A SHOCKING 45 per cent of children fostered in Poole during a 12-month period were separated from their brothers and sisters.

This compares with 22 per cent of children in the south west region, according to figures gained by the charity Action for Children from a Freedom of Information request.

Splitting families can cause feelings of loss and abandonment, which can affect emotional and mental health, says the charity.

For the year from April 2013 to March 2014, there were 33 groups involving 76 children placed in foster care in Poole, of which 15 groups of 37 children were separated in some way.

Six of the groups composed four or more children and in a number of cases they were placed with at least one brother or sister, while separated from others.

“For many children, being taken into care can be a confusing and upsetting time; add the distress of being split up from your brother or sister into the mix and the impact will last a lifetime,” said John Downing, director of children’s placements at Action for Children.

“Nobody wants to separate brothers and sisters, but there simply aren’t enough foster carers in the south west who can look after siblings,” he said.

Gerry Moore, head of children and young peoples social care, Borough of Poole, said: “When placing children with foster carers we take great care to ensure that each child is safe and their individual needs are met.

She continued: “We have an excellent group of very skilled and experienced foster carers in Poole. However, we are always looking to attract new carers from all walks of life so that we can maintain a regular supply of local high quality family placements for children in care and ensure wherever possible that sibling groups remain together.”

‘High quality placements’

Borough of Poole says its policy is based on providing high quality placements which meet a child’s needs and sometimes that means brothers and sisters are split up. They try to keep family groups together and make contact arrangements when this is not possible.

In a high number of cases the decision to separate brothers and sister will involve family court proceedings, which include professional assessment and judgement independent of the local authority. Anyone interested in finding out more about fostering in Poole can contact the fostering service on 01202 714711.