News

A crumbling and failing system is what children and young people in foster care are faced with, if urgent improvements aren't made, according to the latest report from the UK's leading fostering charity.    

Today’s BBC report Children in care in England could hit almost 100,000 by 2025 is a stark warning about the need to recruit and retain more foster carers. 

Kevin Williams, CEO of The Fostering Network, says: ‘Recruitment and retention of high quality foster carers who can meet the needs of children in care is one of the biggest challenges facing the fostering sector today. 

Ofsted have today released their annual fostering in England statistics, highlighting that many vulnerable children are currently missing out on the care and support they need due to a lack of foster carers. 

The Chancellor has announced spending review plans in the House of Commons today.  

Kevin Williams, CEO of The Fostering Network, responds:  

Six young people from across the UK have been working together this year to create a film which shares their experiences of being part of Mockingbird constellations.

Today the Scottish Government released new national guidance for child protection. 

The guidance describes the responsibilities and expectations for all involved in protecting children in Scotland and will support the care and protection of children across Scotland. 

We welcome today’s announcement from the Department for Education of £20m funding to provide more early health and education support for families in England.

Today legislation was introduced in Scotland to give siblings in care legal rights to maintain their relationships.

Part 13 of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 and the Looked After Children (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 mean local authorities now have a legal duty to ensure siblings are supported to stay together, where appropriate. Where it is not appropriate for brothers and sisters to live together, steps should be taken to help them stay in regular touch with each other and to nurture their relationships.

We welcome the report published last week by the Social Market Foundation on the future of fostering in England calling for a commitment from Government to raise the standards of care we expect and to improve outcomes for children with care experience.  

The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in England, led by Josh McAllister, today published their Case for Change report.