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Fostering families celebrate local talent

Sixteen talented young people took to the stage on Wednesday night to showcase their skills at a special celebration for Nottinghamshire’s foster children and fostering families.

Fostering's Got Talent, organised by Nottinghamshire County Council, saw the local fostering community come together at West Notts College’s Create Theatre in Mansfield to celebrate the young people’s talents as well as to meet and socialise with fellow foster caring families.

The annual talent contest is one of the many events organised by the council’s fostering team throughout the year to bring foster caring families together. This year’s event showcased skills including dancing, singing and poetry.

The winner was selected by audience votes. The 16-year-old wowed the audience with her fantastic singing voice with an incredible rendition of ‘Journey to the Past’ from Anastasia.

The winner said: “I was so nervous when I was up there, but I tried to keep going. I had been practising for weeks.”

Her foster carer added: “We are so proud of her performance tonight. She did so well despite being nervous, and we couldn’t be happier that she won!”

They have won tickets to the live semi-final of popular ITV show Britain’s Got Talent in London, courtesy of Fremantle and Thames TV. Runners up received Love2Shop vouchers and certificates for their participation.

The event also featured performances from two of the council’s fostering staff.

Councillor Tracey Taylor and Councillor Sinead Anderson, Cabinet Member and Deputy Cabinet Member for Children and Families respectively, attended the event, now an annual fixture in their diaries, and expressed thanks to the fostering community in Nottinghamshire.

Cllr Taylor praised the young people who took part, as well as paying tribute to the tireless work of the county’s foster carers.

She said: “It was wonderful to see so many young people displaying their amazing talents in front of an audience at last night’s event, and they can all be really proud of putting on such a fantastic show. It was a great evening and a great way to showcase some of the fantastic talent we have within Nottinghamshire. I’m always in awe of the performances.

“Foster carers throughout the county play a very important role in supporting some of our most vulnerable young people, but events like this show how much they thrive with care and the encouragement to follow their interests and passions.

“Fostering’s Got Talent is one of many events run throughout the year where our foster families can connect and socialise. Our foster carers always tell us how important the support they receive from their peers is, and our teams work hard to ensure that foster carers have lots of opportunities to meet with each other and discuss their experiences.

“When you foster with us, we provide comprehensive training, lots of great benefits and support for our foster carers in the important work they do. The fostering community in Nottinghamshire really is something special.”

Anyone interested in fostering can get in touch with Foster For East Midlands, the recruitment hub for Nottinghamshire County, Nottingham City, Derby City and Derbyshire councils.

https://www.fosterforeastmidlands.org.uk/