Government launches £12.4m fund to modernise foster care and widen access to fostering

The government has announced a £12.4 million investment to modernise foster care in England, with ministers promising reforms designed to make fostering more accessible, flexible and inclusive for a wider range of carers.

The new Fostering Innovation Fund, launched during Foster Care Fortnight, will support local authorities, Regional Care Co-operatives and fostering hubs to develop and trial new approaches to foster care aimed at improving outcomes for children and increasing the number of available placements.

The Department for Education said the fund would help challenge what it described as outdated assumptions about fostering, including expectations that carers should be in traditional married relationships or have a single full-time stay-at-home carer.

Children’s minister Josh MacAlister said: “Every child deserves the chance to grow up in a safe and loving home, and I’ve been truly inspired by the foster carers I have met who make that happen.”

He added: “This investment will help us bring fostering into the 21st century, moving on from outdated assumptions about who can foster and how care should be offered and opening it up to a wider range of people.

“This will help us recruit more carers, and change more children’s lives by giving them a stable home.”

The investment forms part of wider government plans to create 10,000 additional foster care placements during the current Parliament and follows the publication of the government’s Fostering Action Plan earlier this year.

Funding will be used to expand existing programmes and test new models of care, including more flexible approaches such as respite and weekend-only fostering arrangements. Ministers said these approaches could help support children living in residential care or kinship arrangements while also encouraging people who may not be able to foster full-time to become involved.

Examples of innovation already underway include the Room Makers scheme run by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, where grants have been used to adapt carers’ homes to increase placement capacity. The Department for Education highlighted one foster carer in Manchester who received a £7,800 grant to reconfigure her home and prepare to welcome sibling placements.

The announcement comes as a new evidence-based practice guide for foster carers and local authorities has highlighted the importance of tailored support and strong support networks in improving foster carer retention.

The Foster Care Practice Guide, produced by Foundations and commissioned by the Department for Education, draws together research on the experiences of foster carers and the kinds of support most likely to help them continue fostering and improve outcomes for children.

The guide, published during Foster Care Fortnight, warns the fostering sector is facing “serious challenges” amid rising demand, increasing numbers of children with complex needs entering care and a continuing decline in foster carer numbers.

Research underpinning the guide found foster carers valued flexible and personalised support, peer support groups and opportunities to discuss their own emotional wellbeing and experiences.

Jo Casebourne, chief executive of Foundations, said: “Foster care plays an essential role in providing stability, safety and loving relationships for children who cannot live with their birth families. But foster care today is changing; children are entering care with increasingly complex needs, and foster carers are under growing pressure, often with limited access to evidence-based specialist support that makes a real difference.”

She added: “Our new Practice Guide for local authorities brings together the best available evidence on interventions that we know can strengthen placement stability, contribute to foster carer retention, and, crucially, help the children in their care to thrive.”

The guide recommends that local authorities provide evidence-based wraparound support for carers, including therapeutic parenting support, peer networks and interventions designed to strengthen relationships between carers and children.

Sara Fernandez, chief executive of NOW Foster, said more flexible fostering arrangements could help widen participation and improve support for children.

“At Now Foster, we believe fostering should be something many more people can see themselves being part of. Children in care need safe, stable and loving homes, and they also need a village of trusted adults who can stay alongside them as they grow up.”

Fernandez added: “We love seeing people step in as Weekenders, building long-term relationships with children when they might not otherwise be able to foster full-time.”

“These relationships can bring consistency, joy and love to children, while also offering vital support to full-time carers. They also give people a way to build their confidence, skills and understanding of fostering, should they want to foster more in the future. By making fostering more flexible and accessible, we can open the door to more people offering the kinds of enduring relationships that can change a child’s life.”

Josh MacAlister said the new practice guide would help local authorities better understand how to retain foster carers.

“Every child who can’t live safely with their family deserves the love, stability and sense of belonging that a foster home can provide. Foster carers change lives every day, but too often, they’re being asked to do that without the support they need.”

He added: “This Practice Guide is an important step forward. It gives local leaders practical, evidence based advice on what really helps foster carers stay in the system, so more children can build the secure, lasting relationships that help them thrive.”

Andy Elvin, chief executive of TACT, welcomed the wider government investment in fostering and said it reflected growing political attention on the sector.

“TACT is delighted by the investment the government are making in foster care. We are equalled thrilled by the attention the Minister is paying fostering and the pace at which he is acting to address longstanding issues in the sector which have been largely ignored in the past decade.”

Elvin added: “Fostering is more than providing a home, it is about providing a future, about showing up when it matters most & about being there for the long term.

“Fostering is a commitment and it is heartening that the commitment shown by tens of thousands of foster carers day in , day out in the UK, is now being matched by the Government. This is not just about investing in fostering, it’s about investing in the children in our communities who need it the most.”

Sarah Thomas, chief executive of The Fostering Network, said the publication of the practice guide came at a critical moment for the sector.

“This Foster Care Fortnight, we are pleased to welcome the new Practice Guide from Foundations, which we were delighted to sit on the advisory group for.”

She added: “The guide’s focus on evidence-based interventions to help retain foster carers comes at a vital time, as more foster carers continue to leave than join each year.”

“There is no one-size-fits-all approach to fostering, but our research shows that respect for foster carers, support for their wellbeing, therapeutic parenting support, and strong support networks all play a crucial role in retaining foster carers.”

Dame Carol Homden, chief executive of Coram, said the funding created an opportunity for greater collaboration across the sector.

“This investment is a timely and clear acknowledgment of the strength and potential of a fostering sector that is already rich with creativity, commitment and practical innovation.”

She added: “What is particularly encouraging is the opportunity this fund creates for local authorities, independent fostering agencies and wider partners to work together more intentionally, as collaboration is essential if we are serious about improving outcomes for children in care.”

Successful applicants to the Fostering Innovation Fund are expected to be announced later this summer after the application process closes.