The Fostering Network’s annual conference, The Future of Foster Care, saw care leavers, foster carers, social workers and other professionals come together to examine how fostering will change in the years to come.

The conference, which took place on Wednesday 1 October, was chaired by care leaver and social worker Jonny Hoyle and The Fostering Network’s president, Jim Bond. The focus was on three key areas: understanding the needs of children and young people in foster care; developing the foster care workforce; and developing strategy and innovation to deliver excellent foster care.

Common themes throughout the day were the importance of making and maintaining relationships for children and young people, and the challenges posed by high turnover of children's social workers. Treating foster carers as part of the team around the child was also central to the day, as was exploring how Head, Heart, Hands - The Fostering Network’s innovative programme to bring social pedagogy to UK foster care - could be a game changer in the future of fostering.

Speakers included Caroline Boswell from the Greater London Authority who spoke about supporting foster carers and schools to work together in new ways, as demonstrated by The Fostering Network's new programme, London Fostering Achievement. Jackie Sanders, the charity's director of public affairs, opened up the conversation on how we can best support foster carers to provide children with a full family life while they’re in care.

Delegates also heard from three foster carers, Richard Field, Daisy May James and Helen Holgate and three young people, Daniel Oliver, Francesca Elonga and Jerome Harvey-Agyei, who shared their experiences of fostering and growing up in foster care respectively. Gillian Schofield, head of social work at the University of East Anglia, discussed the dual roles of foster carers as skilled professionals and committed parents.

Janet Boddy, co-director, Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth, University of Sussex, talked about how foster carers and social workers could better work with birth families and Annie Hudson, chief executive, The College of Social Work, talked about social work reform and partnerships with foster families.

The conference also heard from Alan Wood CBE, president of the ADCS and corporate director of Children and Young People's Services, Hackney Council and Helen Jones OBE, independent children's services consultant who discussed how as a sector we can understand new approaches to foster care.

You can follow what went on during the conference on social media by visiting the conference storify.