News

Yesterday Professor Ray Jones published his interim recommendations at the half-way stage of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in Northern Ireland. You can read them here.  

Staff and trustees of The Fostering Network are deeply saddened by news of the death of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II, today (8 Sep 2022).

On behalf of everyone associated with the charity, I offer our heartfelt condolences to The Royal Family at this time.

Kevin Williams, chief executive, The Fostering Network
 

The Department of Health (Northern Ireland) have published details of the uplift to foster care allowances for 2022/23 in Northern Ireland. The increase is on average 3 per cent, comparable to national minimum allowances in England (outside of London and the South East). 

It has been well documented that this year, all families are facing unprecedented increases in their cost of living, with inflation currently at 10.1 per cent.  

A survey of foster carers conducted by FosterWiki has highlighted the serious financial pressures on the sector as the cost of living crisis continues to mount. This echoes the findings of our State of the Nation 2021 survey of over 3,000 foster carers, which showed that for over a third of foster carers their allowances do not meet the full cost of looking after a child. 

Today sees the publication of the final report of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in England. The report calls for £2.6bn to implement a ‘fundamental reset of the system to improve the quality of life for children, their families and those in care.’  

Foster Care Fortnight 2022, the largest celebration of fostering in Northern Ireland and the UK's biggest fostering awareness raising campaign, was launched on Monday 9 May at an event in Gracehall, Lurgan, by The Fostering Network in partnership with HSC NI Foster Care. The launch included a call for more foster carers throughout Northern Ireland. 

Across Northern Ireland, around 265 more fostering families are needed to make sure every child who is not able to live with their own family gets the care they need from foster carers within their own community. 

Too often, due to a lack of foster carers, children are placed with foster families away from their local communities, and sibling groups are separated, the UK’s leading fostering charity, The Fostering Network, warns.

This issue is highlighted during Foster Care FortnightTM (9-22 May), the charity’s annual awareness raising campaign, as they call for more people to come forward to foster, to ensure that children in need of a foster home can be cared for locally.

Last week the Government in England published two papers setting out plans for the education system, The Schools White Paper Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child and the SEND Review: Right support, right place, right time.  

The Fostering Network is delighted to welcome Jacqueline Cassidy as its new director for practice and Scotland. 

Last week the Government made an announcement about a package of support in England for vulnerable families. The Fostering Network welcomes the additional £302 million to create new Family Hubs in England and urges those local authorities implementing the Hubs to ensure that they provide early intervention to those children in foster care who need it, alongside their peers.