A Leeds foster carer has praised the ‘invaluable’ support offered by a pioneering peer network, as the city marks 10 years of the transformative Mockingbird fostering model.
Launched in Leeds in 2015, the Mockingbird hub model connects foster families with a dedicated and experienced ‘hub home carer’ who offers practical advice, emotional support, and guidance. This relationship helps foster families, both adults and children, navigate the challenges and transitions of their new lives together.
Originally developed in Seattle, USA, the Mockingbird model has flourished in Leeds, with the city council emerging as one of its earliest UK adopters. Leeds now boasts the largest and most established Mockingbird network in the country, a testament to its commitment to strengthening foster care through community-based support.
Michelle Raw, 53, from Whinmoor, has served as a hub home carer for the past six years, drawing on over two decades of fostering experience alongside her husband Mark, 49. The couple has been fostering for 21 years, and Michelle now supports eight families as part of the Mockingbird network. Most of those she works with are kinship carers, relatives or close family friends who step in to care for children unable to live with their birth parents.
Her role provides a vital lifeline of guidance, reassurance, and practical help for those navigating the complexities of kinship care and fostering. Michelle Raw said:
“The mockingbird hub model is amazing – it acts just like an extended family. I help provide practical support as well as just having a cuppa and chat about the day with carers. Carers come to my house, we might do a bit of training, have a chat about life, they meet other carers and get to know each other and the children get to know each other and play together.
“It feels like we become part of their family and they become part of ours.”
As a hub home carer, Michelle offers a wide range of support, including hosting coffee mornings, assisting with appointments, organising fun activity days during school holidays, and providing overnight or weekend care for children when needed.
Her role helps build a strong sense of community and gives foster families a reliable source of both practical help and emotional encouragement. Michelle Raw added:
“The hubs are vital for both carers and the children because everyone needs that connection and bit of help and time to recharge their batteries. It’s the most amazing model, it works really well.
“I work really closely with our supervising social worker from Foster 4 Leeds to support our families too. I speak to her three or four times a week and if I ever need help with anything, she’s there.”
Councillor Helen Hayden, Leeds City Council’s executive member for children and families, who attended the anniversary event at Herd Farm said:
“We’re absolutely committed to supporting all our carers and it’s great to see and hear how valuable these mockingbird hubs have been for our families over the past ten years. I’d like to thank all who have contributed to their success – with particular thanks, once again, to our amazing foster and kinship carers who play such a vital role in transforming the lives of our children looked after.
“Celebrating our mockingbird hubs during Foster Carer Fortnight and its theme of relationships feels particularly timely. Relationships are the golden thread that run through every fostering story – but we urgently need more foster carers who can invest in these relationships and offer a stable, home environment to allow children to grow and thrive.”
Leeds is currently home to nine Mockingbird hubs, with a tenth set to launch soon, further expanding the city’s support for foster and kinship families. To celebrate the network’s milestone anniversary, families from across the hubs recently gathered for a special event at Herd Farm Activity Centre. The day brought together carers, children, and staff from Leeds City Council’s fostering and kinship care teams for a joyful celebration.
Children enjoyed a fun-filled afternoon featuring face painting, a climbing wall, inflatables, sports activities, ice creams, and a barbecue — highlighting the sense of community and connection at the heart of the Mockingbird model. The event also coincided with Foster Care Fortnight, which this year carries the theme ‘The Power of Relationships’ — a message powerfully reflected in the Mockingbird family model.
This innovative approach is just one of the many ways Foster 4 Leeds supports the city’s fostering community, which includes around 400 fostering placements and 350 children living with kinship or connected carers. In addition to peer support networks, the service provides high-quality social work support, ongoing training, and a rich calendar of enrichment activities and family fun days throughout the year.
Despite these strong foundations, Leeds like many areas across the UK, continues to face growing demand for foster carers. With nearly 1,500 children currently in care across the city, Foster 4 Leeds is actively calling for more people to open their homes and hearts to provide stable, safe, and loving environments for children in need.
Find out how you can become a foster carer and change a child’s life, please visit www.foster4.leeds.gov.uk
