Fostering ambassadors record ground-breaking advert

A local actor, Tommy Turgoose, has worked with Jack contributing to the voice over.

After recently being named as local fostering ambassadors, the duo were approached by North East Lincolnshire Council to contribute to our fostering recruitment campaign with a mission to encourage more people to become foster carers.

The advert, which runs to just over a minute-long, will be shared over social media by North East Lincolnshire Council.

It follows a young child as she is told that she has to leave home and travel outside of the area to be with her new foster carers who have come from away. The advert sets a retro feel with footage of Grimsby and Cleethorpes in the 1990s. As the young child travels out of Grimsby in a car, it’s revealed that around 18,000 children across England have to go live away from home every year due to a shortage of local foster carers.

The final shot of the commercial shows the young child with her new foster carers, walking along Cleethorpes promenade demonstrating that local foster carers enable children to remain living within their own communities.

The journey started in August this year, when North East Lincolnshire Council announced Tommy Turgoose as the first fostering ambassador in the area.

Shortly after, explained Children’s Services Director, Ann-Marie Matson, conversations begun with Jack Spring about recording a commercial for the cause.

“We met Jack at our annual SEND awards ceremony in Grimsby, and I immediately spoke to him about foster carer recruitment, and what that meant for children in our care.

“Jack immediately pledged his support – wanting to help us recruit more foster carers”.

“Some weeks later we sat down with Jack for some conversations about how we could progress this, and before we knew it, he had pulled together a local crew, and identified a young actress from Grimsby to star in the production. Staff from North East Lincolnshire Council also contributed to the commercial”.

The piece was filmed on locations across the area early in October, before being edited and a soundtrack composed.

“The aim of this commercial is to really get across the  need for new foster carers, and to voice those words to get across the need, Tommy was a natural fit.”

Jack Spring, known for his role as director of Three Day Millionaire and All Town Aren’t We? said working on the piece was an eye-opening experience.

“Hearing from Ann-Marie about children having to move away from their home town because there aren’t enough foster carers here was a real surprise.

“I know that this is a real issue across the country, and my hope is that this commercial will have an impact and enable children that do need to come into care in North East Lincolnshire to stay living in their home town”.

“The cast and crew were really great, and it wouldn’t be right not to acknowledge the work that they put into this. They were a real joy to work with, and for the young actress, Poppy, to be able to produce such a powerful performance in a silent first role is really impressive.”

Speaking after recording the voice over for the advert, Tommy Turgoose, known for his role in This is England, said:

“It was a real honour to be asked to become a fostering ambassador earlier this year, so when the opportunity came up to do the voice over and have a real impact on the numbers of people considering foster care, I couldn’t turn it down.

“I’m really pleased with how the commercial looks and feels. I hope it will make people think about fostering and consider how they can make a difference to a local child.”

Speaking following the launch of the advert, portfolio holder for children and education, Cllr Margaret Cracknell, said she was thrilled with the end result:

“Having seen the completed advert, I must say that I’m incredibly pleased with the outcome.

“Jack, Tommy, and the rest of the cast and crew have not only managed to transfer to the screen the experience of a child leaving home, but have done so in a sensitive and sympathetic way.

“I hope that, when people watch this, they will be compelled to pick up the phone and give us a call to discuss becoming a foster carer.”

To find out more about becoming a foster carer in North East Lincolnshire or to discuss how you apply to be a foster carer, visit www.nelincs.gov.uk/fostering, or call 01472 323966.