Fosterplus is celebrating its 30th birthday in 2026! The most notable thing for us during that time is the impact we’ve had on the lives of foster families and the children in our care.
We’ve had one strong belief throughout the past 30 years – that children can thrive when they’re offered stable, loving, and supportive homes. We’re proud that we’ve been able to offer the support countless foster families have needed to ensure that children are able to create brighter futures for themselves.
So what better way to celebrate our birthday than by taking a closer look at our history and how we’ve supported foster families over the past 30 years?
Celebrating what Fosterplus has achieved so far
Founded in 1996, Fosterplus is proud to have been supporting foster families for over 30 years. Since our foundation, we’ve gone on to become an award-winning agency and all of our local offices are rated as either ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ by Ofsted.
We’re dedicated to achieving positive outcomes for the children in our care. While some children experience multiple moves in foster care, we aim to break that cycle and instead focus on making strong matches that last. We’re also dedicated to providing our foster families the support they need so that they can improve the lives of children in their care.
Positive outcomes are possible with the right support. All of our foster parents have access to foster care support and training throughout each stage of their fostering journey so that they’ve got the help they need when they need it most.
Fostering with Fosterplus
There are so many benefits of fostering a child with Fosterplus. First and foremost, the support that we offer our foster families! With Fosterplus, foster parents get:
- A dedicated social worker.
- Access to a 24/7 helpline.
- Training tailored to you and your interests.
- Foster family support groups.
- A local team.
- Activities and events for all the family.
- Online resources.
- Specialist support.
We’re passionate about connecting our foster parents with the support that they need at each step of their fostering journey. It’s the help that you’re given along the way that can really make a difference, not just for yourself as a foster parent but also for the children in your care.
Taking a trauma-informed approach is crucial for recovery from trauma and ensuring that children are able to move beyond what happened in their past to create brighter futures for themselves. Instead of punishing a child for their behaviours, we take a look at why those behaviours have presented themselves and what has happened to dysregulate a child.
Expert matching
Our matching process is extensive and unrivalled in its detail. We don’t want to make matches for the sake of it – we want to make enduring matches that benefit both the foster child and the family that they’re placed with.
We like to involve everyone as much as we can in the matching process, finding out more about the needs of a child, the expertise and preferences of our foster parents, as well as any professional expertise that needs to be taken into account.
This attention to detail ensures that we’re able to make secure matches that last, forming long-lasting foster care placements that really have a positive impact on children.
Celebrating our impact over the last 30 years
We have helped countless children and foster parents throughout the last three decades. But what better way to celebrate our impact than by hearing from our hard-working foster parents themselves?
Derek and Diane
Derek and Diane started their fostering journey with Fosterplus in 2021.
They said, “I honestly feel the support we get from Fosterplus is really, really good. Second to none. Within three weeks of us getting through all of the stuff we had to do, we had our foster child, who’s still with us now, and that was four years ago. If there’s anything we need, we just ask our social worker. There’s always support from Fosterplus.”
Carl and Jackie
Carl and Jackie began fostering with Fosterplus when their own children had grown up and left home. Over the past seven years, they’ve cared for long-term placements and sibling groups, as well as offering short breaks to other foster families.
They said, “The support we receive from Fosterplus is part of a wider team. We always say that we’re the front runners but there are lots of people behind us. We have a fabulous supervising social worker; she’s like an auntie to the kids, they’re pleased to see her. Then we have a senior supervising social worker, who’s there to help you and offer support when our social worker’s not available.
“You have a 24/7 emergency phone line, so there’s lots of experience behind you. There’s a real network of support around you. You work as a team and can draw on a lot of other people’s experience.”
Alison
Alison started fostering in her 60s, but was unsure if her age or being a single foster carer would be a factor that prevented her from being able to foster.
She said, “Honestly, I thought I might be too old, and I wasn’t sure if being a single foster parent would go against me. I thought, will they even consider me? I didn’t know much about fostering at all. But the moment I spoke to Fosterplus, I felt reassured. My age wasn’t an issue — far from it. And there were so many single foster carers. I realised I had talked myself out of something I was absolutely able to do. The process was clear and supportive from the start. It made me believe I could do it.
“The support from Fosterplus is second to none. They’re my go to – my first go to. My supervising social worker – I just lift the phone. If she doesn’t answer, she’ll phone me back. I feel so supported.”
You can find more case studies from our foster parents on our website.
Becoming a foster parent with Fosterplus
There are lots of different types of fostering that we’re able to offer our foster parents, depending on the care that you’re happy to provide. This includes specialist areas such as disability foster care, emergency fostering, parent and child fostering, and sanctuary-seeking fostering, among many others.
We’ve achieved all that we have to date because of hard-working foster parents like yourself who are dedicated to the children in your care and making a difference in their lives. Along with our trauma-informed support, we are thrilled to celebrate the impact that we’ve had over the past 30 years.
Want to know more about fostering?
Are you curious about fostering and want to know more about becoming a foster care parent? Simply fill out an enquiry form on our website or give us a call on 0800 369 8512. You’ll speak to one of our friendly team who can talk you through the fostering process and answer any questions you may have.
You won’t go wrong when you choose Fosterplus. With more than 30 years’ experience helping foster families throughout their fostering journeys, you’ll know you’re in safe hands.
