ANN Clarke, who runs a residential project for children with emotional and behavioural problems at Quarriers, became a short-term foster carer for children with disabilities five years ago after being asked to find a placement for a child with a terminal illness to give her foster parents a break.

Ms Clarke, 50, from Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, was unable to take the two-year-old girl, and this weighed heavily on her mind for weeks. It prompted her to apply to Inverclyde Council Social Work Services to become a respite foster carer.

"It felt awful knowing the foster family must have been going through such a tough time to have asked for some respite support, and yet I couldn't take the child in my project as it was at full capacity," she said.

Over the past five years, Ms Clarke has provided respite foster care for four children, who return to her regularly. "When I look after a child, I always hope I'm giving them something that will stay with them," she said. "Depending on their interests, I take them swimming, to the cinema, the zoo, the park and museums.

"It can be tough, but working with children with disabilities is extremely rewarding.

"People often worry about becoming a foster carer and then having to take a child every weekend, but providing respite is something you can fit into your own lifestyle. When I first started out I only did every six weeks."

For more information, visit www.quarriers.org.uk