NEWS: #Gloucester grandparents recognised for going extra mile A special day is being planned for local couple as a thank you from Gloucestershire County Council for being friend and family carers. Leighanne and Phil Lyes, who are both 48, started to care full-time for their grandchildren last year. This Wednesday, Gloucestershire County Council will thanking them with flowers and New County Hotel will be treating them to lunch. Leighanne, says, “It just seemed the right thing to do if it meant our grandchildren didn’t have to go into care. They are now three and four years old. It was difficult to start with as we aren’t getting any younger and I had to give up my job to care for them. We also had to adjust to having little ones again after our family had all grown up. “The children were out of sorts to begin with but with love, structure and boundaries in their life they now seem very settled and we love having them here. One thing you do need though is good support especially in the early days to cope with all the changes. Our fostering social worker and our grandchildren’s social worker have been great and are always on hand to help us.” Fostering social worker, Lucy Arnold said: “Leighanne and Phil took their grandchildren on without any hesitation. They had to give up a lot and learn to live with little ones again but they have adapted so well and the children are thriving. The children’s needs have always been their priority which has meant making significant changes. “Leighanne and Phil have coped well under the pressure of juggling their roles of parents, grandparents and foster carers and have worked very well with all the various professionals involved in the children’s lives including social workers, nursery workers and health visitors.” Cllr Paul McLain, cabinet member for vulnerable families said: “We have a tremendous network of dedicated friends and family carers who all do a fantastic job and step in to offer children a home when they would otherwise go into care. It’s hard to pick out any one carer, but we felt Leighanne and Phil deserved some extra recognition for their on-going commitment to their grandchildren. I am really grateful that local business the New County Hotel has kindly offered them lunch to make sure they have the special day they truly deserve.” Matthew Lannon, manager of the New County Hotel said: “We’re very happy to support carers in the county as they carry out such an important role. I’m sure Leighanne and Phil will really enjoy their lunch with us.” For further information on all aspects of fostering, please call 01242 532654 or go to gloucestershire.gov.uk/fostering
Posted on: Mon, 16 Jun 2014 15:00:00 +0000
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