Foster Care Fortnight - engaging the media

Foster care Fortnight receives around 900 pieces of media coverage each year, and The Fostering Network is delighted to receive backing of celebrities and politicans from across the UK who lend their support to our campaign.

This page will help fostering services and media teams think through their local media activity as part of their broader Foster Care Fortnight campaign. 

Before you start 
Before you even start thinking about your media and marketing activity for Foster Care Fortnight^TM 2024, it is worth taking the time to do the following: 

Set your objectives

Do you want to focus on recruitment or retention?

Recruiting more foster carers can be challenging, not only in terms of getting the message out to prospective foster carers, but also ensuring the same high quality of handling enquiries when they come in and guiding applicants through the approval process. 

You can also acknowledge a large enough pool of foster carers by thanking them both privately with personal gestures and publicly through a video, open letter or advert. 

If you are recruiting, how many foster carers do you need to recruit during 2024, and how many enquiries you are hoping to generate as a result of Foster Care Fortnight.

Your service should have a projection of how many new foster carers you may need to recruit throughout the next year. Make that clear through your media work and make your statistics as local as possible. 

What kind of skills do you need your new foster carers to have?

It is widely thought that you should get as many enquiries as possible and go from there. However, this uses valuable resources you may not have to spare, so instead refine your message and emphasise the skills that new foster carers will need. 

Do you have a shortage of a particular type of foster carer?

Many people won’t be aware that there are many types of fostering that they can do. In all your media work try to be as clear as possible about what type of foster carers you are looking for - foster carers for teenagers, sibling groups, babies, children with complex needs etc. This will help you attract the right people; but it will also help your fostering teams when it comes to dealing with enquiries and help existing foster carers, some of whom might have 'empty beds', understand why your service is undertaking recruitment activity. 

Know your resources

What is your budget? 

You don’t need a big budget to run a successful Foster Care Fortnight campaign. Social media and traditional media activity are free or low cost, and exisitng foster carers can help spread the word. 

You can also make use of our printable resources. Alternatively, if you have a large budget, the scope for activity is almost endless.

What is important, regardless of your budget, is that you know who you are trying to reach and that you have a compelling 'ask'. Make sure you have a strong case study or two exemplifying the sort of carers you are looking for and which show how foster care transforms lives. 

Involve your press office 

Some fostering services have a dedicated press and marketing team. Others rely on teams which have a broader function. A press office will have established relationships with local media and they will be able to push your foster carers stories. Make sure that you know who the press officer responsible for foster care is and engage them in your work. They're probably very busy, so won't always come to you if you don't go to them.

We will be providing a template press release the week before Foster Care Fortnight which will link in with our national news story, which you can adapt to meet your needs. Alert your press office to the face that this will be coming and make sure they are sent to the press office as soon as you have it. Of course, you don't need to wait for our release. You can start thinking about local media work now, drafting a press release which will support your objectives.

Can you find some great case studies of young people who had their futures changes as a result of being fostered? Or some foster cares who say their lives are completely different as a result of fostering.

You'll also see that we are hoping to engage people outside of fostering by a variety of authentic stories from people who are involved with fostering.You could involve local celebrities and politicians, by asking them about their knowledge of what fostering is and encouraging them to participate in the campaign through social media support and by appearing in photos, to get some media coverage for your local Foster Care Fortnight activity. 

Engage your foster carers 

Your foster carers are your best recruiters and storytellers, especially if they feel well supported and respected by your service.  

They’re the heart of what you do, and can really win people over, especially if they feel committed to your service.

With your full support, get them involved in work with journalists, camera and film crews, and get them talking about how incredible foster care is - and how foster care has transformed their lives. 

Look back

Ask your current foster carers how they found you, and why they chose to foster for your service. If your foster carers came to you through word of mouth, then it could be considered an unnecessary expense to run an online advertising campaign. 
What has worked for you before? For example, if a stall in your local shopping centre has year on year proved to be your most fruitful activity, then don’t shy away from that.  

Instead, hold your event, and ask someone to take pictures on your behalf which can be shared through your authority, trust, or organisation’s social media channels. 

How to engage the media locally

The media can provide a huge boost to any Foster Care Fortnight campaign, but the media landscape is changing - there was a time where you could send a press release to your local newspaper, or ask them in for a photo call, and they would come. This approach can still be effective, especially if you already have a strong relationship with your local media, but this isn’t as successful as it used to be. 

Make contact early

As you approach Foster Care Fortnight you may wish to contact, or you may be contacted by, your local newspaper in regard to providing expert editorial for their publication. By doing this you can control your message and gain media coverage. But, be warned, the strategy may not always work as some newspapers may request that you take advertising space around your article. And while newspaper advertising may form part of your recruitment strategy, there are free alternatives. 

Many local and regional newspapers and magazines will produce a Foster Care Fortnight supplement. Within this supplement they will publish advertisements and editorial. Usually if you do not pay for an advertisement within the supplement, they will not accept any editorial for the supplement from you – however it is worth asking. 

Even if you decide not to buy advertising space in the supplement, it is still worth sending any news or stories you have about fostering to the news desk as usually they’re not connected to the advertising team. If you have undertaken an analysis of your enquiries from previous Foster Care Fortnights, and considered your budget, then you will be able to decide whether you wish to spend all/some of your budget on advertising within the supplement. Be aware that supplements won’t be ‘exclusive’. They will have contacted every fostering service working in your area and so there is the potential that you will be joining other campaigns like yours, rather than standing out from the pack. 

Please note that The Fostering Network does not actively endorse any supplements, though on occasion we may provide editorial. If a publication suggests otherwise, please email media@fostering.net

News release

A news release is a free and engaging way of communicating your messages to the local media. Just before the start of the fortnight, The Fostering Network’s media team will share the angle of our national news story with members in confidence and under strict embargo.  

We will share recruitment targets for each region before Foster Care Fortnight, which you can use to shape your own press release. However you don’t have to wait for these figures. You can start thinking about local media work now, drafting a press release which will support your objectives. Can you find some great case studies of young people who have had a positive experience of being fostered? Or foster carers who say how much their lives have been changed for the better as a result of fostering? This will give you the opportunity to link in with us and build this into your local activity.

Make sure your press release includes: 

• basic ‘jargon-free’ facts and figures about fostering in your area statistics on the number of children in care
• specific information about the type of foster carers you are looking for
• FAQs about fostering
• example case studies of foster carers or care experienced young people who would be willing to be interviewed
• a clear link to your objectives for Foster Care Fortnight so that you are linking in with the rest of your work  
• If possible, quotes of support from local celebrities or those endorsing the national campaign 
• your contact details and/or those of your press office.

Send a letter to the editor

The letters pages in local newspapers are very well read and generate plenty of discussion. Letters could be sent from foster carers, lead councillors, your chief executive, directors, the chair of your local foster care association or a care experienced young person.  

Features and articles

Encourage a features writer to look at a fostering issue in your area in more detail, including case studies of foster carers or young people to bring the story to life. Alternatively, you could offer an article explaining why you need more foster carers. Lots of interesting examples will make it a good read. This will need to be done well in advance of Foster Care Fortnight so prepare this as early as possible. 

Social media

Ask foster carers to write a blog for you about their experiences of fostering - aiming to link in with the aims of your campaign and why they would encourage others to think about becoming a foster carer or why they think fostering is so important. Blogs from young people are also very powerful and can easily be anonymised to keep their identity private. Use your Twitter and Facebook accounts to share that it is Foster Care Fortnight (we have some digital resources to help you do that) and ask your foster carers to use their social media channels to promote your local campaign. Make use of the hashtag #FCF24 on all your social media communications. 

Incoming calls

Even if you are not planning any events or are not getting involved in this year’s campaign, you may still receive incoming calls from journalists as a result of heightened awareness of fostering. It is therefore advisable to spend some time preparing key facts and figures and ensuring spokespeople (staff and foster carers) are free to speak to the media at short notice. Helping the media in this way can enable you to develop good relationships for the future. 

Please note - Foster Care Fortnight is run by, and trademarked by, The Fostering Network. Please ensure you mention The Fostering Network in any media work you undertake for Foster Care Fortnight. The simplest way, perhaps, is to call the fortnight 'The Fostering Network's Foster Care Fortnight' the first time you mention it. Please ensure you use Foster Care Fortnight and not Fostering Fortnight. 

Developing a media plan

The energy of the national Foster Care Fortnight campaign always leads to a heightened interest in fostering amongst local media. Taking the time to plan will ensure your fostering service can maximise this interest and achieve quality coverage to raise awareness of your need for more foster families.   

Make sure you are linking in with the objectives of your service in the way that you talk about fostering, the foster carer and young people case studies that you choose.

Identify your audience 

What types of foster care do you need to provide - long-term, short break? What groups of children do you need to look after - teenagers, siblings? What type of people do you need - age group, gender, experience? What skills and qualities do they need? What can you offer them as a fostering package? What media do they consume? 

Target your coverage 

Ask your foster carers what they read, listen to and watch. Think outside of traditional media. Consider free newspapers, online forums and websites, faith magazines, and newsletters from voluntary and community organisations, schools and big employers in your area. 

Let them know it’s coming 

Send a diary notice now to your local media outlets, giving them the dates for Foster Care Fortnight (13-26 May 2023) and your contact details.

Develop a good local story 

For this you should consider: 

• Including a call to action. 
• Using local facts and figures to support your message, such as how many foster carers you need or the increase in the number of children coming into care. 
• Involving a local celebrity, or you lead councillor or mayor
•  Using a quirky or unusual angle – but not too odd. 
• Linking to the objectives of your fostering service theme and The Fostering Network’s news story. 
• Keeping it simple. 
• Giving a human interest angle - find case studies reflecting the sort of foster carers you need.

Involve your foster carers and young people 

Word-of-mouth is the most effective way to get people interested in fostering so try to encourage your foster carers and young people to share their experiences of fostering with the media. Don’t forget, because your fostering service will have treated your foster carers well throughout the year, they will only say positive things about your service. There is no need to stop your foster carers speaking to the press, in fact, you should encourage them to by putting them in touch with your press office. 

There is plenty to consider with case study stories, so here are some useful hints and tips: 

• Follow up after an interview to check that the case study thought it went well and the reporter has everything they need
• Journalists will ask for
• Finding case studies can take time, so start looking now
• Find a good spread of case studies from across your area as the media will be looking for someone in their circulation area. 
• Offer reporters case studies with an interesting story – did they have an unusual reason for becoming a foster carer? Did they change careers? 
• Challenge perceptions about who can foster by offering the media stories of single, male or relatively young foster carers, for example.  
• Make sure your foster carers are well-briefed and journalists know what they can report to respect confidentiality. 

Join in with the national campaign 

At the start of the campaign, The Fostering Network’s media team will share the angle for our national news story with our members in confidence and under strict embargo. If your local media activity uses #FCF24 then you can be sure that you will fit in with the national campaign. 

Tips for maximising media coverage and increasing its quality:

• Brief spokespeople before interviews so they know the key messages, and have the facts and figures at their fingertips.  
• Always be prepared for tricky questions – think what might come up and work with your press office to have agreed responses. 
• Be available - journalists have tight deadlines, so make sure you can be easily reached and that colleagues and foster caers are prepared to be contacted.
• Make sure you have mobile numbers for the people you’ll need to reach. 
• Respect confidentiality - remind foster carers not to give out names of children in their care and keep details about them general. Explain to journalists that it is vital they do not identify any fostered children. 
• Discuss your ideas with your press office ASAP – the more time to work together the better. 

Helping us help you

The Fostering Network works throughout the year to keep the media spotlight on fostering and generates substantial media coverage throughout Foster Care Fortnight and beyond. By organising Foster Care Fortnight, The Fostering Network is working for you. We want to help raise awareness about the transformational power of fostering more generally so that you can run a more successful media campaign on a local level. To do this though, we need your support. 

 

Sharing your stories 

As well as appearing in your local media, your foster carers and care experienced young people can get involved in the work we are doing nationally. We get a lot of requests for case studies from national media, so if you have any great examples of people's whose lives have been transformed by foster care please do share them with us.  The foster carers and young people we have worked with tell us they have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to share their stories about fostering and encourage others to come forward. 

We are always looking for inspirational stories of fostering families and care experienced young people. To suggest a case study email media@fostering.net 

Need help? 

If you are a member of The Fostering Network and need support or advice with your Foster Care Fortnight media work, please email media@fostering.net and we will do our best to help.