Press Release: Fostering through Social Enterprise becomes Fairer Fostering

​Fostering through Social Enterprise (FtSE), a group of 12 charitable and not-for-profit independent fostering providers, has changed its name to The Fairer Fostering Partnership (also known as Fairer Fostering).

The group, which covers the whole of the UK, and includes Action for Children, Barnardos and TACT, provides foster care for over 2000 children. Working in partnership with children’s services and dedicated foster carers, Fairer Fostering members put children before profit by re-investing back into the care of children and young people.

Andy Elvin, the Fairer Fostering chair, said: “All our members’ resources are invested in meeting the needs of vulnerable children and young people and not in making a profit from them. This transparency and accountability is welcomed by local authorities and foster carers alike. We wanted our name to reflect this.”

As a representative voice of not-for-profit providers, Fairer Fostering campaigns to increase awareness of the scale of profits distributed to shareholders and investors. Many commercial fostering agencies are owned by private and venture capital companies and significant profits are made by these companies. Fairer Fostering asks commissioners to understand who they award contracts to and where taxpayers’ money goes. It could be the difference between investing in children or adding to shareholder profit.

Each Fairer Fostering member has its own unique and distinctive approach to fostering. All offer a variety of able, experienced and trained carers, and staff,  plus a service package tailored to the best possible outcomes for each individual child or young person. Members’ services augment those of hard-pressed health and local authority provision.

The Fairer Fostering Partnership believes that where a surplus is made, it should be re-invested into children’s services; and that excessive shareholder profit has no place in the care of vulnerable children.

ENDS

Contact details
Andy Elvin, TACT - Chair of Fairer Fostering
Tel No. 0208 695 8142 |  Email [email protected]

Ian Brazier, The Foster Care Co-operative - Deputy Chair of Fairer Fostering
Tel No. 01684 892380  |  Email [email protected]

Information for Editors
The Fostering through Social Enterprise consortium, now The Fairer Fostering Partnership, was set up in 2007 to represent the views, perspectives and experience of a number of charitable and not-for-profit independent fostering providers.

The current Fairer Fostering members are:

• Action for Children
• Barnardo's
• Break
• The Children's Family Trust
• Community Foster Care
• The Foster Care Co-operative
• Kasper Fostering
• New Routes Fostering
• St Christopher's
• The Adolescent And Children's Trust (TACT)
• Team Fostering
• Young People At Heart

Fairer Fostering’s core aims are:

• to ensure any surplus raised by member organisations are re-invested into supporting children in placement and beyond
• to offer transparency in dealings with all stakeholders
• to promote the elimination of discrimination against children and young people in care
• to promote good practice through networking and supporting each organisation within the membership
• to improve policy and practice through lobbying

 
 
Fairer Fostering members:

• work in partnership and collaboration with all stakeholders to improve outcomes for vulnerable children
• do not offer financial incentives to attract approved foster carers from local authorities and other agencies, and seek only to increase the pool of foster carers in the UK
• contribute to social value
  
• meet statutory and best practice requirements.