A council short film project encouraging people to become a foster carer has received two prestigious awards this month.

The film, named 'Any of Us', was sponsored by Worcestershire Children First Fostering and secured honours in the 'Best Collaboration' and 'Best Creative Comms' categories at the comms2point0 UnAwards in Birmingham.

The awards aim to acknowledge exceptional work in the public sector communications.

 

 

Read more: Tesco shoppers donate nearly 3.5 tonnes to Worcester Foodbank

 

 

The award-winning film is a result of a collective initiative involving over 80 council fostering teams from across the UK, including Worcestershire.

Bereft of any major financial support, each team contributed an average of £1,000 to the project.

The UnAwards judging panel said: "This is exactly the kind of campaign the public sector needs right now.

"It combined precious resources to secure a better chance of success for everyone who collaborated – boosted by smart targeting and a beautifully shot video.

"It just goes to show what can be achieved through our industry working together to address common challenges."

The film achieved success in increasing fostering numbers, with 249 enquiries from potential carers received within the first month of its release.

Using average enquiry-to-approval statistics, these could potentially translate into 21 new foster carers within a year, saving approximately £394,000 on placement fees with Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs).

Cllr Stephen Mackay, cabinet member for children and families at Worcestershire County Council, said: "First and foremost, this award-winning project is about giving our fostering service a high-quality film that highlights the fact that anyone who cares has the potential to become a foster carer.

“Fostering recruitment is challenging and it’s important to make an emotional connection with potential foster carers through our marketing campaigns. “It makes great business sense to collaborate with other council fostering teams to produce a film that communicates a universal message: We all need more people to step forward and become foster carers.

“That message is the same, from London to the Lake District – every town, city and county – consider if you can offer a home to our most vulnerable children and young people."

'Any of Us' is the fifth film produced by this growing partnership, focusing on promoting council fostering, and has so far been the best supported.