We are looking for a creative and strategic Head of Media on a permanent contract to lead, plan and deliver media relation strategies and activities to highlight the work of Action for Children and issues related to vulnerable children, young people and families.

How you'll help to create brighter futures

• Lead development and delivery of Action for Children’s media relations.
• Lead, manage and motivate the Media Relations Team and to matrix manage devolved press officers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Plan, manage and deliver a range of proactive and reactive news, and corporate media activities nationally and regionally.
• Support the development and implementation of a cultivation plan to build relationships with journalists, editors, and influencers.
• Lead and co-ordinate innovative and creative approaches to highlight the impact of the work of Action for Children.
• Oversee development and implementation of media events.
• Work collaboratively with Influencing and Public Affairs to develop media strategies.

Click here for full details

Barnardo's is seeking a committed and skilled Supervising Social Worker to join our Midlands Fostering Families service. This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a supportive and passionate team dedicated to providing high‑quality support to foster carers and achieving the best outcomes for children.

As a Supervising Social Worker, you will support, supervise, and develop a caseload of foster carers, ensuring safe, child‑centred, and high‑quality fostering practice.

Your caseload will be predominantly based in the East Midlands, and you will work closely with foster families, children, colleagues, and partner agencies.

This is a hybrid role and you will spend regular time in the Halesowen office to attend team meetings, support service delivery, and engage in collaborative practice.

Your role will include the following: 

• Provide supervision, support, and guidance to foster carers in line with regulatory and Barnardo's standards.
• Undertake visits, assessments, and reviews to ensure safe, effective, and child‑led foster homes.
• Work directly with children and young people to understand their lived experiences and support positive outcomes.
• Contribute to the recruitment, training, and development of foster carers.
• Work in partnership with local authorities, health, education, and other agencies.
• Ensure robust safeguarding practice and respond effectively to any concerns.
• Maintain accurate and timely records and contribute to audits, quality assurance, and service planning.

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We are delighted to welcome Tassie Ghilani and Michael Lister to our Board of Trustees. Both bring a wealth of professional expertise alongside powerful lived experience, strengthening our commitment to ensuring the voices and experiences of children and young people remain at the heart of everything we do.

Searching “how to foster” today could help a child find a home tomorrow.

Imagine a 10-year-old named Sam. Sam has lived in three different homes in the past year. He misses his friends, struggles with school, and doesn’t feel safe. What Sam needs isn’t just a place to stay - he needs someone to care, guide, and support him through life.

Now imagine that you could be the person to make that difference. By searching “how to foster” today, you could change the life of a child like Sam - providing stability, love, and hope for the future.

In 2025, the UK had 42,190 foster households looking after over 54,800 children in England - but nearly 30,000 children were still living in residential care homes.

That means thousands of children are still waiting for families who can welcome them into a safe home. 

The need is urgent, and fostering is not just for families with extra space - it’s for anyone willing to offer care, patience, and a home.

Click here to read the full article.

​Ruth is one of our Supervising Social Workers in the North East Region. For Social Work Week we caught up with her to hear all about her role and the relationships she has with her Foster Carers.

How did you get into social work?

I’ve been qualified as a social worker for 24 years. I always knew I wanted to do a job helping and empowering people. My first role was in a Looked After Children’s team in Lincolnshire. It was from that role at an early age that I knew my passion was fostering.

I’ve worked in a lot of different roles and I’ve been so lucky to have so many experiences. I can see things from the perspective of a child first coming into foster care to experiences children have in foster care, but also moving on from foster care. I still keep in touch with a lot of my looked after children who are now 25/26.

I’ve now been at Team Fostering for 3 years.

What do you love about your role?

Working with Foster Carers is my strength. My passion now is supporting children that are neurodiverse.  A lot of children are getting assessed for ADHD, foetal alcohol syndrome, autism and supporting Foster Carers with this is really important. The way I do it is just being there on the journey with them. Supporting them, helping them, making sure that they get the training that’s going to help them.

It’s still a job for me that I enjoy getting up in the morning and I enjoy doing. So that speaks volumes, doesn’t it?

Click here to read the full article.

Throughout 2025, the amazing team at Histon Manor, an exclusive Grade II listed venue in Cambridgeshire, went above and beyond in support of Break.

Thanks to their generosity and dedication, they raised an incredible £16,860 to help us continue our work supporting young people growing up in care and leaving care.   

When Histon Manor first chose Break as their Charity of the Year 2025, they set themselves a minimum fundraising target of £5,000.

​Over the course of the year, they hosted a range of charity events, including a Plein Air Artist of the Year event and a Village Dahlia Show, while also donating several event fees and 10% of their corporate booking revenue. They encouraged many of their suppliers to support us too, with donations from organisations such as The Highfield Event Group, Cambridge Building Society and Elle-Events Management. 

In total, the team managed to raise more than three times their original target! 

Click here to read the full article.

Applicants must live within the following areas, Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, Sutton, and Wandsworth.

We are recruiting sessional assessing social workers to undertake Form F assessments .  Our assessments are undertaken face to face. Applicants must live within the following areas, Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, Sutton, and Wandsworth. 

Key Duties for Form F Assessors include:

• To undertake and complete Form F assessments in the timescale set out in our policy and guidance.
• To visit personal referees as identified on application form for prospective foster carers.
• To ensure that all checks and references are undertaken and completed.
• To provide to the supervisor, regular written updates of the draft assessment.
• To liaise with our administrative team concerning the progress of administrative checks and completion of the Form F.
• To be available for supervision, consultation or liaison as required.
• To be available to present completed Form Fs to the virtual fostering panel and provide support to the applicants through this process.
• To be aware of our child protection procedures and immediately report any child protection matter or concerns to a TACT manager and any relevant placing authority and the area authority.
• To carry out the duties in line with our Foster Carer and Supervising Social Worker Standards and Practice Guidance.

Click here for full job details.

How We Carefully Find the Right Foster Family for Each Child
A common question people ask when they are thinking about fostering is:
“How do you decide what family a child lives with?”or “How do you know if a foster family is right for the child?”

It’s a really important question.  Here at The Foster Care Charity, decisions about where a child will live are never rushed and they are never simply about finding an available space. Our priority is always to find a home where a child can feel safe, cared for and supported to thrive…

…and where foster carers feel confident they can truly help
In fostering, professionals often use the term “matching.” This simply means the careful process of considering a child’s needs, experiences, interests and background, and identifying a foster family who can best support them.

Behind every child that goes to live with a foster family is a dedicated team supporting you. One key member of that team is our Placement Co-ordinator, who plays an important role in this matching process.

Click here to read the full article.

​Last week, 70 fantastic fundraisers and more than 100 spectators gathered at The Forum Norwich for Break’s hottest event of the year – the Firewalk!

The talented Ruby Flames Entertainment kept family and friends entertained while our brave fundraisers underwent their firewalk training, before taking to the challenge. One by one, they fearlessly crossed the hot coals, with the crowd cheering them on every step of the way. Everyone brought amazing energy and raised an incredible total of over £7,000!

Local influencer Emma Grant (@emmanorwichgirl) said: “I took on the Firewalk with Break and honestly…my heart was pounding the whole time. I was so nervous but the training before the event was brilliant and very reassuring too.

Hayley Malone, Break’s Fundraising Events Manager said: “What a night! Thank you to all our wonderful supporters who braved the firewalk challenge, and to those who joined to support and celebrate with us. The event raised a fantastic total which will help us continue to support young people in and around care, so thank you.”

Click here to read the full article.

TACT’s permanency practice has been recognised in a new set of Good Practice in Permanence Guides commissioned by the Scottish Government.

The guides, developed by the Association of Fostering, Kinship and Adoption (AFKA) Scotland, are designed to strengthen permanency practice across the country. They will be shared with social work agencies, local authorities and university courses, supporting professionals and students to better understand what high‑quality permanency work looks like.

TACT features several times in the ‘Supporting Families in Permanence Guide’, specifically for our approach to preparing foster carers for permanence and for the work of our Education Service.

For TACT Scotland’s Specialist Permanence Social Worker, Tania Stuart, who contributed to the guides, seeing this recognition in print was a proud moment: “It’s fantastic that TACT has been highlighted as a good practice agency within permanence fostering. To be included several times in a Government‑commissioned guide really shows how much our commitment to high‑quality permanency support is valued.”

Tania attended the guide launch at the Scottish Government in Edinburgh, and was one of 50 professionals across practice, research and government who helped shape the guides.

Click here to read the full article.