We are Patricia & Fergus Scarfe and we are the hub home carers for the South Mockingbird Constellation. We live in Plymouth. Patricia is from Peru and loves cooking nutritious meals. We have three boys in the house as well as a 13 year old Cockapoo that loves everyone that comes through the door.
As Foster Carers for almost 10 years, we wanted to find a way to support other carers in their fostering journey and build a community around the children we all care for. We have been hub home carers for the last two years and it has been incredible to have developed close friendships within our South Devon Mockingbird constellation. It is an absolute privilege to give the carers respite and to offer them support.
Fostering can be a lonely business and challenging in so many ways. But with our Mockingbird Family, we all feel supported and there is always someone to call if you are having a difficult day. It is wonderful to see the children feeling comfortable being around the other Mockingbird carers. It feels very much like a family.
We meet monthly at our home for coffee mornings and also have an event/social that takes place at the end of each month that either involves the beach, making pizza at the hub home, soft play, picnic at the park or just relaxing at the hub home eating brunch.
At our Plymouth Mockingbird social in March we started work on our Mockingbird family tree! We also created some lovely life story pieces for some of our youngest Mockingbird children, painting their footprints alongside the handprints of their foster carers
What is the impact of Mockingbird for Fostering Devon?
The aim of the Mockingbird Family Model are to improve placement stability for children who are looked after, prioritise sibling connections, promote active child protection, support permanence and improve the support provided to foster carers. Mockingbird in Devon embodies a nurturing, inclusive constellation of fostering families that reflects the warmth, trust, and connection of an extended family.
The model is evidence-based, has been formally evaluated and shows improved outcomes for children, young people and foster carers. We build stable, sustainable communities where children and young people experience belonging, safety, and the support of multiple trusted adults.as well as:
- Providing stable, immediate support (e.g., emergency care).
- Ensuring carers feel valued and supported.
- Children are able to move comfortably between adults in the hub — similar to extended family.
- Helping normalise childhood experiences and reducing feelings of isolation.
Mockingbird supports whole fostering families, not just care experienced children and young people.
Through Patricia and Fergus’ constellation children are able to build trust and feel safe with multiple adults who are part of their mockingbird network. Creating strong peer relationships with other children and young people has helped remove stigma for children in care. Additionally, birth children also benefit and form their own support networks.
You can find out more about the Mockingbird programme on the Fostering Network website.