National Fostering Stocktake - Call for Evidence

Overview

This is a call for evidence to inform a comprehensive understanding of the current fostering system in England. We want to understand what is working well and why, where improvements are needed to achieve better outcomes for children and identify areas where further research is needed.

Sir Martin Narey and Mark Owers have been appointed by the Secretary of State for Education to conduct a National Fostering Stocktake. As a first step, they are seeking views on the current state of foster care in England and how the prospects of children in care might be improved through changes to fostering.

Why your views matter

We want to learn from those who have an interest or experience in fostering, including children and their representatives, to build a better evidence base and gain first hand and frontline insight about how the fostering system works in practice and the issues and challenges facing it. This will help us to spread best practice and to understand where changes might be needed to make a lasting impact on outcomes for children in care.

To submit a response please email your views to Stocktake.FOSTERING@education.gov.uk

What happens next

The evidence submitted through this call for evidence will be used to inform the wider fostering stocktake which will be published on gov.uk by spring 2018.