A Fife couple have been awarded a national foster care award for their commitment to fostering.
Scott and Gina Murdoch, who have been fostering children for almost 15 years, received this years outstanding contribution by a foster carer award after being nominated by their supervising support worker.
The pair, who have seven children of their own, have cared for around 30 children since being inspired to foster by a fourteen-year-old girl Scott used to take to school as a taxi driver.
When Scott and Gina began fostering, they still had three children living at home but said the whole family backed their decision.
Scott said: “We brought our kids round the table and told them what we were planning on doing and everybody said: ‘Go for it mum and dad.’
“Everybody was on board.”
After being inspired by their parents, two of Scott and Gina’s children are now foster carers themselves while another is a support carer.
What is fostering children like?
The East Wemyss couple said that they never know how long a child will be in their care for.
Scott said: “We got two wee girls on an emergency one Friday night and were told that they’d be going back home on Monday, three years later they went away for adoption.
“Every child or baby that comes through the door has different challenges, needs and it just takes a bit of adjustment.”
Currently, the pair have three children in their care raging from ages between 12 and 18.
Previously, they had one girl who was in their care for seven years and left aged 18 and another who left aged 20 after being in their care for four and a half years.
Scott added: “We’ve had all ages, newborn twins, anybody who needs us, we’re here.
“The experience has been 100% positive, there’s always wee bumps in the road but with experience and training and a lot of support from the team at Fife council you get round it.”
Both Scott and Gina said they were shocked to discover they had received a fostering excellence award from the Fostering Network.
“We were gobsmacked,” Scott said.
“It didn’t really sink in properly and I didn’t really know what it meant to be honest but it’s an award for doing something that we like, it’s surreal to be honest.”
‘Kids need people that care’
Scott added that anyone that is considering going into foster care should “just go for it”.
“You’ll never get enough households to care and obviously as new ones are coming in, you’ve got some retiring and stuff like that so life doesn’t stand still, the more carers that are coming through the doors, it gives you a better future for foster care,” he said.
“Kids need people that care, I couldn’t imagine if we didn’t do this what would happen.
“It is very hard but at the end of it there’s always a reward, a smile is a reward, seeing a hot meal going into a child or a clean bed.
“Small things make a difference, we don’t wave magic wands, we’re just here to try and make their life a wee bit better than what they’re experiencing.”
‘The best thing we’ve ever done’
Gina said that with fostering, it’s hard not to get attached but it’s worth it to see the children moving on to a good life.
“It’s the best thing we’ve done, it really is,” Gina said.
“There’s times you struggle, there’s times the kids struggle, they find it hard, we find it hard.
“It’s heartbreaking when the weans go, heartbreaking, so you really need to prepare yourself.
“I just say to myself: ‘don’t get attached, don’t get attached’ but you do get attached and when they leave, it’s like your grieving for them.
“But when you see them moving on, having families of their own and bumping into them in the street, even the heartbreak is worth it
“It’s just to see the good life they’ve got.”
The Fostering Network commended the pair after winning the award, saying: “Not only are they totally committed to fostering themselves, but they have been instilling a love of fostering amongst their seven children, a number of whom have become foster carers too.
“In addition to looking after many young people in over 15 years of fostering, they have also been a huge support to their fostering community by providing advice, short breaks and practical help to their fellow foster and kinship carers.”
Another winner from Fife at the Fostering Network awards was Heather Morrison who was given the Outstanding Contribution pize by Sons and Daughters Award.
Heather, whose family also fosters for Fife Council was nominated by social worker Eleanor Fowler.
Eleanor said of Heather: “She is naturally very loving towards the child or young person in the family’s care and empathetic to what they are going through.
“She has helped teach the children to swim, ride bikes, tie their laces and stepped in to help with home schooling her foster siblings with creativity and patience during lockdown.”
