Twenty local authorities in the South East have hosted a visit from newly appointed Minister Janet Daby MP.
The visit from the Labour MP for Lewisham East, and former children’s social worker, follows the launch of Local Authority Fostering South East. This is a Department for Education (DfE) funded project to recruit more foster carers across the region. The project has become the largest local authority fostering recruitment hub in the country.
Minister Daby met with foster carers, care-experienced young people and representatives from Local Authority Fostering South East. The visit took place in Time Square, Bracknell Forest, on Wednesday 31 July.
The minister heard about the Mockingbird support programme for foster carers, and the new innovative approach to foster carer recruitment. This includes the joint marketing campaigns running across the region to attract more people willing to take on this life-changing role.
It is Daby’s first engagement with fostering services since becoming Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the DfE.
Janet Daby, Minister for Children and Families, said:
“We know that there’s a growing demand for foster placements across the country and we must do more to recruit and retain more foster carers.
“I met with the South East’s newly launched recruitment and retention hub team to find out how they will offer support to prospective foster carers, improve the transition to becoming a carer and encourage more people to foster children.
“I encourage anyone with an interest in fostering in the area to get in touch to find out more and help to give children growing up in care every possible opportunity for better life chances.”
Cllr Roy Bailey, Executive Member for Children and Young People at Bracknell Forest Council, said:
“We were delighted to be visited by Minister Daby and have the opportunity to tell her about this innovative new programme.
“There are over 11,000 children in care across the South East, and fewer than 3,000 local authority approved foster carers. These figures show there is an urgent need to recruit more people to provide safe, loving, and local homes for vulnerable children.”
To find out more information, visit Local Authority Fostering South East.