Launch of Local Authority Fostering South East (LAFSE)
New virtual fostering hub brings together expertise of 20 councils in bid to increase the number of foster carers across the region.
There are more than 11,000 children in care across the south-east of England but fewer than 3,000 local authority approved foster carers. Clearly, many more carers are needed – and urgently – to provide safe, loving homes in the area for children who need them.
Photo by Gabe Pierce
To address this problem, 20 local authorities have combined forces – and their expertise – to form Local Authority Fostering South East (LAFSE), which officially launched this week.
Funded by the Department for Education (DfE), this new virtual hub will run marketing campaigns to raise awareness of this unique and vital role. It will then provide prospective local authority foster carers across the region with a centralised platform to answer their initial enquiries about fostering.
A new fostering ambassador scheme will also support prospective carers, enabling them to speak to an existing carer to find out more about what it’s really like to take on such a life-changing role.
Once someone decides to become a local authority foster carer, authorities will work collaboratively to provide them with the best ongoing support all the way through the process. This will include comprehensive training and financial assistance.
The aim is to make it easier to get involved in fostering and increase the number of people who become local authority foster carers. In achieving this, LAFSE seeks to improve the outcomes of children in care.
The councils involved in LAPSE are: Bracknell Forest Council; Brighton & Hove City Council; East Sussex County Council; Hampshire County Council; Isle of Wight Council; Kent County Council; Medway Council; Milton Keynes City Council; Oxfordshire County Council; Portsmouth City Council; Reading Borough Council; Slough Borough Council; Southampton City Council; Surrey County Council; West Berkshire Council; West Sussex County Council; and Wokingham Borough Council.
Natasha Sampson, South East Regional Strategic Lead, says: ‘This is a really exciting time for fostering. For the first time in the South East, we are leveraging the collective skills, knowledge, resources and support of 20 local authorities to ensure children and young people have a stable home, in a loving family, which they all deserve.
‘The new hub will make this possible by increasing the number of local foster carers and making sure they are well supported through their recruitment journey and beyond. I would urge anyone interested in fostering to get in touch with us to find out more about becoming a foster carer with your local authority.’
Cllr John Howson, Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Young People’s Services at Oxfordshire County Council – one of the 20 councils involved in LAFSE – adds: ‘Foster carers make an enormous difference to the lives of children, who, for various reasons, need to be cared for outside of their own family. I am full of admiration and thank each and every one of them. Our service is not for profit, and we are committed to keeping children and young people near to their birth families, friends and schools. Our aim is for children to have more stability by placing them locally with our own foster carers. We cannot do that unless we can recruit more dedicated carers.’
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