At The Fostering Network we are fortunate to be guided by a brilliant board of 12 trustees, each bringing their own experience of the care system, with most having direct experience of foster carers. To mark Trustees' Week 2026, Paul has written about his life as a foster carer, how it informs his role on our board and his passion for ensuring young people receive the right support beyond the age of 18.
Tell me a little about yourself and your connection to fostering.
I’m a partner at Bates Wells, where I specialise in employment law. Bates Wells has a particular focus on advising charities and purpose-driven organisations, so charities make up a large part of my client base.
Outside work, I’m married to Amanda, dad to Edmund and stepdad to David, who has given Amanda and me two lovely grandchildren. We also have Parry, our Jack Russell, who is very much part of the family.
Amanda and I have been fostering since April 2018. We were approved on a Friday and almost immediately asked if we could look after a 12-year-old girl from the following Wednesday. It was originally supposed to be just for the Easter holidays. She ended up staying with us long term and then through a Staying Put arrangement after she turned 18. She is now 21, very much part of our family, and has recently moved into her own flat. We are still in touch every day, although if I’m honest, she speaks to Amanda rather more than she speaks to me!
After she left home, we had the room and appetite to foster again. We also extended the house, partly to give everyone a bit more space and partly to create another bedroom. Having really enjoyed fostering a teenager, we went on to welcome a 15-year-old boy and, not long afterwards, a 16-year-old girl. Both are now with us long term.
It has been a particularly busy year because Edmund is around the same age, so we had three teenagers all doing their GCSEs at the same time. That probably tells you quite a lot about life in our house!
Why did you decide to become a trustee for The Fostering Network?
I became a trustee of The Fostering Network when my term of office with another charity, Active Luton, came to an end.
As a lawyer who spends much of his professional life advising charities, I think it makes sense to contribute to the sector in a different capacity as a trustee as well. I have always tried to choose charities with a connection to things that actually matter to me personally.
Active Luton was an obvious fit because it provides leisure and wellbeing services in my hometown. When my time there came to an end, The Fostering Network felt like an equally natural choice. Amanda and I foster, so fostering is not something I simply have a professional or abstract interest in. It is a big part of our family life.
That lived experience, combined with my professional experience of working with charities, made The Fostering Network an organisation I was very keen to support.
What does your role as trustee involve?
The role of a trustee is essentially to make sure that the governance and strategy of the organisation are right and that it is delivering on its charitable purpose.
An important part of that is also knowing where the trustee role stops. We are there to provide oversight, support, and challenge, but not to become too involved in the day-to-day executive running of the organisation. We are fortunate to have a very able CEO and executive team to do that.
For me, it is about bringing my own experience to the board where it is useful, while remembering that we are collectively responsible for the organisation rather than there to run it ourselves.
What’s one achievement you’re proud of as a trustee?
It is actually quite difficult to pick out an individual achievement because being a trustee is very much about being part of a wider board. Decisions are collective, and it can be difficult, and perhaps slightly artificial, to single out your own contribution.
I am pleased, though, that I have been able to bring a little of my professional experience as an employment lawyer to the role. Most recently, I have provided some training for the organisation on the new Employment Rights Act and what the changes will mean in practice.
That is one of the nice things about being a trustee. Everyone around the table brings different skills and experiences, and you contribute what you can.
How does your lived experience help shape the decisions you make?
Our own experience of fostering gives me a real passion for doing what is right for the child and being the best advocate you can be for them.
The reality is that the system is under considerable pressure, resources are limited and demand is high. That makes advocacy for the children in our care incredibly important. At the same time, lived experience also gives you an understanding of the practical limitations within the system and of the pressures that foster carers themselves can face.
Fostering can be incredibly rewarding, but it is not always easy. Organisations that support foster carers are therefore hugely important. If, as trustees, we can help The Fostering Network to support foster carers, ultimately, we are helping the children and young people they care for too. That is what really matters.
What is one issue in fostering that you're particularly passionate about?
I am passionate about making sure that children and young people in care are never written off or allowed to fall between the cracks.
Creating an environment in which a young person can flourish is incredibly important, but so is allowing them to develop at their own pace. Turning 18 does not suddenly make somebody ready to navigate adulthood by themselves. The support available after 18 is not always what it needs to be, and that transition can create a real cliff edge.
For me, the question is quite simple: what would you do if this were your own child? You would not withdraw support on their 18th birthday. You would help them take those steps towards independence at the pace that was right for them, while making sure they knew you were still there when they needed you.
I am also passionate about supporting relationships with birth families wherever that is possible and appropriate. Those relationships can be incredibly important to a young person and should be respected and supported. Unfortunately, that is not always possible. Where it isn't, our view as foster carers is very simple: we are happy to be there for life.
