Please see below for details of when The Fostering Network’s help and advice lines are closed over the Christmas period.

Kevin Williams, chief executive of The Fostering Network, said in response to an opinion piece published in The Times* and written by Alice Thomson: 

Kevin Williams, chief executive of The Fostering Network, said in response to the publication of research from the University of Lancaster: “We know that when some people who become parents are not provided with appropriate support, then there is a huge risk that their children will become subject to care proceedings. It is especially vital that people who have already had a child taken into care receive support that meets their individual needs to ensure that their risk of becoming pregnant, until they are in a position to best support a child, is reduced.

The Fostering Network in Wales has published a new resource aimed at answering questions regarding the implementation of When I am Ready amendment, part of Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act, which comes into force in April 2016.

Kevin Williams, chief executive of The Fostering Network, says in response to the release of today’s Ofsted figures on children in foster care: “The Fostering Network believes that with a rising number of children coming into foster care, and a reduction in the number of fostering households, the Government in Westminster cannot continue to promote its hierarchy of care which has seen major investment in adoption while fostering has received little.

The Fostering Network welcomes the publication of a new report that shows that stable foster care is providing a boost to the educational achievements of children and young people, compared with those who are in need and stay living with troubled families, a new report has revealed.

The Fostering Network is proud to have been awarded the Children and Young People Now ‘Children in Care Award’ for our London Fostering Achievement programme, delivered in partnership with Achievement for All.

The Fostering Network is delighted to today be welcoming HRH The Duchess of Cambridge to the 2015 Fostering Excellence Awards to celebrate the role of the fostering community in providing support to children and young people.

The Fostering Network Wales has launched a report into the views of foster carers regarding what they believe is needed to raise the ambitions and educational outcomes of the young people in their care.

The report, entitled What is Needed to Enable Looked After Children to Achieve in Education? was commissioned by Welsh Government and follows consultations and a survey with foster carers carried out by The Fostering Network.

In response to the launch of a consultation on Draft Decision Making Guidance for Foster Carers in Scotland, Sara Lurie, director of The Fostering Network in Scotland, said: ‘We are delighted to see the Scottish Government’s draft decision making guidance, and thank all those who have worked so hard in drafting it.