Foster children to get memory boxes

The county council's fostering service is introducing new ways of ensuring that foster carers can easily collect and then protect important life information for children in their care.

The idea was announced at this year's carers' conference held by Fostering North Yorkshire in Ripon, and followed a visit to a workshop on "preserving children's memories" by Councillor Caroline Patmore, executive member for children and young people.

She said: "From now on, every child coming into care will have a memory book, memory box and a photograph album. Foster carers will be expected to keep a photograph album for the child.

"If they come into care as a baby their first pair of shoes will be kept in their memory box. Carers will take photographs of them on days out for their album – just like their own parents would have done.

"These things will then go with the child either when they go home or to another foster family. This will ensure that children retain their early childhood memories, which are so important in later life and which can so easily be lost."

The service is also keen to find more foster parents – and has put more details online at www.northyorks.gov.uk/fostering.