“When my children got older, I missed all the activities and the days out,” she says. “I just thought I could do it again with other children.” Parenting had shaped her life for years, and she realised those skills, routines and instincts didn’t disappear just because her children were more independent. “It’s your life, isn’t it?” she reflects. “I knew I could do it.” 

The day her first foster child arrived is one she holds close to her heart. It was the end of a school day, and Kerry was braced for a difficult night. “I thought she’d be up all night – unsettled, worried,” she explains. Instead, the child climbed into bed, fell asleep easily, and slept right through. “She woke up in the morning as if she’d always been at my house. I think she slept more than I did.” That moment confirmed something powerful for Kerry: sometimes children don’t need fixing, just safety. 

For Kerry, fostering is simple at its heart. “It’s just offering a child a safe, loving place to stay until they can go home,” she says. Yet that simplicity carries weight. Fostering has changed how she sees the world. “You realise not everyone’s as lucky as your own family,” she explains, speaking about support systems many of us take for granted. 

One memory stands out above many others. A girl staying with Kerry became unwell while away at a relative’s house and asked to come back to Kerry’s instead. “She’d only been with me a short time,” Kerry says, “but she wanted to come home so I could look after her.” It was a sweet moment that made her realise that she must be doing something right. 

Not everything is easy. What helps is the support around her. “Everyone’s got advice. Everyone’s supportive. I love listening to people’s stories. It’s such a lovely community.”   

Her advice to anyone considering fostering is heartfelt and direct: “Just do it. Even the smallest thing you think won’t make a difference – it does. It really does.”