Hillingdon is actively seeking to recruit more foster carers to address a national shortage, ensuring that vulnerable children have access to stable and loving homes. Interest in fostering has significantly increased since the launch of the new offer, with 14 new fostering households recruited and a further 14 families at various stages of the assessment process.

The Children, Families and Education Select Committee met on Thursday 13 November 2025 to discuss the fostering review, as part of a wider discussion that included the budget, performance, and care strategy. The review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the new fostering offer and explore opportunities for improvement. Recruitment and retention of foster carers, support for foster carers, and outcomes for children in care are the main areas of focus.

The Scoping Report - Fostering v2 identified a number of known issues, including a national shortage of foster carers, recruitment and retention challenges, limited awareness/ promotion of fostering opportunities, placement instability/ breakdowns, and support and training for foster carers.

The terms of reference for the review are:

  • To understand the needs and experiences of children in foster care through examining demographics, underrepresented groups, placement types, placement stability, educational attainment, wellbeing and emerging trends.
  • To evaluate the effectiveness of current recruitment and retention strategies, and support available to foster carers, including the impact of the new fostering offer.
  • To identify barriers to fostering for potential carers and children in care, and to identify opportunities for improvement.
  • To formulate recommendations to Cabinet aimed at strengthening Hillingdon's fostering provision, thereby improving outcomes for children in care.

According to the Annual Performance Report 2024/25, foster care remains the preferred placement option, as it provides a stable, family-based environment for those children who cannot live with their own families. As of March 2025, Hillingdon had corporate parenting duties to 330 children. 47% of these children are placed with foster carers.

As of March 31, 2025, the demographics of the 330 children under Hillingdon's care were as follows:

  • 38% White
  • 25% Black or Black British
  • 14% Asian or Asian British
  • 11% Mixed ethnicities
  • 11% Other ethnicities

This data informs the recruitment of foster carers from diverse backgrounds to better reflect the needs of the children in care.

Investing in foster carers was essential for driving change and improving outcomes for children and young people. The review could generate recommendations to Cabinet to further enhance recruitment, the benefits of fostering, and recognition of the role foster carers have for young people.

The proposed timeframe for the review includes several milestones:

  • 25 September 2025: Agree Scoping Report
  • 13 November 2025: Witness Session 1
  • 16 December 2025: Witness Session 2a (Private session)
  • 04 December 2025: Witness Session 2b (Private session)
  • 05 February 2026: Findings, conclusions and recommendations
  • 12 March 2026: Approval of final report
  • 23 April 2026: Target Cabinet reporting

Despite positive developments, challenges remained including fostering breakdowns and an ongoing shortage of foster carers. The Committee's scrutiny was welcomed, not only for the successes but also on areas needing further improvement. Officers also welcomed the proposed Terms of Reference for focusing on young peoples' experiences and placement stability, as well as the experiences of foster carers.

Members also stressed the importance of hearing directly from young people, suggesting a private witness session to allow them to share their experiences freely.

Members further suggested receiving briefings on training and safeguarding, particularly PACE training undertaken by foster carers, to better understand how carers were equipped to keep young people safe.

Members also suggested hearing from carers involved in the mockingbird constellation to gather their views and identify areas for improvement.