Empty nesters Jenny, 54, a former primary school teacher, and Tim Townsend. 60, a carpenter, have four birth children, of which two have flown the nest. Now they are fostering a pre-school child.
“This little boy has been a delight, a lovely lad to have as a first placement. There may be some who come with a bit more emotional baggage, but we will deal with that when the time comes,” said Jenny.
She said: “The process to get to this stage was a very thorough procedure, but it has to be, although it was a lot less stressful than I was expecting. We also had to go on a three-day course and from there they allocated us a social worker from the recruitment team. She was fabulous.”
She said: “When you go through to the fostering panel you are able to give your age preference of foster children and we have said we would like to offer a home to sibling groups and teenagers as there is a shortage for both.
“There is every chance that this little boy will go back to his mother, and that will be upsetting for us. As a primary school teacher, you do get attached to the children in your care, but I am used to seeing them move on. When this boy leaves, we will know we have done our very best for him.”