The government’s recently published policy paper “Renewing Fostering: Homes for 10,000 More Children,” headline message is clear: fostering is in crisis. Recruitment is down, “carers” are leaving, and thousands more homes are urgently needed.
There is no doubt that many local authorities are struggling. Shortages of foster families are real in some areas, and the pressures on children’s services remain intense. But the national picture, while challenging, is not uniform. In some organisations, the story looks very different.
In our own fostering organisations, we have seen an increase in the number of foster parents coming forward and remaining with us. Our stability rates (the measure of how consistently children are able to stay with their families longer term) are among the strongest in the country. This is not the result of a revolutionary new model or a glossy recruitment campaign. It is the product of something far simpler: treating foster parents as the skilled professionals they are, and building an organisation that truly understands fostering from the inside out.
It informs how we support, how we train, how we supervise, how we respond when things at times become a challenge, and how we celebrate success. It means we understand the complexity of family time arrangements, the strain that can come with allegations, the challenges that come with caring deeply, and the profound pride when children thrive.
This gives us a unique ability to stand alongside our foster parents with credibility and empathy. We do not view fostering through a purely procedural lens. We understand the emotional reality, because many of us have lived it ourselves.
Fostering Is Work – Skilled, Demanding Work
There remains a tendency in public discourse to describe fostering primarily as an act of goodwill. It is that. But it is also work, hard, emotionally complex, highly skilled work.
Children who come into care have experienced trauma, instability and loss. Supporting them requires resilience, patience, training and a deep understanding of child development and attachment. It requires foster parents who can work in partnership with schools, social workers, therapists and birth families.
We recognise this by paying our foster parents well. But pay alone is not what retains people. What matters most is that they feel valued, respected and included. We involve them in decision-making. We listen when they raise concerns. We acknowledge the expertise that comes from living the day-to-day reality of fostering.
When foster parents feel like professionals rather than volunteers on the periphery, they stay.
The government paper rightly highlights placement breakdowns as a serious issue. Stability is critical for children’s outcomes. But stability does not happen by accident.
Foster parents need practical support, responsive supervision and access to advice when situations escalate. They need someone at the end of the phone who understands. They deserve to have breaks. They need to know they will be backed, especially during the most difficult moments.
In our experience, when foster parents feel heard and supported, particularly when things are hard, they are far more likely to persevere. That perseverance is what creates stable homes.
Fostering, as the saying goes, takes a village. No foster parent should feel alone.
We receive far more enquiries than we approve each year. Of course not all are able or suitable to foster but for many more, fostering is a long-term ambition that depends on life circumstances.
Many prospective foster parents contact us years before they are truly ready. They may be waiting for their own children to leave home to give them a spare room for fostering. They may be planning an extension to create enough space. They may want to finish their current career before committing fully. This is entirely normal.
Instead of closing the door, we stay connected. We create opportunities for people to speak directly with those who know it best, our foster parents, while offering further information sessions and regular updates. We support individuals in building their knowledge and confidence so that, when the time feels right, they can return to us. Recruitment isn’t always a quick transaction; it’s a relationship that develops over time.
If national figures show high enquiry rates but lower approval rates, that does not automatically signal failure. It may reflect the reality that fostering is a major life decision.
No Silver Bullet – Just Respect
We do not claim to have discovered a groundbreaking solution to the national fostering challenge. Our approach is not a secret formula. It is built on principles that are neither new nor complex: treat people well and give them what they need to do their job.
That means fair pay.
It means high-quality training.
It means consistent, respectful supervision and bespoke support.
It means recognising that foster parents are partners, not peripheral helpers.
And it means grounding practice in real-life experience of fostering itself.
The government’s ambition to secure 10,000 more fostering homes is laudable. But increasing numbers alone will not solve the problem if foster parents continue to feel undervalued or unsupported. Recruitment without retention simply creates churn.
In parts of the country, fostering may well feel like it is in crisis. In others, where investment in foster parents has been sustained, lived experience respected, and relationships prioritised, the picture is more hopeful.
The lesson is not that the challenges are overstated. It is that they are not inevitable.
When foster parents are respected as professionals, supported through difficulty and recognised for the extraordinary work they do, they stay. And when they stay, children benefit from the stability and security they deserve.
Fostering takes a village. The question is whether we are prepared to build one around the incredible people who tirelessly dedicate their lives to caring for traumatised children.
The Hazel Project – formed by a partnership between Xcel 2000 and Diverse Care, two Ofsted Outstanding-rated fostering organisations.
Read the Government policy paper “Renewing fostering: homes for 10,000 more children” here;