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Fostering in Greater Manchester
Want to join our fostering team of over 50 families in Greater Manchester? Our head office is in Stockport, and we're always looking for brilliant people to join us! We're especially eager to hear from potential carers living in and around Wythenshawe, Stockport, Hyde, Oldham, Bolton, Rochdale, and most areas in between!
Your social worker will be on hand 24/7 and live absolutely no more than an hour away from you. We make sure you have support as locally as possible! Get in touch now to start your journey.
Meet the team
Debbie
What can I say? I love my job, so, so much. I have been a supervising social worker for Parallel Parents since 2002 and am a Registered Manager for PP Central! Whilst my role has changed over the years, I have always had carers and children that I have supported during this time, and still do to this day. There is no greater satisfaction from doing that first visit to a potential foster carer, supporting them through the training, and learning lots about their family, to watching them get approved at the fostering panel. During this time we get to know applicants really well, have a great insight and understanding into their family, and have a really good idea about what kind of child would be a really good match for them.
It has been a pleasure to watch so many of the young people become amazing parents themselves, and go on to be happy and content adults. The carers have huge families now, a vast number of the children who are now adults staying in touch, and even if I don't always get to see them, I love hearing about how they are doing and seeing pictures of them. I am still in touch with a number of young adults, and they know they can count on me now if they need me, even though they are now all grown up. The amount of times a child asks to add me onto Facebook and I have to say “I can't until you're 18”. Nothing better than getting a friend request from them and then being able to be proud from afar as I see how their adult lives are shaping. Fostering for me has definitely been the best career decision I ever made. I would say I'll be here until I'm old and grey... although I'm already grey, just hiding it well!
We have a great team of social workers, support workers and hub carers helping us to find and support amazing foster families for children and young people.
Hayley
Hey, my name is Hayley and I am the Greater Manchester team lead, as well as being one of the Supervising Social Workers within this area. Outside of work I enjoy walking and climbed Kilimanjaro in 2020. I'm currently working towards Everest Base Camp but being at home relaxing and cooking a nice meal with good company is my ultimate idea of fun!
I qualified from University in 2016 however went on to work in a Residential care setting within the agency, before starting my journey as a social worker with Parallel Parents in 2018.
I work with the most remarkable people who have made and continue to make huge changes to lives of children and young people They have allowed me into their family and continue to strive for the best outcomes for children and young people. It is always a pleasure to support foster carers, through the trials, tribulations, and everything in between, and that is all made easier by working for this agency. It is always clear that children/young people and our amazing foster carers are at the heart of everything we do.
I enjoy every aspect of my job, and love how I get to spend quality time with the young people and this allows us to build up great relationships. I enjoy going out on activities and fun days, and spending quality time with children and sibling groups. This allows me to be a confidant for children and young people in my presence.
My experience of working with Parallel Parents I can honestly say has been amazing, it always feels everyone is one big family and I am thankful to work with what I would describe a 'one of a kind' agency.
Cassie
Hi I'm Cassie,
I joined Parallel Parents in 1999 as a newly qualified Social Worker. I was already a foster carer then and so I felt I understood what type of support carers really need.
I was immediately impressed by the child centred and caring approach of the key people and I continue to feel that way today.
This care extends beyond the children to the carers and the staff. Where possible, we seek to link positively with the child's family too, hence the name 'Parallel Parents', and this can make a huge difference to the child. Then, 12 years ago, I was supported to continue my training and qualify in Counselling and Psychotherapy which is now another aspect of my job.
Staff in the Head office and social workers and support workers across the teams as well as carers tend to stay and these days the experience of working with a consistent team of fantastic people over many years is really unusual. This gives a great deal of consistency to us all and leads to a real family feel.
So, in case it's not obvious, I would strongly recommend looking into PP if you are considering fostering. You will be valued and become part of a life changing team.
Emma
Hi, my name is Emma. I have grown up around fostering, with my parents fostering for over 14 years, and having seen first hand how a family can make a difference in a child's life. This is why I wanted to be a social worker, and from that point I started the steps to become one!
I have worked as a supervising social worker for Parallel Parents since 2015; I completed my final year placement of my degree with the company and never left!!! I have seen how supportive Parallel Parents is from being a student to now a qualified social worker and the investment that goes into not only our carers but also to us as staff in terms of career development.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my job over the years, supported carers and children, from being there from day one completing the Form F assessments to then supporting my carers and seeing them learn/develop. It's been amazing to watch them grow in confidence in their role as well as seeing how children grow over the years and supporting them through different stages in their life.
In my own time, I enjoy going paddle boarding, playing football for local 11-a-side team as well as going for walks with my dog.
Chris
Hi everyone my name is Chris, I have been working for Parallel Parents for 7 years as a support worker and was fortunate enough to be able to access my social work degree through the agency and in November 2022, I qualified as a Social Worker. My role now within Parallel Parents is a supervising social worker within the Greater Manchester team. Prior to my role as a support worker, I worked within the sister organisation Care Today for 5 years, so have been a part of the agency for a long time.
I work with some incredible people and throughout my time with Parallel Parents have seen the passion, commitment and love that foster carers offer young people and it is always a true pleasure to watch and support foster carers and young people achieve the positive outcomes that they continue to.
I would say the best part of my role is being with the young people, seeing the relationships and attachments built, trust earnt, progress made and just the smiles and laughter from the young people when they are content in their environment.
There is a reason we have been an outstanding agency for so long and it is a pleasure to be a part of the great work that we as a whole team do, Parallel Parents are a fantastic agency to work for so it comes as no surprise as to why people who work with us, stay with us!
Nicki
Hi, I am Nicki
I am one of the assistant social workers of the Greater Manchester Team. I started working for Care Today in 2000 and then moved over to Parallel Parents. I have continued with my role as a support worker throughout this time working within the Manchester team, supporting the foster placements and co-working the caseload with a number of the social workers on my team. I have also continued to link with the residential homes within the agency on weekends.
You may be able to tell from the length of time I have worked for PP that I enjoy what I do and work with an amazing team of people who are all committed to their role. We all work together to strive for the best outcomes for children and young people. Lots of the people I work with have been with the agency for many years and we all feel we are part of one big family.
We are able to work closely with the young people in our care and throughout my time have built up some wonderful relationships with children in foster care, and even those who have become adults have stayed in touch. Directly working with and supporting the young people and foster carers is my favourite part of the job, especially doing activities and fun things together. Seeing the smiles on their faces makes it all worthwhile.
There is a reason we have been outstanding for the length of time we have; our young people and carers are at the centre of everything we do and it has been, and continues to be, a pleasure to be a part of.
Mee The Team
Apply now!
Start a rewarding career in which you can make a real difference. We will fully train and prepare you to be a great foster parent and help give a less fortunate child a brighter future.
We give you all the support information you need to get started as a foster carer. If you have a question that hasn't been answered by our website, feel free to start a quick web chat with us, email us, or give us a call, and we'd be delighted to answer your query!
Apply
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