Bury Council is proud to be part of the Foster for Greater Manchester campaign, a bold regional initiative which aims to inspire more people from across Greater Manchester, and from all walks of life, to consider becoming mainstream foster carers.
The campaign shines a spotlight on the real-life experiences of Greater Manchester’s community of nearly 1,500 mainstream foster carers, helping local people to explore fostering and decide whether it is right for them.
Led by Greater Manchester Combined Authority and supported by all ten local authorities across the city region, Foster for Greater Manchester presents the realities of fostering with honesty and openness. It reflects the everyday experiences, rewards and challenges of existing mainstream foster carers.
By improving knowledge and awareness, the campaign aims to demystify fostering, make the role more accessible, and inspire a new generation of mainstream foster carers. The shared ambition is to empower more people to join a growing community committed to providing safe, loving homes for children and young people across Greater Manchester.
The campaign also supports the ambition to make Greater Manchester the friendliest region for mainstream foster carers: a place where residents value foster carers and are inspired by their collective commitment.
We are a Foster Friendly Council
Bury Council is proud to be a Foster Friendly Employer. This means that employees who foster are offered additional support and flexibility to help them balance their fostering responsibilities alongside their work commitments.
We need more foster carers to help keep children and young people within the Bury community that they know and are familiar with. As an approved mainstream foster carer with Bury Council. you will receive:
- 50% Council Tax discount
- Generous professional allowances
- Annual paid respite
- Mileage payments and equipment provided
- Access to a comprehensive training programme, with all training delivered locally
- Annual fostering family events and day trips
- Access to our successful Mockingbird programme, providing additional practical and emotional support to fostering families.
Interested in finding out more?
Visit our website to read case studies from Bury foster carers and learn more about their experiences of fostering with us: Bury fostering - Foster with Bury
Bury Foster carers honoured
The Atkinsons receive Freedom of the Borough
Keith and Helen Atkinson have fostered young people for 30 years; from children, teenagers and unaccompanied minors seeking asylum, some for a few days and others for several months or years.
Cllr Lucy Smith formally nominated the Atkinsons for the honour, saying their 30 years of fostering had helped to turn lives around.
“By giving a stable loving home to a child, it can open up a world of opportunities and give a young person who just needed a chance a whole new world.”
On being told they were to receive the honour Mr Atkinson said:
"We're gobsmacked! It’s been an honour to serve and look after the young people we have had”.
He also added that many of the people they had looked after now had their own families.