Recruitment and Retention

Foster care changes lives. It is essential for there to be a wide pool of good foster carers, so that a child coming into care can be placed with the best foster carer to meet their particular needs. 

We provide a number of resources to support services to improve practice in respect of recruiting and retaining foster carers.  The resources include a good practice toolkit,  along with research and a variety of tools to support practice in this area.

As we work across the UK, we have insight and firsthand knowledge of the various developments in respect of policy directions in each country.  Including the development of whole country co-ordinated approach to recruitment, harmonisation of the foster carer offer and a wide range of potential opportunities to transform the landscape of recruitment and retention.  Should you wish to learn more, we offer a presentation on the key elements of transformation and how to bring these to life in your own context.  We also have skilled practice consultants available to support with developing and implementing change. Please contact [email protected] to discuss a package of support. 

Other recruitment resources

• Needs analysis template - Created by the Department for Education and The Fostering Network, the needs analysis template is the starting point for all fostering services to inform a recruitment and retention strategy. Download the Needs analysis template.
• The Skills to Foster™ - The Fostering Network’s The Skills to Foster is the sector’s leading pre-approval training for fostering applicants. The Skills to Foster assessment materials cover both mainstream and family and friends assessments. Innovatively designed as dynamic PDFs, the forms are structured to ensure evidenced-based reporting to aid decision makers. Find out more about The Skills to Foster.
• Mystery shopping - The Fostering Network has developed a mystery shopping package to help services assess and evaluate the customer’s experience when they first make an enquiry with your service. Services are provided with a bespoke package and a summary report evaluating the process and providing a series of recommendations to potentially transform service delivery and increase the number of foster carers you recruit. To find out more, please contact [email protected].
• Recruitment consultancy - The Fostering Network can provide a bespoke package of strategic recruitment support to your service. Our associates have a wealth of senior level expertise to work alongside your team to identify and provide solutions for the challenges your service face to enhance your recruitment and retention of foster carers. Please contact [email protected] to discuss a package of support.