Corby foster carer, 79, proves age is no barrier
A Corby foster carer who has provided care for more than 14 young people has proved that age is no barrier to fostering.
Aileen O’Connor, 79, of Corby started fostering for the charity TACT (The Adolescent and Children’s Trust) in 2014.
She is now sharing some of her personal experiences working with young people as part of the charity’s nationwide initiative to make fostering more accessible.
One of those key messages is a focus on the smaller things that have the power to make a significant impact on young people’s lives, such as encouraging hobbies and interests.
Aileen said: “My young lady who I was providing care for did some artwork.
"She was very keen on arts and crafts. I had a friend who ran classes, so I went along with my young person.
"I wasn’t very good at it, but she was brilliant. I went so that she would gain confidence. People could see how good she was. I learned a lot about colours and that, while I was there.
“I encourage all my young people to do things.
"A young person wanted to learn to swim so I made sure she learned to swim. I try to find out what their hobbies are and then encourage them to do it.”
Aileen has also talked about how important it is simply to support her young people in whatever they choose to do in life and not to let external expectation get in the way.
She said: “I’ve always had lots of ambition for my young people.
"I try very hard to instil ambition into them, but I have learned that some young people are just happy doing something different – they don’t all want to go to university.
"So I have learnt to look a little bit more at the needs of a young person, rather than my ambition for them. It’s about supporting them in whatever it is they want to do.
“My favourite thing about being a foster carer is watching young people develop from sometimes a frightened young person, or a young person who is unsure of where they are going, into blossoming young adults who go to university or college or get an apprenticeship.”
TACT Fostering’s initiative, called ‘Ordinary People Making an Extraordinary Difference’, aims to make fostering more accessible by celebrating the extraordinary in the everyday.
They are doing this by highlighting that foster carers can come from non-care related vocational backgrounds and are not expected to be ‘superhumans’.
One of their key messages is that it’s sometimes about the smaller gestures rather than complicated strategies that make the biggest difference.
There is currently a national shortage of foster carers.
According to fostering charity The Fostering Network, 6,000 additional foster carers are required across the UK in 2025 alone.
TACT Fostering is the UK’s largest dedicated fostering charity.
Since being founded in 1993, they have been committed to enhancing the lives of children, young people and care-experienced adults for more than 30 years.
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