The coronavirus pandemic has caused a “crisis” for foster caring in Wales, according to a children’s charity. Barnardo’s Cymru has seen a 45% rise in the number of children needing foster care at the same time as a 51% fall in parent inquiries during lockdown. The double impact has led the charity to declare a […]
Two-thirds of councils in England have a shortage of black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) foster carers, according to BBC analysis of official figures. A fostering expert said this meant many children were growing up without a full sense of their identity. Shaz, 18, who was cared for by non-Muslims, told the BBC: “I felt […]
Anybody would be forgiven for being anxious and uncertain about what the coming months may bring. For children, that anxiety is real too. While it is a relief that the virus does not seem to make most children unwell, children are aware of the possible impact on them – like schools having to close or […]
Children’s Commissioner for England Anne Longfield “The arrangements for children in care are of particular concern. I have written to the Departments for Education and for Communities and Local Government asking them to make clear how much of the £5bn funding announced at the Budget for supporting public services in their response to COVID-19 is […]
A woman who left her sons surrounded by “rotting rubbish” has been given a two-year suspended prison sentence. The boys, aged seven and 10, were meant to be home-schooled but were abandoned at their “upsettingly squalid” house in Devon between December 2018 and July 2019, while their mother went to work. The defendant admitted three […]
EU nationals: foster carers and fostered children The report ‘EU nationals: foster carers and fostered children.’ by Fostering Network’s Campaigns Manager, Vicki Swain concludes that; “EU citizens in the UK will be able to apply to get settled or pre-settled status to enable them to continue living in the UK after December 2020. Brexit should […]
Thousands of Foster Children Face Uncertain Futures After Brexit Coram, the leading children’s legal charity, has warned that thousands of EU children living in foster care across the UK are at risk of becoming the new Windrush generation if they are not given automatic British citizenship. They are concerned that, post-Brexit, vulnerable children could easily […]
Fostering Agencies Increase Pressure on Government to Help Child Refugees The Home Office has been accused of reneging on its promise to provide sanctuary to child refugees, as it emerges that foster agencies across the UK have made available dozens of placements which remain unused. The Guardian estimates that there are hundreds of agency placements […]
Election Special: Are Children in Care Being Forgotten? Amid the chaos of Brexit and the looming climate emergency, are the voices of the most vulnerable in our society being excluding from the national debate? Over 140 leaders of charities and organisations working with vulnerable children across the UK believe so. In an open letter, they […]
Surrey County Council Launches Mockingbird Programme Surrey County Council (SCC) is the latest local authority to adopt the Mockingbird programme of support for foster families, to ensure that carers and children alike have the support they need to stop placements falling apart. Adapted by The Fostering Network, the Mockingbird programme sees a group of foster […]