A Heart for Fostering: Katie’s Story

How First Aid Training from Blue Sky Fostering Helped Save a Life

On an ordinary school run, Katie, a respite foster carer with Blue Sky Fostering, found herself in an extraordinary situation. A woman collapsed in front of her - unconscious, not breathing. With no time to think, Katie relied entirely on the training she’d received just weeks earlier and performed CPR that helped bring the woman back to life.

What makes this story even more powerful is that the training Katie used wasn’t designed for that moment on the pavement. It was part of her journey as a foster carer - one she shares with her husband Steve, their daughters June, aged 12, and Marianne, aged 15, and the wide, compassionate network of Blue Sky Fostering.

“We’d just done our first aid refresher a few months earlier, and honestly - it was the best training I’ve ever had,” Katie recalls. “Blue Sky’s trainer ran it, and he brought it to life. No death by clipboard - just real scenarios, proper discussion. I’m a practical learner - give me a leaflet and I’ll forget it in a day. But because we physically did it, it embedded in me. A few months later, when that woman collapsed, I didn’t freeze. I’d done it before - at least in training. That gave me the confidence to act.”

Blue Sky’s trainer ran the training,  and he brought it to life. No death by clipboard - just real scenarios, proper discussion.

Fostering While Working Full-Time: A Family’s Flexible Journey.

But Katie’s story isn’t just one of quick thinking. It’s about roots - about how fostering, when done right, embeds you into the heart of your family, your fostering community, and the effects extends outwards into your local community.

She and her husband Steve both work full-time, and they make fostering work with their lives. Offering mainly weekend and short-term respite care, their home is a safe place for young people in transition.

“As long as the young person can get to and from school, they’re welcome here. That’s our approach. We’re flexible – it’s mostly weekends – but the door is always open.”

Their journey into fostering started long before their application.

“Steve was a looked after child. He did respite and short-term placements, so he was never in full-time care - but he always carried this understanding of how valuable it could have been if he had been,” Katie explains. “From the moment we met, he would talk about wanting to give back. During lockdown, like a lot of people, we had some headspace. We started looking at our lives and realised - yes, we love our jobs -but we were so busy with things that didn’t always feel meaningful. Fostering has given our busyness real value.”

After transferring to Blue Sky 18 months ago, the difference was immediate.

Why Blue Sky Fostering Supports the Whole Family – Not Just the Carer.

“One of the biggest differences with Blue Sky is how they include the whole family. With our last agency, our birth children weren’t really acknowledged. Months would pass without a social worker even checking in with them. But Blue Sky recognises that we foster as a family. Our daughters June and Marianne are a huge part of this journey. There’s a real understanding here that fostering only works when everyone in the home is supported and involved. We’re not just a spare bed - we’re a team.”

There’s a real understanding here that fostering only works when everyone in the home is supported and involved. We’re not just a spare bed - we’re a team.

To help their daughters manage the transition from family life to fostering life, Katie and Steve created the idea of the “fostering job.”

“We’ll say, ‘Girls, tonight we’re doing our fostering job,’ and they understand - maybe don’t burst in on mum and dad, or be a bit more mindful. The girls know they have a role in fostering too – and they love it! Only a child can welcome another child in a certain way. June and Marianne have made other children feel safe from the moment they walk through the door. That’s something you can’t teach.”

It’s this blend of practical support, excellent training, and a culture of community that defines Blue Sky Fostering.

The Power of Relationships: Fostering That Reaches Beyond the Home.

“We talk about fostering being about young people - and it is - but this experience reminded me that the skills Blue Sky gives us ripple outwards. This was someone I’d never met. Not a young person in care. But someone’s mum. Someone’s partner. And because of that training, she’s still here.”

Katie’s story is remarkable - but in many ways, it’s also a reflection of what makes fostering so quietly powerful. It’s not always about the big, dramatic moments. It’s the daily practice of care. The small adjustments that help someone feel safe. The unseen support that keeps families steady. The care goes out to everyone around us.

Katie was elated when her child brought a thank you card home, passed on by the daughter from the mum who had collapsed, as she happened to attend the same school. “The mum is going to be ok. They’ve discovered she has a condition, but it can be managed.”

Fostering is all about connection. And Blue Sky gets that. They don’t just train you to tick a box.

“Fostering is all about connection. And Blue Sky gets that. They don’t just train you to tick a box. They train you for life - for the moments you don’t see coming. When you have a young person in your care, the community that you are surrounded by is huge. The relationships we’ve built - within our family, with other foster carers, with the young people who come through our door - they’ve made us richer in every way. That’s the power of fostering.”

That's the power of relationships.