About Foster East

There is an urgent need for foster carers in the East of England. More than 7,000 children are in the care of their local authority in our region, with 150 more children coming into care every month.

To encourage more people to become local authority foster carers, the 11 local authorities responsible for Children's Services in the East of England are working together to deliver Foster East.

Funded by the Department of Education, Foster East is a collaborative approach to foster carer recruitment and support. Every individual will be nurtured through their fostering journey with their local council, with free expert training and support available.

The Foster East network

Our network of 11 local councils includes Bedford Borough Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Central Bedfordshire Council, Essex County Council, Hertfordshire County Council, Luton Borough Council, Norfolk County Council, Peterborough City Council, Southend-on-Sea City Council, Suffolk County Council and Thurrock Council.

Same aims

Each council has a slightly different way of working but we all share the same aims:

To improve the experience that our foster carers have during the application process
To provide solid training and in-depth support to ensure our foster parents can care with confidence, and
To increase the number of foster carers working with us across the region so we can keep our children rooted in their local communities

New Family Social

All 11 local authority Foster East partners are members of New Family Social.

New Family Social encourages LGBTQ+ families to consider fostering and adoption. Their podcast: adoption, fostering and tea has some brilliant case studies and stories from the LGBTQ+ community who've fostered or adopted their family.

Partners

Foster East includes all 11 local authorities with responsibility for Children's Social Services across the East of England.

Partners list

Could you be a foster parent?

Call our friendly team today to find out more. Call Foster East on 0330 024 1177 or fill in our online enquiry form. We're open 8am to 8pm daily and would love to talk.