Why do we conduct research?

1. Collecting evidence 

By speaking with our members at various meetings, analysing the reasons why members are seeking The Fostering Network’s support and conducting surveys, we can collect evidence of policy problems and develop recommendations for how policy and/or practice could be changed to make improvements. 

Only by understanding the experiences of children and young people, foster carers and fostering services, and the context in which they are having these experiences, can we produce evidence-based strategies that will actually work.

The Fostering Network is committed to ensuring all of our work is evidence-informed and meets the needs of our members. We are currently developing a research and evidence strategy for the organisation. This strategy will aim to ultimately improve the experiences and outcomes of children and young people in foster care by ensuring that our priorities and activities play a key role in supporting evidence-based policy and practice in foster care across the UK.
 

2. Making a case for change 

By having robust, high-quality evidence we can make strong cases to Government and other key decision makers that change is needed. By using your stories, we can capture policymakers’ attention and help them interpret information. We may present this information in a policy report or briefing. 

Through our influencing and campaigning work, we aim to create a convincing story about how to move the evidence we have collected into action. We might do this in lots of different ways including: 

• meeting with key stakeholders including politicians, civil servants and regulators 
• working with other charities to amplify our calls to action  
• asking our members to share their stories with their elected representatives
• ‘making noise’ about the issue and our calls to action on social media 
• writing accessible and shortened versions of reports as blogs
• getting the attention of the general public through writing press releases and working with journalists on news stories. 
   

3. Policy change 

This activity has resulted in success to secure more money, support and opportunities for children in foster care and those who support them. Your views have fed directly into influencing policy changes and creating these outcomes. 
 

Case study: The Cost of Fostering campaign

Building a strong evidence-base of the issue: 

• Through our State of the Nation 2021 survey, we knew that over a third of foster carers who participated said that their allowances do not meet the full cost of looking after a child – and this was before the cost-of-living crisis hit. 
• From attending forums and through our advice and information services, we were able to collect evidence that our members were feeling the financial pressure, with some even considering giving up fostering. 

Making a case for change: 

• This sparked us to develop a briefing through which we proposed a new fairer funding framework for children and young people in foster care, using up to date evidence to ensure our proposed allowances cover the full cost of caring for a child. 
• The campaign started with an ITV exclusive back in November where our head of policy and campaigns spoke passionately about the Government's responsibility towards foster carers. Watch and read the coverage here. 
• We encouraged our members to write to their elected representatives calling on the Government to increase the national minimum allowance, adding their own experience of how the cost-of-living crisis is impacting them and the children and young people they care for. 
• We posted on our social media channels and encouraged other charities and organisations to support the campaign.
• We also worked with Government officials and other key decision makers, including the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in England team, to make sure they understood the gravity of the issue and what they could do to make a positive difference.

Policy change following our Cost of Fostering campaign: 

• In February 2023, the Government in England announced a historic 12.43 per cent increase in the national minimum allowance from 1 April 2023.  
• Welsh Government also announced an increase in their national minimum allowances of 5.5 per cent from April. We were pleased to see the 0-4 age band was just £3 below our proposed rate and will continue to push for the national minimum allowance to meet our proposed rates. The Welsh Government are also currently conducting a review of the national minimum allowance as we pushed for in our campaign, to determine future payment rates.   
• Northern Ireland will also update their allowances from 1 April, and we are in discussion with Government on reviewing allowances to ensure they meet the full cost of caring for a child in foster care.  
• We continue to strongly campaign for a national minimum allowance to be introduced in Scotland after over a decade of commitments from the Scottish Government. Foster carers and the children they look after are being left behind in Scotland and we are in discussions with COSLA and the Scottish Government to understand how to progress this standstill. We are also working with various MSPs to keep the pressure on Government and are encouraging foster carers to get involved with our campaign here.  

You can read more about the Cost of Fostering here and some of our other recent campaign wins following the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in England here.
 

A big thank you

Thank you to all of you who support our campaigns and share your experience with us, the time you take to do this is hugely appreciated.

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