Reflecting on Foster Care Fortnight
As Foster Care Fortnight draws to a close, we want to thank foster carers for the enormous role they have in providing stable, loving homes for children across the country. Over the fortnight, we have shared some of the work we have been doing and highlighted the importance of working closely with foster carers. We also want to thank our Foster Carer Advisory Committee (FCAC) who have been invaluable in helping us ensure that policy, practice and people remain connected, and that those with real-life experience retain influence in the processes that affect them.
This year’s theme, This Is Fostering, brought together three key messages: celebrating the impact of foster carers, recognising the challenges they face, and calling for meaningful change in the system that improves lives for foster carers and the children they care for. It also offered a chance to focus on the support carers need, alongside wider conversations about recruitment and retention, as well as listening to the realities of fostering to enable meaningful change.
We were delighted that members of our Foster Carer Advisory Committee met the Minister for Children and Families, Josh MacAlister, at the Coram Campus during Foster Care Fortnight for his announcement of the new Fostering Innovation Fund. The £12.6 million fund aims to reverse the decline in foster carer numbers by investing in new models of fostering. It was fantastic to see our committee engaging with the Minister and sharing their experiences and ideas that would support retention.
In the second week of the fortnight, we attended an event at the Houses of Parliament for the launch of the new Good Practice Guide from Foundations, co-hosted with The Fostering Network, foster carers and policymakers. We were particularly pleased that CoramBAAF consultants Ellie Johnson and Emma Fincham were members of the advisory group that helped develop the guide. The publication is an important resource for fostering services looking to improve support for carers and help children achieve better outcomes.
Part of improving the foster care system is improving inclusivity. This week we launched our latest Practice Note: Recruiting LGBTQ+ foster carers. It is essential that we recognise there is no single type of foster carer, and that we must ensure everyone with the skills and ability to foster is encouraged and supported to provide the stable, loving homes that children must have. This is a thread that was picked up at our fostering conference and reiterated in our recent CYP Now piece exploring what fostering panels provide and what can be improved upon.
Foster Care Fortnight may be over, but the conversations continue. Whether influencing policy, improving practice, providing better support, or widening participation, foster carers’ experiences must be central to the fostering reform agenda. We are grateful to all foster carers and FCAC members for their insight and commitment, and we look forward to continuing this work together in the months ahead.