National call to recruit more foster carers launched at Number 10

More children in the care system in England will get the loving, supportive homes they need as the government calls on people to open their hearts and homes to some of the most vulnerable children in society.

A new national recruitment campaign – the first of its kind in England – will encourage adults to consider fostering, highlighting the fact that all kinds of different people can foster.

The campaign launch was marked by a celebration event at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday 13 October, bringing together foster carers frontline workers and people with lived experience of care.

The new campaign will target adults in their 30s and 40s who have the values and capacity to foster but may never have seriously considered it, supporting the government’s ambition to create 10,000 new foster care places by the end of this Parliament

There are more routes into fostering than ever before, but recent DfE polling found that too many adults are ruling themselves out before they find out more. The polling found that two thirds (66%) of people believe they could be a good foster carer if practical barriers were removed.

To enable more people to become foster carers, the DfE is providing £88 million of funding to reform fostering, including £12.4 million for the fostering innovation fund which will trial new models of foster care, such as short term ‘respite fostering’ or fostering at weekends, to open it up to a wider range of people.

The number of approved foster carers has fallen by 12% since 2019, while the number of children needing care has increased. This is why the government aims to create 10,000 new foster places by the end of this parliament.

Children’s Minister Josh MacAlister said:

Fostering changes lives, not just for the children who finally get the stability and love every child deserves, but for the carers themselves, who tell us it’s one of the most rewarding things they’ve ever done.

Right now, thousands of children need that chance, and that’s exactly what our national campaign is about: cracking fostering open to ordinary people across England who have the values, the commitment, and the love to foster.

This is part of a bigger reset of children’s social care, one that puts loving, stable relationships back at the heart of the system.

Rachel Cole, CEO of Black Foster Carers Alliance, said:

Too many Black children in care grow up without anyone around them who reflects who they are. Black Foster Carers Alliance exists to change that, by recruiting, supporting and retaining the carers those children need.

UnLtd’s support gave us the backing to grow that work nationally, and its new fostering accelerator will continue to boost the impact of founders working in this sector. Social entrepreneurs bring something the system can’t manufacture: trust.

Dame Carol Homden, CEO of Coram, said:

We are pleased to support the government’s campaign encouraging more people to consider a life-changing role in foster care, enabling more children and young people to grow up in safe and supportive families.

Coram’s own research indicates there is a substantial pool of people open to becoming foster carers if we support them through the process and help them to thrive as a foster family.

The campaign is an important step in realising the ambitious plans to ensure every child has the support they need in family care, now and in the future.

Mark Norbury, Chief Executive at UnLtd, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs said:

A stronger fostering system will require both more foster placements and innovative, inclusive approaches to supporting children, young people and carers. Social entrepreneurs often come up with the most effective and lasting solutions to complex social challenges thanks to their direct experience of issues.

Through our new fostering accelerator, supported by the Henry Smith Foundation, UnLtd is empowering social entrepreneurs to grow ventures that help create a more inclusive, caring and sustainable future for fostering across the UK.

The launch event at Number 10 was attended by public figures with experience of the care system, including former NFL star Efe Odaba, care-experienced broadcaster and author Ashley John-Baptiste, and TOWIE star Lydia Bright.

The campaign follows the launch of the Fostering Action Plan by the Children’s Minister in February and the launch of the Enduring Relationships Programme in June.

It is supported by further reforms to fostering, including a new rulebook for foster carers that humanises the decision-making process, digital tools to speed up recruitment, and funding for innovative and more flexible new approaches to fostering. Over 70% of local authorities are now part of a Fostering Hub, showing real progress.

All of this is intended to make it easier not just to become a foster carer but also to ensure that existing carers are better supported and can understand the processes behind fostering at every stage.

The government is also announcing today the programmes receiving funding through the Fostering Innovation Fund, designed to test dynamic, more flexible new approaches to delivering foster care and build evidence about what works in fostering.

The 11 successful programmes include programmes focused on recruiting weekend foster carers, supporting carers through allegations, parent-and-child fostering, therapeutic training, increasing diversity among foster carers and helping children move from residential care into foster families where this meets their needs.