Last week the Children’s Minister in England wrote to all English local authorities asking them to prioritise adoption as the best long-term option for looked after children. This blog from our chief executive, Kevin Williams, explains why we came out so firmly against the letter.

With a new year of raising funds beckoning us, we caught up with Nicky and Anne who work at Jancett Childcare and Training. Jancett Childcare spent a year fundraising for The Fostering Network and it highlights the success an organisation can have when they combine fundraising with their own calendar of events.

On behalf of The Fostering Network may I wish you a very peaceful and happy 2020, and thank you for all that you do every day for children and young people living in foster care. Thank you too for working alongside us as together we seek to make foster care the very best it can be for fostered children and young people and the families caring for them.

2019 has been fundraising-tastic here at The Fostering Network! It’s been brilliant to work with many of you on your fundraising journeys – we are extremely grateful to you for raising as much as you can so that we can support those who foster and the children in their care. If you also want to support us this Christmas, please read on.

Last week Ofsted, the organisation responsible for inspecting fostering services and local authorities in England, released their annual data relating to English fostering. As always, there is a lot to take note of in the data, so below are nine things we think are worth highlighting:

The Children Act 1989 was a landmark law for England and Wales giving every child the right to protection from abuse and exploitation and set out ways to safeguard their welfare. Colleagues at The Fostering Network reflect on the Act 30 years on.

It is widely recognised that the relationships of care experienced children and young people need to be prioritised, yet our latest report Not Forgotten: The importance of keeping in touch with former foster carers outlines that too often this is not happening when a child or young person moves on from their foster family.

Diana Omokore is a medical science student at De Montfort University with the goal of becoming a paediatric surgeon. In this blog Diana tells us how she managed to focus on her education despite a number of moves between foster families and why she loves university. 

Finlay’s parents became foster carers over a decade ago and even though he has moved out already, the 26-year-old is still very involved in his family’s fostering. Finlay is certain that he became the person he is today thanks to his upbringing. He considers fostering a gift worth giving and argues that foster carers need to be more heard and supported better.