A new push in England is trying to make fostering more flexible, inclusive and realistic for modern life.
Positive News reports that a £12.4m Fostering Innovation Fund is backing fresh approaches to support children in care and help more adults take part. The idea is not only to find more traditional foster homes, but to widen the circle of stable adults who can keep showing up.
The power of ordinary weekends
One example is the Weekenders model, where a child spends regular weekends with a trusted adult or household. For Chanice, who spoke to Positive News, that meant theatre trips, new places, encouragement and a relationship that lasted beyond a single placement.
Her point is beautifully simple: when you are in care, consistency matters. An adult who keeps coming back can become part of a child's long-term support network, even if the arrangement begins with ordinary weekend time.
Making care more possible
The fund arrives as England works to create more foster-care capacity and respond to a decline in approved fostering households. Charities and fostering organisations have warned that too many children cannot be matched with the right family, in the right place, at the right time.
The hopeful part is that innovation here is not flashy technology. It is redesigning the system so more kind, capable adults can say yes in a way they can actually sustain. For children who need reliability, that could make all the difference.
Source: Positive News, reporting on England's Fostering Innovation Fund and flexible support models such as Weekenders.
