Pause for Thought

It’s been some time since I posted a pause for thought, and for the few that might take a moment to read them, I apologise. When you have that “to do list”, I am as guilty as the next person in not going beyond the urgent - we neglect “the important”, and if it is not important it wouldn’t even make our to do list. For me it’s the exciting development tasks or projects, the things that motivate us but can also feel ambitious that we say “I would love to do that “ but just can’t afford the time as I am too busy giving the attention to the immediate.

So as we enter into the summer season I always try and start my to do list from the bottom and work upwards - sometimes it results in me saying “why is that even on there?” Or I start to think more creatively about it as a result of themes, patterns and requests as everything I/we do should have value for those we serve. 

I have just had the pleasure of staying in a very special hotel for the night and what struck me was their concept - it was not just about a great view or a smart hotel room but the “personality of the hotel” and how the hotel enhances the guest experience - nobody passed you by without saying hello , chatting about your day, or giving you one of their smiles, and in that moment you feel the most special guest in their hotel - a real sense of “we”.

Let’s pause for a thought - do you show the “personality of your agency” that enhances the experience for those that work alongside you, foster carers and children? 

There are certain moments that we always remember fondly, an experience, a person who has left a memory. A friend of mine said to me “life is about people” - we spend too

much time worrying about having no time and being too busy to stop and capture what it is that’s so special about the “now”. Stop and “notice”!

I am sure you can be very proud of the experience and personality that you bring in the moment to your colleagues and fostering families including children who will one day remember a smile, a hug, a simple message, because you took the very short time needed to make a difference.

Have a great summer, I challenge you to do one thing at the end of your to do list before the end of summer.

Share with your line manager one time where you paused for a moment and brought the personality, the ethos of who you are as a fostering agency.

Thanks for all your ongoing support, please let us know how we can support you for the remainder of 2025 as our guest experience is the heart of Catherine Lockett Fostering Services.

I often think about whether we can move on, and make changes to our lives in a work or personal setting without giving some respect to the past, to the “before” that has shaped us.  We need to understand the influence, and the power it had and will continue to have over us should we not lay it to rest, accept it, and be at peace with it.

There is always an emotional impact to change, change is inevitable, and the transition and making the change work requires letting go - it’s only then we will be ready to embrace the new. Do this carefully, don't overwhelm yourself with the change process, what it is you will lose, and work through it daily…

As we know, recording a child’s journey through capturing a snippet of their daily life is crucial for children and they have a right to know more about themselves growing up. But why is it so challenging for foster carers to capture “creatively" those beautiful and difficult moments that children face each and every day?

I challenge you to think  about how foster carers record in a meaningful way, not just “got up, went to school, came home, went to bed” - but provide examples to increase curiosity and record the "magical moments”. It might be to “Write down one thing that made you smile about C today”, “Write down one thing that C did to help in the home today”, etc. Why not write to the child, it makes a world of difference to the language being used - so, in your next learning exchange I challenge you to come up with different examples of capturing a child’s journey, a snapshot, a photo of a moment, which says a thousand words… good luck!