The Department for Education will bring forward a package of reforms in early 2026 to accelerate foster carer recruitment and improve retention, according to a 30 December press release issued with Minister for Children and Families Josh MacAlister. The department says the objective is to increase the supply of foster places and stabilise existing arrangements, with further detail promised in the new year alongside a formal consultation scheduled for early 2026.
Ofsted’s 2024/25 fostering statistics reported 42,190 fostering households in England as at 31 March 2025, a seven per cent decline since 2021. Within that total, mainstream households-local authority and independent fostering agency approvals excluding formal kinship care-stood at 33,435, around ten per cent lower than in 2021. The department’s release reflects this mainstream figure when describing the scale of the recruitment gap.
Workforce pressures remain evident. In 2024/25, 4,430 mainstream households joined the sector while 4,690 deregistered, a net reduction of 255. Over the same period, the number of approved mainstream foster carers fell to 56,345, down 12 per cent since 2021. These data underline why ministers are pairing recruitment with measures to keep experienced carers.
Ministers say the reforms will widen who can foster by removing unnecessary barriers, improve support for carers juggling employment and family responsibilities, and pilot innovative models shaped with carers and frontline practitioners. The package will be underpinned by children’s social care funding confirmed at the Spending Review.
Spending Review 2025 earmarks £555 million from the Transformation Fund over the review period to help more children remain safely with their families and to stabilise the care market, plus £560 million in capital between 2026–27 and 2029–30 to refurbish and expand children’s homes and foster placements. The settlement also maintains £523 million per year for prevention via the Local Government Funding Settlement.
For local authorities, the direction of travel points to adjustments in approvals, training and case management to accommodate applicants in full‑time work or with dependent children. Councils may need to expand flexible respite, out‑of‑hours support and supervisory capacity if new models are rolled out, and to refresh retention offers alongside established weekly allowances and advice networks.
Independent fostering agencies registered a modest year‑on‑year increase in mainstream households in 2024/25, while local authority mainstream households continued to decline. Agencies can expect a broader applicant pool but tighter labour markets for assessors and supervising social workers; alignment with any revised statutory guidance will be critical.
Officials link shortfalls in foster capacity to higher use of residential settings or unsuitable accommodation, which can worsen outcomes and expose adolescents to greater risk. Baroness Casey’s National Audit on group‑based child sexual exploitation, published in June 2025, criticised fragmented safeguarding responses and called for stronger coordination-context likely to inform updated fostering guidance.
The reforms sit alongside the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which proposes stronger safeguards in children’s social care and recognition of kinship carers in law. The House of Lords concluded committee stage on 18 September 2025; report stage is pending.
The Children’s Commissioner for England welcomed the intent to grow the carer base and pressed for ambitious targets to reduce reliance on unregistered or semi‑independent settings. The minister reiterated a focus on stable, family‑based homes and encouraged prospective carers to come forward over the festive period.
Operational milestones to watch in early 2026 include the opening of the consultation and the first details of draft guidance on assessments, training and support. Finance and commissioning leads should monitor how SR25 allocations flow into 2026/27 budgets and whether ring‑fencing applies to local recruitment and retention activity.