The Fostering Network Wales

The Fostering Network (TFN) is a charity that promotes the importance of fostering. Its mission is to support those who foster, improve opportunities for fostered children and young people and provide expert guidance to all services. The mission is reinforced by several strategic objectives.

One objective is to provide children and young people with ways to make their voices heard and enable them to reach their potential. It also works hard to make sure that society understands, values, and recognises the transformation that carers bring to children’s lives.

TFN also influences policy and the legislative framework in order to have it support and promote excellence in foster care. In addition, it helps families and the services that work with them provide the best possible service to children and young people.

It is active in working for change so that the services provided are the best that they can be. Because fostering is a devolved issue in the UK, legislation impacting it therefore varies. In Wales, there are numerous laws and guidances with relevance for foster care but there is no single source of Welsh legislation. TFN offers a collection of pertinent sources that helps provide the legal material anyone may need in order to understand the complexities of child law. Specifically, they mention the Care Council for Wales, which provides child law information, Cardiff University Law School, and the Welsh Government.

TFN is active in standardising and raising the level of cooperation and coordination in foster services across the country. It has a Cardiff-based team that works with its members throughout the country in delivering training, learning, research and advice and information services. The team has partners in academia, statutory, and third sector. These include ADSS Cymru, Cascade and TFN's Confidence in Care consortium partners.

Having the expertise of this organisation that works throughout the UK is a great benefit to the emerging fostering system. As an example, Confidence in Care is a 12-week programme designed to train 1,500 Welsh carers to raise their confidence and improve placement stability. The courses are delivered in each of the country's 22 local authorities. Each session is 4 hours long.

This is an example of how TFN pulls together all the expertise and information available across the country and brings the best of the best to emerging legislation. When it comes to caring for looked after young people, speed is of the essence. They cannot wait until laws are passed for the support and protection that they need immediately.

Organisations such as the Network work to streamline the elements of looking after children such as the recruitment and retention of carers, carers’ support, protection, status, respect and recompense, and the relationship between local authorities and independent providers. The Network works with Welsh Government to help support carers who are actively trying to raise the aspirations of looked after youngsters.

We work with local authorities across South Wales. If you are interested in more information, call us on 01267 232228 or drop us an email to info@familyfosteringpartners.co.uk