Thousands more children in the social care system in England will grow up in loving homes, under plans to create up to 10,000 new foster care places.
Thousands more children in the social care system in England will grow up in loving and supportive homes, under government plans to create up to 10,000 new foster care places this parliament, giving more children the best possible start in life and opening up opportunity for every young person regardless of their background.
A major recruitment drive will tackle the critical shortage of foster carers in England, where approved carer numbers have fallen by almost 12% over the past decade. Numbers have been falling sharply since the Covid pandemic, while the number of children in care has risen.
This shortage means too many children are placed far from home or end up in residential care, where they often face struggles in school, health difficulties and even exploitation or exposure to criminal activity.
For example, care-experienced young people are less than one-third as likely to achieve a grade 4 or above in English and maths, and have a 62 % higher risk of dying before age 75, according to a report published in 2025 .
Residential care also costs local authorities significantly more than fostering, a total of ?4.7 billion in 2022/23 according to the Local Government Association.
New rules will bring the fostering system into the 21st century, opening fostering up to more people and making clear that carers don't have to be married, homeowners, or not working full time to foster effectively. There will be new national targets, a new rule book, ?25m to fund extensions and new innovative models of part-time foster care.
The plans will be backed by ?88 million of funding to support foster carers and the network of frontline services that support them, with the money repurposed from existing budgets. This also means better support for existing foster carers, including clarity on the help available, assistance with home improvements, and access to peer support and advice through regional fostering hubs.
Minister for Children and Families, Josh MacAlister, said:
Reversing the decline in the number of available foster places is an urgent priority for me because fostering is so vital to our mission to give children the best possible start in life.
We're bringing fostering into the 21st century, removing outdated rules and unnecessary barriers to become foster carers as part of our overhaul of the care system.
Foster carers give children the stable, loving relationships they need to thrive. If you've ever considered fostering, I would urge you to look into this incredible vocation that can transform a child's life.
Alongside the consultation , the Department for Education has published a new vision and action plan for fostering, setting out the principles and practical reforms needed to make fostering more appealing, more efficient and more supportive for families and children.
The action plan will focus on six key areas:
Simplifying rules, through a new national fostering rulebook to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy, support more stable placements and make everyday family life easier and more normal for children and carers.
Clear information and support, with improved national information and digital tools to help people understand fostering, the support available and how to apply.
Working better across regions, by strengthening regional fostering hubs so local areas can collaborate on recruitment, training and placements, delivering more consistent support wherever families live.
More foster homes and support to keep families together, helping more people to become foster carers and enabling existing carers to support more children, including sibling groups, with practical support such as financial help with home improvements.
New models that reflect modern life, testing more flexible approaches to fostering and updating guidance and regulations that currently reflect outdated assumptions about family structures and caring responsibilities.
Stronger support for foster families, including clearer financial support, stronger local networks and named professionals, with a commitment that no one will be worse off for fostering and families will receive help early, not just in a crisis.
This will open fostering up to a wider range of people, including younger people and a more diverse range of households who can give children in care the best possible start in life.
Sarah Thomas, Chief Executive of The Fostering Network, said:
We're really pleased to see this much-needed focus on foster care. For the past four years, more foster carers have been leaving than joining, as increasing pressures within an overstretched children's social care system continue to impact on children.
Renewing Fostering: Homes for 10,000 More Children takes important steps towards increasing the number of foster carers, helping to ensure that thousands more children can be cared for in homes that are right for their needs. We're also delighted to see increased funding and support for our Mockingbird programme, which will enable more foster carers to be part of this vital support system and play a direct role in improving retention and stability for children.
We look forward to continuing to work with the Government to implement this plan.
Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said:
I wholeheartedly back this ambition, which could change the lives of thousands of children currently being denied loving, safe homes. I look forward to working with Minister MacAlister to help achieve this target.
Too often, decisions about children in care are based not on what's best for them, but on a shortage of good options. That means siblings separated, children housed illegally in caravans or holiday homes, disabled children's needs overlooked, or children remanded into prison because there is nowhere else for them to go. Specialist foster carers for these children are vital if we are to relieve the pressure on the children's social care system, improve care standards and end profiteering, and give every child in care the same chances as any other child.
James Bury, Head of Policy, Research and Development at CoramBAAF, said:
CoramBAAF welcomes the government's announcement of their action plan to develop fostering and to invest funding into support, training and innovation. As the leading membership organisation working with practitioners across local authorities and independent fostering agencies, we will be working with our members to deliver these changes in practice to improve the lives of children and foster carers.
The government has set out ambitious targets to radically increase the number of foster carers. We welcome this national recruitment campaign and will be supporting our members to be ready to respond to the increase in enquiries. It is important that along with the ambition to recruit more foster carers the priority remains the same - we must recruit the right people. Being a foster carer is a complex task steeped in responsibility.
The government is also committed to improving the support available to foster carers. The focus of this work could not be more timely with too many carers leaving fostering for a variety of preventable reasons. We will be working closely with the government to help implement these changes through advice, training and support to local authorities, independent agencies and regions.
This represents an opportunity to improve the consistency of experience of foster carers across the country. To achieve this key principles will need to inform the revised standards.We will also be supporting as many of our members to be able to feed into CoramBAAF's response to this important call for evidence and consultation. The minister has set out a personal vision to deliver change through this action plan, change that the sector has been calling for many years. CoramBAAF is ready to answer the call and work alongside government, partners and our members to make this vision a reality.
Recruiting more foster carers and creating up to 10,000 additional foster care places by the end of the Parliament would enable thousands more children to grow up in safe, supportive family homes, rather than being placed far from home or in inappropriate settings.
The Department for Education has launched a national consultation on ambitious new plans to expand foster carer recruitment and reform England's fostering system, as part of its wider vision for reforming children's social care and delivering for some of the most vulnerable children in our society.
The package represents a significant reset - simplifying the system, accelerating recruitment and assessment, strengthening regional coordination, expanding capacity through targeted investment and improving the support and respect foster carers receive.
The consultation and Call for Evidence can be found at the relevant links and a version for children and young people
