A foster carer who received more than 100 Mother’s Day cards from her foster children in the space of six years added over half a dozen more cards to her extensive collection on Sunday.
Fiona Oldfield, 37, has fostered over 15 children in her stint as a foster carer for Foster Care Associates (FCA), many of whom still consider her and her husband Paul to be part of their family.
Having grown up in the care system herself, Fiona always knew she wanted to foster children and give them the childhood they deserve.
She currently fosters four brothers, all aged six and below, who are brought up alongside her birth children, a 13-year-old son, eight-year-old daughter, and a 10-year-old daughter, who has learning and physical disabilities.
She also shares her home with 18-year-old Shannon Clifton, who was fostered by Fiona as a child.
Oldfield, from the West Midlands, said in the past she has received presents from children who she previously looked after and from their new families.
On Sunday she cooked a roast lamb dinner for all her family and then they relaxed on the sofa together to watch films.
“I love Mother’s Day, though it gets harder every year to find space for all the presents and cards,” she said.
“My most rewarding moment as a foster carer came on Mother’s Day a few years ago, when Shannon, who wasn’t living with me at the time, sent me a handwritten Mother’s Day card.”
“It really meant a lot that she took the time to do so, and now she lives with me full time as an adult,” she added. “It’s great to have impacted someone’s life so much. My birth children see her as an older sister and adore her and their four brothers.”
She said she is saddened that there is currently a shortfall of 8,000 foster families across the UK.
“All you need is to be over 21, with a spare room, and willing to give a child a loving and stable home,” she said. “I’d urge anyone with love to give to stop for a minute and think about it.”
Family life is never dull. Every day, Oldfield takes six children to four different schools, and gets through 84 pints of milk, 14 loaves of bread, 70 bananas and 28 industrial-sized loads of washing every week.