individual learning and development needs and out of hours support from a qualified social worker.  We also offer support groups and social events for carers, children (including your own birth children), as well as family events.

One of the hardest parts of the role is seeing the number of referrals we receive for children who need to be looked after but knowing there is not enough foster carers to meet the demand. The matching process is key to achieving positive outcomes and stability for children and young people. We ensure that the matching process considers the needs of the children and young people, your skills, knowledge, and experience as well as your own family dynamics.

As the need for foster carers continues to rise, I would encourage anyone who has thought about fostering to get in touch and we can answer any questions you may have.