A foster family from Heywood have opened up about how their love for football has helped to create the ultimate loving environment for the children in their care.
Lauren (46) and her husband Danny Sullivan (52) have fostered for Rochdale Borough Council since 2012 and currently care for 5 young lads aged 12 to 21, alongside their 9-year-old son, Daniel.
Their home is very busy as you can imagine and ‘the washing machine is non-stop’ Lauren jokes. Each child has their own interests, including things like the gym and gaming, but football is what stands out as the cement in their daily routines.
From training and coaching on weekdays to refereeing and playing matches at the weekend, the house is football mad and it’s their passion for the sport which connects them as a family and what has helped the lads to create a strong brotherly bond.
“They’ll all come home after school, college or work, and Daniel will ask them for a game,” Lauren said, with a pair of football nets visible outside from the living room.
“It’s so lovely to see the smiles on their faces when they’re all playing together in the back garden.”
Their garden fence has had to be reinforced to withstand the multiple footballs they own, but Danny and Lauren, who initially started as respite carers, both agreed they ‘wouldn’t have it any other way’.
“What I absolutely love on a Sunday night, after we’ve had a busy football weekend, is sitting at the table, looking at them and listening to all their banter and the stupid things they say to one another, and thinking ‘I just love this’,” Lauren said.
“They’ll take the mick out of each other if they hadn’t had enough game time but it’s nice to see that because they’re like brothers, they all get on and they’re comfortable behaving like that with each other.”
Supporting teenage boys has become the couple’s ‘forte’ given how well matched their outdoors lifestyle and skillset is, with Danny himself a football coach and professional scout.
Champions League final party / ‘Welcome to the family’
Their shared interest in football with many of the children in their care has also been a great way of helping them to settle into their new surroundings. The Sullivans fondly recall hosting a Champions League final party to welcome their longest placed child when he was just 10.
“It was a nice ice breaker for the young lad,” said Danny, with the young person still living with them now at the age of 21.
“We made it his ‘Welcome to the family’ party, with extended relatives coming round to meet him and watch the football together so the football made it less overwhelming for him.”
The family’s love for the game has also supported 2 17-year-olds to flourish and follow their passions in the sport too.
Coaching aspirations
One is a football coach for a grassroots team, like Danny, and is currently studying for a career in professional coaching and analysis.
The Sullivans are firmly behind the young person’s aspirations and supported him to gain his coaching badges at 15 before he also became a local referee. Lauren added:
“He will come home from coaching, and we will sit down and talk through what he did and what techniques he could try next week,” explained Danny, who has scouted for clubs including Preston North End and Stockport County.
“The bond we have is fantastic and he is a great role model for the young ones in the house.”
“He’s gone from strength to strength with his coaching and we often receive compliments about his maturity from the players parents, which is unbelievable, they really respect him.”
The international language of football
The other 17-year-old in their care came to them only being able to speak French at the time, with Lauren explaining how football helped to overcome that initial barrier of communication.
“As soon as he heard the lads playing in the garden, leathering the ball against the fence, I could tell he was into football,” Lauren recalls.
“After we had shown him around the house, I asked if he wanted to join in with the lads and he said ‘yeah’, so while we were in the front room with his social worker, he was out there speaking the international language of football and having a kickabout.”
Lauren and Danny have supported him to play for a local team too, a team which most recently had the opportunity to play at Rochdale AFC’s Crown Oil Arena, a place the young person regularly visits with Danny as a season ticket holder.
Football supports a sense of belonging
“We can sit and talk about football for a few hours every evening,” Danny said.
“We can go out there and play it for a few hours too, so it really does bring everybody together and even the ones who aren’t as interested still join in.”
This summer’s World Cup has brought them even closer together too, with Lauren and Danny buying the lads shirts for the tournament.
They’ve been enjoying the matches together and it’s these moments that have really brought it home about the impact they make.
“We are really proud of them,” Lauren added, who is also a legal assistant in criminal law.
“Sadly, there are so many young people who are in the care system and would flourish with the care, love, support and nurture that foster carers provide and you can really change their life.
“You feel grateful that you’ve been able to give them that opportunity.”
Inspired to make a difference
Anyone over the age of 21 with a spare room in their home, like Lauren and Danny, can become a foster carer and support those most in need.
Councillor Rachel Massey, cabinet member for children’s services and education, said:
“Lauren and Danny’s story is a wonderful example of the life-changing difference foster carers make to young people across our borough.
“Their home is built on care, stability and a sense of belonging, and it’s heartwarming to see how a shared love of football can help bring a family together and I really hope this can inspire more people to consider the difference they can make by fostering.”
The local authority, which is part of Foster for Greater Manchester, offers a number of different opportunities for local residents to be involved in fostering.
- More on fostering with Rochdale Borough Council
- You can also find out more by calling 0300 303 0321.