In a startling new report this week, Ofsted (The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills) has warned that fostering capacity in 2020 remains “not anywhere near enough to meet demand”. This means that we still have many more young people requiring homes than we have capacity for.
While the number of children moving into local authority care continues to rise, we’re also seeing the availability of safe, stable places to live for young people reduce year on year – with around a 13% drop in vacant places available in 2020, according to Ofsted. We can’t emphasise enough the huge difference our foster carers make to the young people we support – providing much needed help and guidance to children desperately in need of stability, security and a more hopeful future.
It’s never been more important for new foster carers to come on board at Team Fostering. In our (almost) 20 years of operating as a fostering agency, we repeatedly hear how much our carers value our position as a not-for-profit organisation, our child-focussed care, and the high quality of agency, psychological and peer support available to our carers and children. To ensure we can maintain this high level of support and continue to put children’s futures first, we really need your help.
If you’ve been considering fostering for some time, it’s an ideal time to start a conversation with us. Team Fostering’s friendly and supportive Recruitment Social Workers are ready to answer any questions you have – and we’re sure you’ll have many – and guide you through your first steps into fostering.
Give us a call on 0800 292 2003, leave us an enquiry here, or live chat with us here on our website to make a lasting difference to the lives of vulnerable children and young people.