Last month the Education Select Committee, of which I am Chair, published a new report on fostering. It calls for efforts to be redoubled to ensure that as a country we value foster children, carers and the care system.
At present, the sad reality is that the foster care system in England is under significant pressure. Some of the most vulnerable young people in society are being failed by a system which doesn’t meet their needs. Foster children currently face a lottery of care, the prospect of frequent moves from one home to another and even of separation from their siblings.
For their part, foster carers up and down the country are providing an invaluable service for thousands of young people but, regrettably, they are not getting enough support, financial or otherwise.
Our report makes very clear recommendations to government to ensure the foster system gets the resources and attention it deserves.
Foster carers must be paid at least the national minimum fostering allowance—ranging from around £150 per week for those covering the cost of care for infants to around £200 for those fostering 16 and 17 year olds. Further, ministers need to ensure this allowance accounts for rises in living costs and allows carers to meet the needs of those they are caring for. Foster carers shouldn’t be penalised for their status—the government should review and update current taxation rules to ensure they are not losing out.
Further, the Department for Education should step up and show that it truly values foster carers by establishing a national college, which would work towards improving working conditions for carers, provide a resource for training and support, and give them representation. For the college to be truly national and accessible, it should be a virtual association. The online college could bring greater prestige to the role of foster carer. It is only right that these hugely committed individuals are given the support they need to help improve the lives of the young people in their care.
A national recruitment and awareness campaign initiated by the Department for Education could also help to improve capacity in the system.
Our report further recommends that the government bring forward legislative proposals to extend the scope of the Public Interest Disclosure Act—which protects whistle-blowers from victimisation—to cover foster carers. They should be protected during proceedings or when raising concerns of their own, and safeguarded from the consequences of malicious or unfounded accusations.
“We cannot be satisfied with children finding care to be something which is done to them, not with them”Foster carers often do a fantastic job in difficult circumstances. While initial training cannot be comprehensive, and there are, of course, many things that can only be learned on the job, these carers need to receive more ongoing training and development. The government should work with experts and organisations in the sector to develop high-quality training resources, and make them available nationwide.
What about foster children? We cannot be satisfied with children and young people finding care to be something which is done to them, rather than with them. Laws and guidelines exist to encourage placement stability and the involvement of young people in decision-making. But the sad fact is that these aren’t always applied in practice.
The Committee heard some distressing testimony of foster children going through eight placements in four years, of moving “six times in less than no time,” and another had gone through thirteen different foster placements and two children's homes in five years. This can only be damaging to the wellbeing and development of a child. The government must act to ensure young people don’t continue to face the prospect of a dizzying number of foster care placements.
Our report also makes it clear that young people should be placed with their siblings whenever possible and appropriate. Greater efforts are needed from social workers and others to facilitate regular and meaningful contact when it is not.
There must be greater involvement of—and better information for—foster children on their placements, and a consistency of practice to ensure all young people are able to benefit from a positive experience of foster care.
We hope that ministers at the Department for Education will seriously consider the recommendations made. It’s vital that we value foster children, foster carers, and foster care and ensure these young people get the support they need them to help them climb the ladder of opportunity and flourish in their lives ahead.
