On 14 January, the House of Lords began the Report Stage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This is a crucial moment where members scrutinise the proposals in detail and table amendments before the bill progresses further.

As part of our ongoing advocacy, the Together Trust has:

• Amplified our Email Your MP action calling for an end to illegal homes for children in care
• Signed Barnardo’s briefing calling for a national care offer for care leavers
• Signed Terry Galloway’s briefing asking local authorities to recognise care experience as a protected characteristic and urging stronger corporate parenting duties 

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These actions reflect our commitment to ensuring the Bill leads to meaningful change for children and young people.

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“We are so glad that we were able to keep the children together. Staying together has helped them a lot and we don’t want to think about the possibility that they might have been separated.” 

With the number of children in care in Northern Ireland continuing to rise each year – and now reaching almost 4,200 - one couple have told of their joy in fostering three siblings.

Jonathan, 47 and Sarah McElroy, 50, live in County Down with their three foster children who are siblings aged 9, 4 and 2. 

The couple, who have been married for 20 years, weren’t able to have their own birth children but say that they feel “really blessed” to be taking care of this family. 

In what feels like their very own version of the movie Instant Family, the McElroys are navigating the challenges and joys of parenting two girls and a boy. 

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Thinking about becoming a foster carer but unsure what it’s really like? You’re not alone. Many people are curious about fostering but have questions, worries, or assumptions that hold them back.

We asked Barnardo’s fostering social and project workers to share things they’d like people to understand about fostering, from the support you’ll receive, to the emotional realities, to what happens when children move on.

Fostering can be deeply rewarding, but it also comes with challenges. We believe being open about both is essential in helping people decide whether fostering is right for them.

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We’re delighted to announce that our North East team has been rated Outstanding by Ofsted following the latest inspection in November.

The report highlighted ‘exceptional quality care’ for children from their foster carers and the ‘significant progress’ that they make.

Providing children with stability
It also praised the fact that ‘a significant number of children experience placement stability’ and children are supported by Team Fostering to ‘stay with their foster carers as long as they need to.’

This was attributed to the ‘tight working relationship’ between Team Fostering’s family finding team, foster carers, Team Fostering supervising social workers and local authorities.

Boosting wellbeing for our children and young people
The report also shows that we live up to our ethos of putting children at the heart of everything we do. It says Team Fostering and ‘its foster carers support children to make very good progress with their physical health, emotional well-being and education. Children have access to a range of universal health services and are supported to access specialist services when they need to. On occasions, where children are struggling to get the help they need, the agency funds this.’

Feeling like a family
At Team Fostering we also provide numerous opportunities and activities for carers and young people to come together, with the report saying, ‘foster carers were unanimous in their view that the activities that the agency organises supports foster carers and children to be able to get to know one another and feel part of a ‘wider family’.’

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As the Marketing and PR Lead, you will be responsible for elevating the visibility of our charity, strengthening our brand, and managing public relations activities.

Working under the Head of Marketing and Communications, you will work closely with the Digital Lead, Creative Lead, and Website Officer to create cohesive marketing and PR campaigns that engage with our target audience and promote the charity’s work. You will play a pivotal role in delivering our communications strategy, managing media relations, and ensuring our story is told effectively across multiple channels.

As a member of the marketing and communications team you will be expected to:

• Support the development of Break's key messages on various topics.
• Act as a guardian for Break's brand and tone of voice
• Take a full role in a dynamic team, working across multiple programmmes, inspiring, motivating and supporting staff, being a positive role model, promoting effective team working, respect, innovation and excellence.
• There may be a requirement to work out of hours at events and on emergency or out of hours rotas.
• To take a full and constructive part in the support, supervision and appraisals provided by your line manager and accept the requirements to develop and improve the skills and knowledge appropriate to the post
• Manage the charity's reputation by proactively monitoring public sentiment and responding appropriately.
• To carry out any other reasonable duties as instructed by your line manager or Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

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People who have grown up in care will be able to get free medicine and dental services until their 25th birthday under new measures announced by the Government. 

A new pilot scheme will also aim to boost access to mental health support for children in care, while GPs will be alerted to patients who are in care in a bid to keep them safe.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the change is being made in recognition of the difficulties young people face if they have grown up in foster care or a children’s home.

Lynn Perry, chief executive of Barnardo’s, said: “It cannot be right that children who have grown up in foster care and children’s homes have poorer health than their peers.

“We warmly welcome the government’s decision to extend free prescriptions and dental care to these young people up to the age of 25. It’s an important step towards a society which gives all children the best start in life, whatever their background."

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​Thank you to everyone who supported Together for Christmas 2025!

Contributions to our Christmas appeal have made a world of difference. We are incredibly proud to announce that your support has helped raise over £25,000 worth of cash, gift and present donations.

Thanks to your generosity, we’ve spread the festive spirit far and wide. Supporters of Together for Christmas this year have helped over 420 young people and families and supported 88 care leavers and families on pupil premium afford a delicious Christmas meal.

Each gift you helped us buy truly made Christmas magical to children, adults and families this Christmas. Thank you for your kindness!

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TACT have been rated the second best charity to work for in the UK, following a ‘Best Companies’ survey in September 2025.

In addition, the charity have retained their Best Companies ‘three star’ accreditation; a top tier ‘world class’ award that is a reflection of the commitment of the organisation to make workplace engagement a priority.

Other notable recognitions included 11th Best Mid-Sized Company to Work For across the UK and 5th Best Company to Work for in the North East Region. Daniella Jackson, TACT’s Director of People, said: “Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the survey. These incredible results are a reflection of all of our incredible colleagues who make TACT what it is. We are extremely proud of what we’ve achieved and are looking forward to what the future brings."

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TACT’s Education Service has produced their annual report for 2024-2025 academic year, and it has highlighted some wonderful achievements and successes – with many grades and results surpassing national averages for children in care.

The service offered many sessions to TACT young people regarding Post-16 options, exam revision and managing stress. They also launched the Apprenticeship Academy, and delivered Bitesize sessions for Connect members in a variety of careers, employability and education topics.

The Education service has provided a suite of training across the year to foster carers, staff and schools, including trauma-informed education, Wales Additional Learning Needs, Secondary Trauma & Resilience, Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and Anti-Racism.

Young people’s educational achievements have surpassed all expectations.

In England, TACT had 13 children who took a year 1 phonics check in the 2024 Summer term. Eight passed, with 6 of those gaining very high marks and 2 gaining full marks. Of the 5 children who did not pass, 3 were very close. All of these children have since been provided with a PhonicsPlay subscription and foster carers have been contacted by the England Advisory teacher to offer some advice and support.

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​Fair Ways is proud to celebrate the incredible success of this year’s Care Leavers Appeal, which has reached its biggest milestone yet. Thanks to the generosity and community spirit of supporters across Hampshire, we have packed 180 bags, our highest total to date.

This marks a powerful increase from last year’s 110 bags, and more than double the 60–70 bags collected in our first year. Each bag represents a small act of kindness that will make a meaningful difference to a young person stepping into independence this Christmas.

Many care leavers face the painful reality of packing their belongings into plastic bin bags when moving on from care. As advocates against this practice, Fair Ways proudly upholds its commitment that no child will ever leave one of our services with their belongings in a black plastic bin bag.

This year, we were once again supported by the incredible team at Madlug, an award-winning bag brand that helps give dignity to children in care. Their ethos “Because no child should carry their life in a bin bag”, perfectly mirrors our own mission, and we are deeply grateful for their continued partnership.

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