More foster carers for brighter futures
CFC welcomes the Government’s new national campaign to encourage more people to consider fostering.
Every child deserves the opportunity to grow up feeling safe, loved and understood. Every child deserves the chance to build trusting relationships, develop a sense of belonging and feel hopeful about their future. We feel like these sentiments are about as far from radical or contentious as you can possibly get.
But if you’ve been following us for any length of time, you already know that these fundamental necessities are not the reality for every child and young person. For children who cannot live with their birth families, finding that safe and supportive home is not always straightforward. As an independent charity, we will always strive to lift up our communities by recruiting as many local carers as possible, to ensure that young people in our areas of operation don’t need to be pulled away from everything that is familiar to them in a time when so much is already in a state of instability and change.
We do everything we can, but we’re not naïve enough to think that one localised fostering charity is going to fix the nationwide need for more foster carers all on it’s own.
That is why we welcome the Government’s new national fostering recruitment campaign, launched at 10 Downing Street on 13 October 2026. The campaign aims to encourage more people to consider fostering, supporting the Government’s ambition to create 10,000 additional foster care places in England by the end of this Parliament.
You can read the Department for Education’s announcement to find out more.
We believe this is an important opportunity to start more conversations about fostering, challenge the assumptions that prevent people from considering it, and help more children find the families they need. But we also know that fostering is about much more than providing a spare bedroom. It is about building relationships that can change the course of a child’s life.
A blunt & simple fact:
More people need to consider fostering
The Government’s campaign highlights something we believe is essential to the future of fostering: people from a wide range of backgrounds, circumstances and family structures can have something valuable to offer a child.
The Department for Education reports that its polling found 66% of people believe they could be good foster carers if practical barriers were removed. Yet many people rule themselves out before finding out more.
You might think you need to have children of your own, be in a particular type of relationship or have a specific family set-up. You might wonder whether fostering could fit around your work or other commitments.
The reality is that there are different ways to foster, which is something we believe isn’t adequately communicated enough to the public. We frequently find ourselves chatting to enquirers that seem surprised to hear that fostering can range from the long term, short term, or planned breaks. The first step is finding out what might work for you.
What matters most is a willingness to learn, to understand a child’s experiences, to work with others and to offer the care and commitment fostering requires.
We want people to feel able to ask questions without feeling they have to make a decision. An informal conversation can help you explore what fostering involves, understand the support available and decide whether it might be right for you.
You do not need to have all the answers before you get in touch.
Finding foster carers is only part of the picture
Encouraging more people to come forward is an important first step. But recruiting foster carers is only part of the picture if we’re going to collectively fill the deficit of current carers throughout the country.
Children who come into foster care may have experienced trauma, neglect, loss or disrupted relationships. These experiences can shape how they understand the world, how they relate to adults and how they communicate their needs.
Sometimes, a child’s behaviour can be difficult to understand. They may struggle to trust, push away the people trying to help, or find it hard to express feelings they have not yet learned to make sense of.
These responses need more than patience alone. They need adults who are supported to look beneath the surface, understand the child’s story and respond with empathy, consistency and curiosity.
This is central to our therapeutic approach to fostering.
At CFC we recognise that foster carers take on a complex and important role. They should not be expected to manage that responsibility alone.
That is why we provide ongoing professional support and opportunities for foster carers to connect, reflect and learn together. We encourage carers and professionals to think carefully about children’s experiences, explore the challenges they face and develop their understanding of what each child needs.
Because when foster carers feel supported, they are better placed to offer children the stability, care and relationships that help them thrive.
Fostering differently:
relationships at the heart of our approach
Therapeutic fostering is not simply a particular intervention or something that happens during a formal session. It informs how we understand children, how we support foster carers and how we work together as a community. Our approach draws on trauma informed practice, therapeutic parenting, psychodynamic thinking, critical reflection and collaborative, relational working.
We believe every interaction is an opportunity to understand, support and learn. This thinking is reflected in four cornerstones that guide our work.
We start with the story
Every child has a story. Understanding that story helps us make sense of their experiences, relationships and behaviour.
Rather than asking only how to stop a particular behaviour, we encourage carers and professionals to consider what a child might be communicating and what they may need from the adults around them.
Understanding comes before judgement.
We stay relational
Relationships are at the heart of fostering.
For children who have experienced loss, instability or trauma, developing trust may take time. Consistent, nurturing relationships can help children begin to feel safe, understood and valued.
We recognise that these relationships need time, commitment and support. Foster carers need people around them who understand the challenges they face and can help them work through difficult moments.
We think together
Fostering can bring complicated feelings and difficult decisions. No single person will always have every answer.
We encourage foster carers and professionals to share perspectives, reflect on challenges and work collaboratively to understand what a child needs.
By thinking together, we can develop a fuller understanding of complex situations and make more thoughtful decisions.
We protect thinking
Good support means creating space to pause, reflect, ask questions and learn.
Through reflective supervision, training and opportunities to connect with other foster carers, we help people develop the confidence and understanding needed to respond thoughtfully, particularly when things feel difficult.
These four cornerstones reflect our belief that therapeutic fostering is not simply about what a carer does. It is also about how we understand children, how we relate to them and how we support the adults caring for them.
You can learn more about our approach on our Fostering Differently page.
It takes a community to help a child thrive
Our name reflects a belief that sits at the heart of everything we do: children thrive when they are surrounded by a community that cares about them.
Foster carers are central to that community, but they should never have to do everything alone.
Social workers, specialist professionals, families, schools and other people in a child’s life can all play an important role in creating stability and supporting their development.
The same principle applies to foster carers themselves. A strong fostering community provides opportunities to share experiences, learn from one another and find support when challenges arise.
As a charity, we are committed to putting children and young people at the heart of our work. We want to see a world where every young person can realise their ambitions and dreams, supported by families and communities that help them build brighter futures.
We also believe fostering should be approached with openness and a willingness to challenge assumptions. Our spirit of doing things differently encourages us to question established ways of working when they are not serving children well, and to remain curious, reflective and committed to better outcomes.
For us, fostering differently is not about being different for its own sake. It is about continually asking what children need, what helps them thrive and how we can do better.
The difference a supportive community can make
“When I’ve been speaking to other foster carers, it’s clear there’s no typical foster carer, and no typical foster child. There is, however, a real need for people to come forward and become foster carers. There are sure to be children wanting your help and support.” ”
Hearing directly from foster carers helps bring this message to life. Every fostering journey is different, but having the opportunity to learn, reflect and access support can make an important difference to the experience of fostering.
We want prospective foster carers to understand both the difference they could make to a child’s life and the support they can expect along the way.
A national campaign, a shared responsibility
The Government’s campaign provides an important opportunity to encourage more people to discover fostering and consider the difference they could make.
We welcome that ambition. We also believe it must be accompanied by a continued commitment to preparing, developing and supporting foster carers throughout their fostering journey.
More foster care places matter. So do the relationships within those homes, the support around those families and the understanding that helps carers respond to children’s individual needs. Recruitment and retention belong together. Helping people take the first step towards fostering is important. However, helping them feel equipped, supported and connected on the other side of the process is just as vital.
We will continue to champion an approach that puts children’s experiences, relationships and futures at the centre of our work.
Every child deserves more than a ‘placement’. They deserve the opportunity to belong. Every person considering fostering deserves the chance to understand what it involves, ask questions and discover whether they could be part of that difference.
Could fostering be for you?
You do not have to know all the answers to take the first step.
If fostering is something you’ve thought about, even just a little, come and talk to us. We’ll answer your questions, help you explore what fostering could look like for you, and tell you about the support you’ll have around you at Community Foster Care.
There is no pressure to make a decision immediately. It’s just an opportunity to find out more.
You can also call us on 0800 0124 278.
Together, we can help more children find the loving, supportive families they deserve.
