Bury Council are proud to have Mockingbird as part of our service to offer additional support to our foster carers and cared for children through two Mockingbird constellations. Our first constellation launched in March 2024 with a hub carer and eight families and our second constellation launched in February 2025 with a hub carer supporting nine families.
The Mockingbird model, from The Fostering Network is an innovative fostering model made up of 6-10 fostering families, all of whom are linked to a Hub foster carer. The Hub carer is a foster carer who offers practical and emotional support as well as plans social events, sleepovers, and monthly support meetings. The aim of the model is to create a support network similar to that of an extended family, providing children and their carers with planned and emergency care, including sleepovers and shared social activities. The Mockingbird constellation also has an experienced worker called a Liaison Worker who works closely with the hub carer and satellite families.
Building on the success of our Mockingbird programme thus far, we aim to expand our vision by providing additional support to more foster families. We are actively exploring opportunities to introduce a third constellation later this year. Please continue to monitor this page for updates on developments and exciting announcements.
