By Sammy Jones-
Fostering children has been more than a chapter in the lives of Sue and James Cook. It has been a defining journey that has reshaped their home, their community, and the lives of countless young people in need of a safe, supportive environment.
In a remarkable story from St Helens in Merseyside, the couple has cared for 62 children over two decades, an achievement recognised with honours in the King’s New Year’s Honours list for their services to fostering. Their experience reflects both the joys and challenges of opening one’s home to children who need stability, encouragement and hope.
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The couple describe their time with each child as a privilege and an opportunity to support young people in circumstances that had often been difficult and unsettling. Through laughter, challenges and sometimes heartbreak, each placement has become a story woven into their family life.
The hallmark of their approach has been stability. Many children who arrive in care face upheaval: moving away from familiar surroundings, losing contact with friends, and experiencing uncertainty about the future.
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Sue explained that one of the most important aspects of fostering is helping children remain connected to their communities enabling them to stay in their school, maintain friendships, and feel continuity in their daily lives.
Some children arrived with eagerness for connection, while others carried deep wounds that required patience, support and emotional care. All of them have taught the couple lessons about resilience, empathy and what it means to belong.
Sue has often described fostering as “rewarding in ways that go far beyond what we could have expected.” She didn’t seek praise or recognition when they began; her motivation rested in a simple desire to help.
Over time, as children came and went some returning for visits years later the couple understood that love and stability shape lifelong memories and contribute to building confidence in young people who may once have felt lost and alone.
That sentiment resonates strongly with other foster carers across the UK who express similar feelings about the honour and meaning of taking in children who need a safe place to grow.
The local community has also taken notice of the couple’s work. Fostering is an essential part of the wider social care system that seeks to place vulnerable children in loving homes rather than institutional care.
National and local fostering organisations highlight the importance of carers like Sue and Dave, especially at a time when many areas face a shortage of foster placements and a growing need for carers who can step forward to provide support.
Caring for dozens of children over years of service places the couple among the most dedicated and impactful contributors to child welfare in their community.
Even as the Cooks celebrate the joy of seeing children flourish, they are quick to emphasise that fostering is not only about happy moments. It can involve complex emotional care, working through behavioural struggles, responding to trauma and helping children adjust to new environments and relationships.
In every placement, the couple has drawn on patience and compassion to create a secure environment where children feel seen and valued.
Over years of experience, they have learned to celebrate small achievements a smile shared, a difficult step taken, a school success reached alongside major milestones. These small moments have often meant as much to the couple as any of the honours they have received.
Fostering in Changing Times
While the story of Sue and Dave offers an inspiring portrait of personal dedication, it also raises awareness of broader challenges facing the foster care sector. Across England and beyond, social care systems are experiencing changes in demand, resources and recruitment of foster carers.
The Government has acknowledged a decline in foster carer numbers in recent years, and officials have pledged reforms aimed at increasing recruitment and retention of carers to ensure vulnerable children have access to loving homes.
A government press release noted plans designed to support existing carers and encourage more households to step forward, reflecting how central fostering remains to child welfare efforts.
Despite these pressures, stories like the Cooks’ resonate with the belief that fostering changes lives not only for children who need care but for the carers themselves. Sue and Dave often speak of the mutual growth that takes place in their home.
Children become part of their family narrative, and the couple gains deeper insight into resilience, hope and human connection.
Indeed, other foster carers echo the feeling that welcoming children into their homes is a meaningful commitment. Some describe it as life changing and a chance to make an indispensable difference in children’s lives at vital moments.
Stories of carers helping children develop confidence, build trust and access new opportunities illustrate how fostering shapes the future of young people who have faced adversity.
While challenges remain in recruiting and supporting carers nationally, fostering stories continue to inspire communities to recognise the value of welcoming vulnerable children into safe, caring homes.
The Cooks are representative of an ideal foster care relationship: one rooted in compassion, resilience and a shared sense of purpose. Their 20‑year journey with 62 children demonstrates how offering stability and love can support children through some of life’s most difficult transitions.
Their pride does not stem from numbers counted but from moments shared the confidence regained, friendships formed, and futures shaped through patient care.
Their experience is humble in tone yet powerful in impact, underscoring the deep human connections that form when a family opens its home and heart to children who need shelter, hope and encouragement.
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