Friday 2 February 2024 marked a year since the government’s publication of Stable Homes Built on Love (SHBL). The strategy sets out the government’s plans for reforming children’s social care in England. It was released as a response to the recommendations from multiple high-profile reviews produced in 2022 on children’s social care, including those in the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, led by Josh MacAlister. See our responses to the review.  

Jacqueline and her husband John have two big passions in life – running and fostering. So when they decided to brainstorm ways they could raise awareness of fostering, it only seemed right to use their regular Saturday morning parkruns – a community 5k run - as a platform to spread the word far and wide.

At the end of October we celebrated National Care Leavers week to help raise awareness of the challenges young people face when they leave the care system. Chief executive at The Fostering Network, Sarah Thomas, summarises some of the events that took place to support NCLW, including our annual #TickTheBox campaign.

Twin sisters Olivia and Candice grew up in a fostering household and they loved the fun and diversity it brought to their home. Now adults, they have reflected on the impact fostering had on them and how it’s shaped them into the people they are today.

Corinne Masheder is an occupational therapist who helps people overcome challenges so that they can live independently at home, at work and everywhere else, empowering people to participate in everyday life activities. 

Whilst at university earlier this year, she started to think about how occupational therapy could help children in care who face unfair barriers to participation in activities. One taboo topic came into focus – menstruation. She explains how without the right products and education, periods can be a particularly debilitating part of the month for young people in care.