No contest, according to social workers at Blackburn with Darwen council in Lancashire, who were actually faced with the task.
"I asked around," said the lad's social worker Karen Wardle. "And it soon emerged that Farmers Weekly would be better than Horse and Hound."
Instead of looking for approved foster parents, she thought the best chance lay in reaching out to people in the farming community who might not have considered fostering before.
So that's what happened. Young "Bobby" was advertised next to ads for fertilisers and agricultural machinery. It worked.
But why the preference for the farming weekly rather than the upmarket readers of Horse and Hound? Is social class an issue here? Wardle is discreet but gives more than a hint: "Most of the enquiries have come from farming families who have lived through their own traumas, rather than from better-off families."
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
