A safe place to land
“It is fair to say there is a fostering crisis across the country. Too many children need safe homes, and too few people feel able to offer them. This shortage means children are sometimes placed far from their communities, separated from siblings, or moved multiple times. These are not just statistics — they are real lives, and the impact is profound.
Foster carers are the unsung heroes of our communities. They open their homes, provide stability, and offer love in moments when children need it most. It is not always easy, but the difference it makes cannot be measured. A safe start changes everything. The quiet work of foster carers often goes unnoticed, yet it transforms futures.
I know this from my own story. I was fostered before being adopted, and although I was too young to remember the details, I will always be grateful for the safety net that foster carers provided. Their care gave me the chance to grow up in security, and that is something I will never take for granted.
Across England, fostering households have fallen by around 10% in recent years, according to Ofsted. Behind that statistic are thousands of children waiting for someone to say yes.
Not everyone can foster, and that is okay. But everyone can help in some way. Sharing fostering information online, displaying a poster in a workplace or window, or simply talking about fostering with friends and neighbours can make a real difference. These small acts help the message reach the people who can foster — those who may not yet realise they have the capacity to offer a child a safe place to land.
If someone feels able to foster, Hertfordshire County Council has information through Support Hertfordshire Foster HELP. And if fostering isn’t possible, you can still be part of the story by helping the message reach the right homes. Because fostering isn’t just about taking a child into your home — it’s about helping them find their way to one.