What it’s really like on our residential retreats

Getting Away From it All by Getting into Something New

Every year Community Foster Care is proud (and a little anxious) to host our annual residential retreat for the young people in our community. We’re proud because it’s an oddly uncommon thing for a fostering agency to do – to take a group of our young people away on their own for an extended stretch so they can bond and learn, while their carers stay home and wonder what they’re missing out on.

And we get anxious because you never quite know how it will go – will the young people enjoy it? Will they get along with each other when living together for three days in completely new surroundings? Will the staff enjoy it?

Every year we spend countless hours planning the logistics, writing up risk assessments, overthinking who will share a room with who, and sorting out staffing for three of the most intense days of the CFC activity calendar.

And every year, we are overwhelmed by the positive response that our residential retreat receives, from staff, from carers, but most importantly, from the young people themselves.

This year, we were in the unusual position where many of the people attending were doing so for the first time – both from the staff side and the young people. A frisson of excitement and trepidation was evident when the group departed on a bright, sunny Monday morning. But it was nothing compared to the energy and excitement that swept the office when they returned on Wednesday – all hyped up from the friendships made, the fun had, and the personal growth achieved.

Friendships made, bonds strengthened

The staff who attended couldn’t have been more excited to share their feedback:

Rachel, our Senior Social Worker based in Lancaster said, “It was lovely to be part of the residential trip (although as most people know I was feeling a bit nervous!). It was so lovely to meet the young people I hear about who live in the South and to see them bond with the young people from the North so well, as well as with myself who they had never met.

I feel like they gelled as a group right from the start soon after arriving and characters came out and we could see who was who in the group and the dynamics between them. They were all such fun to be around and the laughs and the jokes were great.

They all definitely enjoyed themselves and some young people and staff too really pushed themselves out of their comfort zones and challenged their fears which were proud moments for all.”

Her sentiments were echoed by the team in the south; Amy, one of our Family Support Workers said, “it was an enjoyable experience. It was lovely to see the young people trying new experiences and building positive relationships with each other. It was great to see that young people who did not wish to try an activity really encouraged and supported their peers and staff who were trying the activity.  The young people seemed to overall really enjoy the experience and want to be able to stay longer for future residential trips and try experiences such as archery.

I personally really enjoyed the activities I took part in and hope to be able to participate in more activities next time.”

Fellow support worker Rubie added, “It was so nice to see the whole group of young people get on from the beginning. I was really proud of how they all worked together during activities; they encouraged each other and celebrated each other when they pushed themselves out of their comfort zones! Everyone said they wanted to come back next year, some asked to stay for 1-2 weeks! We compromised and said 3 nights might be more doable. Staff and young people from the north and south became one unit on this residential - the young people were always together as a group, and they were already planning what activities they want to do next year!”

And for Rubie, it wasn’t just about supporting the young people to challenge themselves but also taking the opportunity to push her own boundaries and move beyond her comfort zones: “For me, I definitely challenged myself more than last year! With the encouragement from the young people, staff and the instructors, I managed to climb 30ft in the air (twice!), which is unbelievable for someone who doesn't like going up to the first floor in some shops!”

And that willingness to push herself, with the support from the community around her was also a big part of encouraging some of the young people to get involved too and be OK with feeling scared. Kristy, Team Manager in Gloucester said “We all saw some of the young people try new things- one young person (S) put on the harness for each event where it was required- but it wasn't until Rubie had a chat with him about giving it a go- and that it's ok to be scared as she was as well- that he went up a pole and got really high!

For a couple of the young people this was their first time away and they embraced what was a very new experience - for one of them he wasn't really interested in speaking to us (staff) he was very happy being left alone with the others!

I heard a lot of laughter and giggles- and also encouragement to each other and that was really lovely to hear. And it was lovely to see the connections with the young people - some have never met before and they became quite a tight knit group- wanting to be together and already planning for a 3-night residential next year!!”

But what do the young people think?

It’s the summaries we received from the young people who attended were the biggest vote of confidence that these retreats are a really important part of their experience with us. We asked for some three word/phrase roundups of their experience and this is what we got:

Absolutely all out amazing 

Friendships, adventurous and teamwork 

It was fun 

Bonding, challenging, active

Thrilling, memorable, fun

Absolutely 'effing' tired... in a good way!

Fun, adventurous, engaging

Fun, new friends, activities

We think this quote from Rachel sums it up nicely, “They loved it and are desperate to go back next year!”

With so much of the rhetoric around fostering being focused on the challenges, we love that our annual residential retreat is an opportunity for the positives to be highlighted and embraced. To see young people make new friends, try new things, push past fears and see themselves in a new light is the core of fostering and we are so thankful to be part of their journey. Whether it’s the big events like the residential or the small everyday moments, there’s nothing quite like seeing a young person blossom in front of you to remind you why you got into this in the first place.