Less than 1 month until the Scottish Parliament elections⌛ Our manifesto highlights our campaign priorities to improve the lives of children in foster care📢 Share with candidates who come to your doorstep to ask what they will do to improve fostering www.thefosteringnetwork.org.uk/policy-and-c...

Sound Lab have announced an exciting new professional development opportunity for care experienced musicians! The year-long programme will provide: 🗨️ 50 hours of flexible tuition and mentoring 💰 £400 to invest in creative development ✒️ a weekend-long writing retreat and more.

Good news! Yesterday the ECYP Committee accepted amendments to the Promise Bill to place an annual uprating duty on fostering allowances and require services to publish their payment rates. We’ve long campaigned for this to ensure allowances keep pace with inflation and to increase transparency.

📣 We're hiring 📣 We have an exciting opportunity to lead our team as Country Director for Scotland! We're also recruiting for a Participation Worker to run our young people's advisory board and deliver events for foster families in Scotland. Find out more and apply below:

I'm encouraging care experienced people to #TickTheBox on their UCAS form when applying for college or university, to say they've spent time in care. This will make sure they get the support they're entitled to - from financial assistance to help with wellbeing. @fosteringnet-scot.bsky.social

Today's fostering stats paint a mixed picture - the number of new foster families is up for the first time in 5 years, but the total number of foster families continues to fall, showing that more still needs to be done to retain carers. Read the release at www.careinspectorate.com/images/docum...

Yesterday our head of policy and campaigns, Natalie Williams, gave evidence to the Children's Committee on the Promise Bill. She highlighted our support for a register but the need for provisions in the Bill to address foster carer finances & extend Continuing Care. Watch more here shorturl.at/92JMA

We welcome the Children (Care, Care Experience & Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill introduced this week, particularly the provision to create a national register of foster carers. But key issues like financial support for foster carers remain unaddressed. tinyurl.com/TFN-Bill-response

This morning we launched our State of the Nations' Foster Care: Spotlight on Scotland 2024 Report. Like our UK-wide report, many of the findings make for dispiriting reading.

Had such an amazing time today at our family fun day! Big thanks to all the fostering families who came along and to @glasgowscience.bsky.social for being such superb hosts. Great energy all day - what a lovely way to celebrate Foster Care Fortnight 🧡 #FCF

For#FCF25 we’re sharing example scenarios to highlight our resources about the right to continuing care for young people in foster care – Katie is almost 16 and worried about her Permanence Order ‘running out’ and what this will mean for her: buff.ly/00vHIhI

If you can provide stability and care, you can provide the loving foster home a child needs. As a part of Foster Care Fortnight, the Scottish Government is encouraging more people to make a difference, by becoming foster carers. Learn more here: gov.scot/fostercare

For Foster Care Fortnight, this guest blog post by Anne Currie of The Fostering Network discusses why face-to-face meetings and events are so important in building peer relationships between foster carers, and with social workers, to help support the children they care for: buff.ly/J4MEozr #FCF25

Among their activities during #FCF25, @fosteringnet-scot.bsky.social are hosting an online event exploring their 2024 State of the Nations’ Foster Care findings - Scotland. It's open to all foster carers & services. 21st May 11am - more info and registration ⬇️ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/state-of-t...

State of the Nations’ Foster Care 2024: Spotlight on Scotland webinar

Explore the key findings for Scotland from the State of the Nations' Foster Care 2024 survey.

eventbrite.co.uk

The Scottish Government have launched a new campaign to recruit more foster carers To assist the campaign, @fosteringnet-scot.bsky.social set up a helpline to support prospective foster carers and answer any answer questions Find out more at www.thefosteringnetwork.org.uk, or call 0141 204 1400

Foster care changes lives - for children and for the families who welcome them in. It was great to meet foster carers and our partner organisations today, to launch our national campaign to recruit more foster carers. Thank you for all you do.

We're delighted that Scot Gov have launched their new foster carer recruitment campaign, which we've been calling for, to help recruit the 350 new foster families Scotland needs this year. We're pleased to be supporting the campaign through our recruitment line in Scotland.

Foster Care Fortnight celebrates foster carers and the important part they play in children’s lives. Today we recognise the love and support carers give to children and young people across Scotland: buff.ly/Gilg8rj #FCF25

We're excited to share our programme of events in Scotland for Foster Care Fortnight 2025! #FCF25 will run from 12-25 May with the theme The Power of Relationships. View the programme here: tinyurl.com/FCFprogramme

Last week we wrote to the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise @nataliedon-innes.bsky.social setting out our key priorities for the forthcoming Promise Bill. Read the letter here: www.thefosteringnetwork.org.uk/news/our-let...

We've published our response to the Scottish Government's #FutureOfFosterCare consultation, setting out our support for a national foster carer recruitment campaign & calling for better financial, emotional & practical help for carers. Read our response here: thefosteringnetwork.org.uk/fofcconsult

Our 2024 State of the Nations’ Foster Care report is out 📢 The results are clear - urgent change is needed now, so all children and young people can live in a stable, loving home. We're calling on the government to act. ➡️Read the report: bit.ly/3EvfwRr #SotN #fostercare