The Fostering Network Wales is pleased that the National Assembly for Wales recommendations to the Welsh Government has put a renewed focus on support for care leavers seeking employment, following our response to the National Assembly’s Enterprise and Business Committee’s inquiry on assisting young people into work last November. 

The Fostering Network Wales has submitted its response to the Welsh Government’s consultation Talk to me 2: Draft Suicide and Self Harm Prevention Strategy and Action Plan for Wales, where we have set out the specific needs of children and young people in care and care leavers, and the importance of working with foster carers in addressing suicide and self-harm.

The UK’s leading fostering charity, The Fostering Network, is pleased to announce that Kevin Williams will be taking up the role of chief executive in early summer 2015.

LGBT Adoption and Fostering Week 2015 is taking place from Monday 2 March to Sunday 8 March 2015, and is run by the UK’s largest network for LGBT adopter’s and foster carers, the charity New Family Social.

Mockingbird uses the concept of a dedicated ‘hub home’ of specially recruited and trained carers offering respite care, peer support, regular joint planning and social activities to a ‘constellation’ of six to 10 families of foster and kinship carers living in close proximity.

The Fostering Network has called for foster carers across the UK to be treated and paid as professional members of the team to enable them to look after children effectively, following the release of our State of the Nation’s Foster Care survey.

London Fostering Achievement is inviting young people living with foster families who are members of The Fostering Network to share their artwork with us by entering our exciting new competition: The Transition Project! 

The award ceremony is held annually to recognise the work of foster carers and kinship carers, and last year inspirational couple Margaret and Jackie McCarragher were presented with their foster carer of the year award by Michelle McIlveen MLA, who hosted the event in the Great Hall in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Responding to the statement made by the Welsh Government, Raising the ambitions and educational attainment of children who are looked after in Wales, Dr Emily Warren, director of The Fostering Network Wales, said:

In this General Election year The Fostering Network is calling on you to register to vote, and to raise with your parliamentary candidates the issues highlighted in our manifesto which reflect what we believe needs to change to improve foster care for everybody.