Going solo – single Foster carer Pippa shares her story
There are misconceptions around who can and who cannot foster. A common one is whether single people can foster. Of course they can. Around a third of Wirral Council foster carers foster on their own – and they’re thriving.
We spoke to Pippa Phillipson, a Wirral Council foster carer, about her experience going solo.
Pippa started fostering last year. She’s worked in mental health care for 24 years and is an occupational therapist by trade.
Pippa said:
It was something I always had an interest in, but I worked across different regions, away during the week and home at weekends. In my current job I’m based in one place, so I just went for it.
She initially began as a respite foster carer, providing short term breaks for other carers.
Pippa said:
To me, respite was a good way to see if I liked it and could do it. I was initially supporting a foster carer who had three little girls - sisters – aged nine, six and four. I started off once a month taking two of them for a night. I ended up taking all three for the whole weekend, they were lovely. That’s how I got into it.
Pippa is currently fostering an 11-year-old girl who has been with her since October 2024. Thanks to Pippa’s wider support network, the two of them are flourishing together.
Pippa said:
You find your own rhythm over time. She does sleepovers with my mum now, she’s done two so far.
Like any parent, you can maximise your time for the things you need to do. For example, when my foster child has swimming lessons and goes to the Hive, I go for a run or to the gym. Sometimes she will come with me on her bike while I run – she complains from start to finish but at the end says, I enjoyed that!
Foster caring, like parenting any child, is a juggle. Especially for working and single carers. Pippa says that she was provided with a lot of support from the council’s fostering service, as well as her employer.
Pippa said:
You’re near enough entitled to the same rights as if it was your ‘own’ child. My supervising social worker was very clear with me that if a young person came to me, I’d need to think about what support I may need, to support that young person. Consider the logistics, as well as the emotional side.
For example, I work full time but breakfast club starts at 7.45am, and it’s on until 6pm (not that she’s ever there that late), but it’s a comfort to know that that’s there for me.
Fostering provides safe and loving homes to children who need them. But the arrangement can often be just as rewarding an experience for the foster carer too. For Pippa, fostering has brought a lot of joy to her life.
Pippa said:
It is a lovely feeling to think that you can support young people in difficult times, that you can offer a solid, supportive and safe place. Because that’s all it is initially, before the attachment grows.
Initially, it’s just about being consistent. I take my lead from what the children are doing. But once I can see them eating and sleeping well, singing in the shower, settling. That’s when I know it’s working.
Pippa would encourage other single people to try fostering. She said:
I’m single and have no kids – other people like me might think they wouldn’t be accepted. But it was never an issue for me at all. I have nieces and nephews and experience with them.
If you are the type of person who can offer a level of consistency for a child, if you can be that somebody who is going to pick them up from school and not let them down and make them feel wanted - it could be for you.
Wirral Council is part of Foster4, a collaborative fostering recruitment hub in the Northwest.
The friendly Foster4 team are popping up in several locations across Wirral this month. Everyone is welcome to come along, say hello and find out more about becoming a foster carer with Wirral Council.
- 20 May - 9.30-11am - The Coffee House Liscard
- 20 May - 1-4pm - Wirral Change (Birkenhead)
- 28 May - 10-11.30am - Tesco Heswall
- 28 May - 12.30-2pm - Asda Liscard
- 28 May - 3-4.30pm - Guinea Gap Leisure Centre
If you’d like to find out more about fostering, visit the Foster4 website.
