As we are now in September and all of our young people are back at school, we have been thrilled to receive all the photographs of our children and young people looking so smart in their uniforms – there have been lots of ‘firsts’ to celebrate which have been lovely to hear about. This feel-good Friday however, we are reflecting on the summer holiday period. Our Foster Carers and children love to tell us about all the experiences they have had, and we in turn love to share these amongst us in our team meetings and add them to our ever-growing good news tree!
Many of our children have lots of anxieties and worries given their past traumas so we have been so proud of some of the achievements we have heard about over the past few weeks and here are just a few!
One of our young people who can struggle with anxiety, has learned how to canoe by herself – wearing a wet suit and learning how to use the paddles.
Two of our younger children, after lots of practice, near misses and encouragement from their Foster Carers have mastered riding their bikes without stabilisers. We were sent wonderful videos of their bike riding and we are all so proud that they have reached this milestone.
We have had news that another of our young people, after a holiday consisting of lots of swimming, can now swim without armbands. The same child who can struggle in social situations also made lots of friends on the holiday which was an indicator of how much her confidence has increased.
At Young People at Heart, we believe that swimming and bike riding are fundamental life skills that should be afforded to all children and young people and as such we ensure that funding is available for a bicycle for all our young people, and to pay for swimming lessons to enable our children to swim to 10 meters.
Our carers have also shared many other positive stories about their young people such as one young person learning a new piano piece, two children doing really well in kickboxing and another child being complimented by the post lady for lovely manners. All these achievements, no matter how significant indicate dedication, commitment, and progress in all our young people. Our Foster Carers work tirelessly, not only on the key milestones, but on the other day to day skills that we all need to manage generally within society. We are so proud of our young people and never cease to be amazed at how they consistently exceed expectations!