Mockingbird Family Model

Royal Greenwich is one of the pioneering London boroughs to offer the Fostering Network's Mockingbird Family Model to its foster carers. This gives extra support to our carers and the children and young people they are looking after using an ‘extended family model’.

This improves stability of fostering placements and strengthen relationships between carers, those in their care, birth families, and social care professionals. This helps create a supportive community that empowers everyone.

How the Mockingbird programme works

Mockingbird is a new way of supporting foster families by providing expert peer support, social activities, regular joint planning and training sessions, and respite through sleepovers and short breaks – whether planned or in an emergency.

The Mockingbird ‘extended family model’ uses the concept of a ‘constellation’, which is a group of six to ten families that each link to a central ‘hub home’.

A hub home is a fostering household with at least two spare rooms, run by experienced foster carers. They are always on call to offer advice and support to their linked families.

Constellations are designed to mimic an extended family. The hub at the centre adopts the role of trustworthy and experienced relatives that can be called upon when needed. Constellation carers usually live near their dedicated hub home.

Royal Greenwich has four constellations that include a total of 29 satellite homes.

Underpinning principles of Mockingbird

These principles are:

  • placement stability
  • development of positive and supportive relationships
  • community-based care
  • continuity of care
  • engagement with birth family
  • recruitment and retention of a skilled foster carer workforce through effective support and provision of high quality training

More information

If you're a foster carer with us and would like to find out more about joining our Mockingbird Family Model, or are interested in becoming a foster carer, email us at fostering.duty@royalgreenwich.gov.uk or call us on 0800 052 1499.