Since Foster Care Fortnight 2018 Niki Clemo has joined The Fostering Network having previously worked as a senior manager in a children's trust. In this blog Niki shares her unique perspective on Foster Care Fortnight and our work in England.

Children of all ages and backgrounds come into care requiring the nurture and support of a foster family. Whether it is for one night, a few weeks, or their entire childhood, it’s important to have enough foster families to look after these children and to meet each child’s individual needs.

Currently 65,000 children in the UK are living with foster carers. Thousands more foster families are needed this year to give every child who comes into care a stable and loving home. If you think you have what it takes to change a child’s future, keep reading.

Fostering is one of several care options that offers children a home when they are unable to live with their birth family.

Welcome to Foster Care Fortnight^TM 2019 – the UK’s biggest annual fostering awareness campaign, developed and delivered by The Fostering Network.

I was recently asked by a woman’s magazine to write a short article about some of the most harrowing situations I had faced. It’s reproduced below. It was only when I’d written the article and reread it that I realized my most harrowing situations all related to fostering. 

Having been adopted myself and then going on to work in foster care, I know how important good relationships are for looked after children and young people. I am passionate that young people should be supported to stay connected to those they care about when they move on, and have always tried to apply this in my work.

In this blog Susan Soar from our Fostering Potential programme looks at some of the research evidence around the benefits of adults and children reading together and explores three popular children’s books.

Joe is one of the many teenagers who turned their life around entirely after coming into foster care. He came a long way from not having a dream to now wanting to take on Sir Ben Ainslie, one of his biggest role models. Here Joe talks about his career plans as a sailor and why he sees foster carers as game changing for young people’s futures.

For four years Kerry* has fostered babies and toddlers with her husband. Here she explains why she supports our Keep Connected campaign and feels passionately that transitions within and out of the care system must focus on children’s needs and protect their relationships with their foster carers.