Valerie and Brian
aged 54 and 56
VALERIE & BRIAN are a friendly, welcoming and confident couple who have been married for 34 years. Valerie is a bubbly, chatty and caring person, while Brian is more reserved and thoughtful. They both share a good sense of humour.
Valerie and Brian love family life and have a wealth of parenting experience. They enjoy regular contact with their three adult sons, who all live independently with their partners. Valerie and Brian also enjoy spending time with younger family members, such as their grandson and two nieces.
The family home is in a rural village in the Forest of Dean. Brian and Valerie live in a three-bedroomed bungalow, which is light and airy, and situated off a quiet lane. Their home is comfortable and inviting, and a child or young person would enjoy having their own room, which has been neutrally decorated and equipped in preparation for their arrival. The layout of the home and absence of stairs makes this the ideal home for a disabled child or young person. The back garden is flat and partitioned into sections, with a BBQ and decking area. Valerie and Brian’s three family dogs, two cocker spaniels and a Highland terrier, live outside and rarely come into the house.
Valerie and Brian enjoy living in their thriving local community, which is within easy reach of a wide range of interesting places and local amenities. There is a nearby community purpose-built special school for young people with severe, profound and multiple learning disabilities and complex needs, which provides a flexible curriculum. Valerie and Brian wish to share their home and offer stability and reassurance to any young person seeking a long-term placement. They have two bedrooms available.
Valerie and Brian are fully able to provide a home for a child or young person with learning difficulties. They foresee Valerie being the main carer, as Brian will continue his work as a lorry driver, starting at 6 to 7am and finishing at 4 to 5pm. Valerie has worked in the care section for 12 years, and until recently worked as a team manager in a residential unit for children and young people with learning difficulties. She is also a qualified auxiliary nurse and has a BTEC Advanced Award in Medicines and the Principles of Administration and Control, a basic understanding of Total Communication (a combination of signs, pictures, words, objects or reference and IT aids). Valerie completed a course in Child Protection in December 2006, and a Learning Difficulties, Personal Relationships and Sexuality course in August 2005. Valerie and Brian are aware of the importance of family contact and will be able to support both direct and indirect contact. They are approved to provide short-term and respite care.
Ethnic and cultural descent: white British
Approval status: approved as permanent foster carers for one child, or two if siblings, aged two to 18, with learning difficulties and/or specific needs
Area: south-west England
For more information about this family, please email us and we will forward on your details to their social worker.
Last updated: 03 December 08
