Fostering Kinship Support

Fostering Kinship Support

The Fostering Kinship Support programme supports kinship families with their wellbeing and skills to grow and sustain happy and healthy family relationships, all with the aim of improving outcomes for children and carers. 

The programme currently operates regionally across Northern Ireland, where 55 percent of children and young people in foster care live in an approved kinship placement, and all approved kinship carers are members of The Fostering Network. 

Partnership is at the heart of the programme, with The Fostering Network working with all five Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland, other organisations and most importantly the families involved. 

More Information

For more information about Fostering Kinship Support contact the Northern Ireland team on 028 9070 5056 or email either Helen.Ramsey@fostering.net or Jade.Irwin@fostering.net.  

For media enquiries regarding Fostering Kinship Support, please email The Fostering Network's media team or phone 020 7620 6441. 

Find out more about our wider work in Northern Ireland.

Objectives of the programme

The Fostering Kinship Support programme takes a nurturing, needs-led and strengths-based approach, working collaboratively with families to: 

• improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people living in kinship care, and their kinship carers
• build a portfolio of skills that reflect enhanced life skills, confidence and personal development
• enable participation of kinship families in activities that combat isolation and increase social connectedness within communities. 

With the number of children living in kinship care rising across the UK, it is a priority for The Fostering Network to provide quality support for kinship foster families and to see this service further grow and develop. 

Impact of the programme

​​ More than 300 children and young people and more than 300 kinship foster carers have been supported. Feedback shows that:

• 98 per cent of families feel more connected and less isolated as a result of engaging with this programme.
• 60 per cent of participants engaged with more intensive learning and mentoring workshops and activities to develop skills, grow wellbeing and improve relationships.
• 52 reported that the programme had supported them to work with the wider team around the child more effectively.