Vulnerable children in the care system in England will be provided with more stable and loving homes, thanks to government plans to radically accelerate foster carer recruitment.

The government has committed to tackling the growing shortage of foster carers across England, confirming that a comprehensive package of reforms will be introduced in the new year to increase the number of foster places available and support the retention of existing carers.

The latest figures published by Ofsted highlight the scale of the challenge inherited by this government. At the end of March 2025, there were 33,435 fostering households – a 10% decline since 2021.

Foster carer recruitment is a key area of government reform, with the package of measures addressing the urgent need for more places for children in the social care system.

A lack of foster homes pushes children into residential care, where they have worse expected outcomes in education, health and long-term prospects, and where they can become more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, as highlighted in the Casey Audit.

Over the Christmas period, foster carers are sharing their experiences of welcoming children into their homes. Their stories demonstrate the lasting impact of stable, supportive care, which the government is further strengthening through the landmark Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

Minister for Children and Families, Josh MacAlister, said:

Fostering changes lives – not just for children who need safety, stability and love, but for the families who open their homes to them.

We know the number of foster carers has been falling, and that is why this government will be taking decisive action to give stable and loving homes to children that need them.

The festive season highlights the urgent need to get more children in care into loving, supportive homes where they can thrive – I’d urge anyone who has considered fostering to look into signing up.

The fostering reforms to be introduced early in the new year will be backed by new funding for children’s social care announced at the Spending Review and will focus on:

• Expanding who can become foster carers, removing unnecessary barriers and enabling more people with full-time jobs or families of their own to offer foster care, and removing unnecessary barriers
• Better supporting carers to fit fostering around busy family and working lives
• Developing innovative models of fostering, informed by insights from foster carers and frontline practitioners.

These reforms will expand the pool of potential foster carers, enabling more children to find places in foster homes. They will also ensure existing foster carers receive better support to help them continue delivering for children.

Further details will be set out in the new year, with a consultation expected to launch in early 2026.

Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said:

Children in care deserve the same things as every other child: loving relationships, a safe home and support throughout their life that sets them up to meet their ambitions – and these are the things they tell me they want.

Too often they are denied these things because of a shortage of safe, caring homes. No child should be considered too complex for foster care, but instead of living with a foster carer who can provide high-quality care and therapeutic support, many of our most vulnerable children are placed in unregistered accommodation with no scrutiny over standards, or left to fend for themselves in semi-independent housing, miles from the homes and people they know.

I look forward to working closely with Minister MacAlister to set ambitious targets for increasing the number of foster carers in this country, so that every child feels the benefit of a homely, family environment.

This festive season, the government is urging people who are able to foster to consider doing so.

Foster carers are sharing their experiences of welcoming children into their homes, demonstrating that fostering can be rewarding and that carers do not need to fit a traditional mould to provide excellent care.

Around Christmas, routines change and feelings of loneliness and uncertainty can be heightened for children in care. This highlights the ongoing need for stable, supportive placements with carers who can access support including a weekly fostering allowance, training and advice networks.

Amy Burns, founder of Messy Fostering, was fostered at 14 and spent summers with her teacher Jo, who stepped in to support. Her experience illustrates how fostering can succeed outside conventional family structures.

Amy Burns said:

The simple truth is that fostering saved my life… That’s it. At 14, I had already been let down by so many adults.

I suddenly found myself surrounded by adults who not only taught me how to advocate for myself, but were there to catch me when things weren’t going quite right.

Fostering isn’t simple or easy but I was finally safe and I slowly learned how to breathe again.

The government will continue to work closely with local authorities, fostering agencies and carers to ensure that the 2026 reforms deliver a sustainable, high-quality fostering system that meets the needs of children now and in the future.