See our Extraordinary Foster Parents featured on BBC One’s ‘Extraordinary Portraits’ with Bill Bailey

A Lifetime of making a difference

The Warmingtons, who have been fostering for 30 years, have been with us here at ACS since 2012. Marva and Lionel certainly have the most incredible and powerful stories to share. Together the couple have worked closely to provide culturally sensitive care for vulnerable children from a wide variety of backgrounds, using their skills and experience to enable children to maintain strong links with their cultural identity.

The couple are well-loved by their former foster children and fostering colleagues alike, with their supervising social worker saying that it is “truly an honour to have them on the team.”

Lionel and Marva had the privilege of being matched with the multi award-winning artist Chloe Cox, who was named Young Artist of the Year in 2020 and 2022 and has numerous additional accolades within her career to date. During the making of the BBC program, Chloe spent time with the Warmingtons and their extended fostering family to gain an understanding of their lives and work.

The resulting portrait is truly outstanding, and we are so proud to share it here with you!

Inspiring future generations

Mohammed Bashir, registered manager for ACS was proud to celebrate the couple’s success. He said: “Marva and Lionel are exceptional people who have dedicated more than a quarter of a century to the lives of children and young people. Their level of patience, perseverance and resilience is not something I’ve often seen in my social work career to date.”

“They’ve cared for children of all ages, cultures, faiths and backgrounds and what makes them so special is the number of people they have cared for who still look to them for support, advice and guidance, even in adulthood.”

“Through their care and nurturing, so many children have gone on to have stable and successful lives. I am delighted that their efforts are being recognised nationally.”