The Fostering Network is awarded Fosterline contract

The Fostering Network is awarded Fosterline contract 13 July 2023   The Fostering Network, the UK’s leading fostering charity, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded the contract to deliver The Fosterline Service, commissioned by the Department for Education.   Fosterline England is a free and confidential service, offering advice and information to […]

Increase in Qualifying Care Relief

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced increased tax relief for foster and shared lives carers, improved support for care leavers and enhanced help for disabled people to enter the workplace, in his Spring Budget. This is in addition to the announcement that in England, above-inflation rises in the National Minimum Fostering allowances will be implemented from […]

Regulating supported accommodation for looked after children and care leavers: DfE Consultation – England

The Department for Education (DfE) is seeking views on proposed regulations that will introduce quality standards and registration and inspection requirements for providers of supported accommodation for looked after children and care leavers aged 16 and 17 (also referred to as independent, semi-independent or unregulated provision). The DfE is inviting views through three main sections […]

Family Review Part II: The importance of siblings for children in care

The children’s commissioner has shared her vision around how children in care can be best supported in their relationships with siblings. ‘In Part One of my Family Review I wanted to make sure we spoke to children in all kinds of families – those made up of married parents, blended families, single parents and more. […]

Applying behavioural insights to fostering and adoption in England

The Department for Education has published research on how behavioural influences on fostering and adoption recruitment can be used to encourage the recruitment of quality foster carers and adopters. The research explores the motivations and difficulties faced when recruiting foster carers and adopters. The research takes into account: existing literature and stakeholders in the system […]

Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board to close this month

From Community Care: DfE says it is considering the best structures to deliver on the recommendations of the care review, which called for greater focus on kinship carers not covered by board’s remit. The Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board (ASGLB) will close this month, the Department for Education has confirmed. The DfE said it […]

Fostering World Cup Challenge

Football like fostering bring communities together. That’s why , to coincide with the global FIFA World Cup Football tournament , 26 council fostering teams from across the nation have joined together to form ‘Local Councils United’ – a virtual team calling out the benefits for people fostering children with their local councils. This is the Fostering […]

Statistics: Children looked after in England including adoptions

The Department for Education (DfE) has released statistics providing information on looked after children in England in 2021/2022. The figures reveal the number of children looked after by local authorities in England stood at 82,170 in 2022 compared to 80,780 in 2021, an increase of 2%. This release provides information on children looked after (CLA) […]

How local authorities plan for sufficiency: children in care and care leavers

A report on how local authorities plan for sufficiency of accommodation that meets the needs of children in care and care leavers. In summer 2022, Ofsted investigated how local authorities fulfil their sufficiency duty and how they know if it works. They explored the challenges and barriers that local authorities face when planning for sufficiency […]

Children’s Commissioner: Vision for care leavers – England

The Children’s Commissioner for England has published her ‘vision for care leavers’ that lays out what can be done to improve care leaver outcomes. Her recommendations include: Enable all care leavers to access the training, further or higher education, and job that they want through sharing best practice and increasing financial support. Improve care leavers’ […]