To consider any communications to be submitted by the Mayor or the Chief Executive.
Minutes:
National Fostering Network Fostering Excellence Award
The Chief Executive was pleased to inform the Council that one of our own Foster Carers had recently been nominated for a National Fostering Network Fostering Excellence Award and had been awarded The Jon and Kathy Broad Award in recognition of his outstanding work in supporting Looked After Children and Young People with learning difficulties.
Rick Morris had been a Foster Carer with the Council for over a quarter of a century. For most of this period, Rick had fulfilled his role alongside his wife Chris, both of whom fostered over 64 children offering them a loving and caring home.
At the age of 72, Rick was a fantastic role model to those around him and especially the child he had looked after for 10 years. This child had an undiagnosed condition which had led to him having quadriplegia and unable to communicate verbally. Tragically when Rick had lost his beloved wife Chris to cancer, he had been determined that this child should remain living with him until the right placement and planned move could be made.
Rick’s grand-daughter , Alicia Taylor, who nominated him for the Award had said:
‘My grandad is disabled himself as a result of his time in the Army and working in the mines and I know it has been physically hard for him to give the boy the best life chances every day. But what isn’t hard is the obvious love my grandad has for the young boy and the love the boy has back for him. He’s my grandad and my inspiration, but he’s been a grandad to many many more, giving hope and instilling happiness’
This child had now moved to a new foster placement by Rick was determined to stay in his life as a grandad figure, maintaining this consistent and caring relationship. This commitment was supported by everyone involved.
Rick Morris was in the Chamber this morning and the Chief Executive asked Members of the Council to join her in commending him for the deep commitment he had brought to foster care in the Borough, much or which had been alongside his wife, Chris, and to congratulate him on being given this national award in recognition of his achievement in caring for vulnerable children in care.
Councillor Bruff, Cabinet Spokesperson for Children’s Services in congratulating Rick Morris on this achievement stated that he had started fostering with his wife in 1993 and was one of Barnsley’s longest standing foster carers. From 1993 to present Rick and his wife Chris had fostered over 60 children. In the early years they had fostered mostly younger children who either returned to their families or moved on to their adopted families. They had become highly skilled at helping children to make good moves and settle into their new homes. In 2007 they accepted a placement of a child who had significant disabilities and whilst the plan for this child was initially to adopt things didn’t go quite to plan and he was still in Rick’s care 12 years later.
Very sadly Chris passed away in 2014 but Rick remained committed to the child and to fostering and was such that he continued as a single carer supported by his friends and his adult children right up to this year. Tracy Ellis from Fostering Services had been Rick’s support worker for many years and together they had been a formidable team in supporting vulnerable children in Barnsley.
Rich was a very modest man and was very quick to complement others and divert the attention from himself. His dedication and commitment to his last foster child and to the other children who had had the good fortune to find themselves in his care had been truly exceptional and Barnsley Children’s Services were very pleased that he had been recognised at this national level and was very proud to have him as part of the team.
The Mayor also asked to place on record her own personal congratulations to Mr Morris on this achievement. She had had to pleasure of entertaining him in the Mayor’s parlour and thanked him for being such an inspiration to everyone and for what he had done for the young people of Barnsley.