IWGB Foster Care Workers Branch UK

31/07/2026

Are you a foster carer in Lewisham?

Lewisham's foster care system is seeing rapid deterioration - some of the worst erosion in London.

We want to know why, so that together we can do something about it.

Please get in touch to share, confidentially, your experiences fostering in the borough.

Send us a direct message or comment below!

20/07/2026

A new week. A new Prime Minister. A new opportunity to listen?

The long school holidays are here - but for Foster Carers, the caring never stops.

Providing safe, loving homes for children who need them most - 24/7 - they’re doing it all within a broken system that clearly isn’t working on so many levels.

Facing a real and identified crisis point, children are waiting far too long for the right homes, and too much money is being taken out of the system through privatisation and profiteering instead of being invested in children and carers. This has resulted in way too many experienced Foster Carers leaving, feeling undervalued, overwhelmed and not listened to.

So, with the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, starting today, saying he wants to tackle 'privatisation', and put ‘care of people' at the heart of everything, we’re asking one simple question….

If you could say one thing to the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, about fixing Foster Care, what would it be?

Whether you’re a Foster Carer or someone with experience of care, please leave your thoughts in the comments. We’ll read all and share themes to help make sure our voices are heard.

Also, if you’re a Foster Carer and haven’t yet joined us, please do consider it. Fighting for our rights and those of all the children and young people in our care, there really has never been a greater need or more important time for all to stand together and speak out.

https://fosteriwgb.co.uk/join

Becoming A Member:  Our union brings together foster carers from across the UK to campaign for better system for all. We are run by foster carers, for foster carers. Every member gets a say in…

16/07/2026

Scotland's 32 Chief Social Workers have declared an 'acute emergency' in the children's care system.

This has meant children as young as three being housed in residential care alongside young adults, and Social Workers personally having to take children home themselves.

With a severe shortage of Foster Carers cited as one main reason for the crisis, Sue Lloyd from the Foster Care Workers Branch of the IWGB gives their response.

If you're a Foster Carer and haven't yet joined us, please do consider it.

Fighting for our rights and those of all the children and young people in our care, there really has never been a greater need or more important time for us all to stand together.

https://fosteriwgb.co.uk/join/

15/07/2026

The IWGB Foster Care Workers' Union welcomes Glasgow City Council's new financial support package for foster carers. The measures include a £100 weekly uplift, an additional week's annual review payment, and a £2000 referral payment.

The announcement also acknowledged a wider national crisis: a chronic shortage of foster carers. Across the UK, there are currently more than 20,000 fostering vacancies, leaving thousands of children without the stable homes they need.

While these financial improvements are welcome, particularly during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, they should not distract from the deeper issues facing foster care. Foster care is in crisis, and while better financial support is important, money alone will not solve it. Lasting change requires structural reform.

That is why we continue to call for employment rights, a professional register and formal union recognition for foster carers. These reforms would strengthen the profession, improve retention and ensure foster carers are properly supported and empowered to provide the best possible care for children.

Our campaign has never been driven by financial gain. We organise because foster carers deserve to be recognised and treated as the essential professionals at the heart of children's care.

That is why we will continue to come together, organise, campaign and win the changes that foster carers, and the vulnerable children we care for, deserve.

https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/foster-carers-glasgow-receive-extra-34181806

09/07/2026

Now posting a captioned version of our Big Picnic video with more info on the event below.

09/07/2026

Showcasing the brilliant community spirit of the IWGB Foster Care Workers Branch, alongside all our tireless campaigning and advocacy, here's a short video from our very first Big Picnic! 🌳🧺

Held just outside Edinburgh, it brought fostering families together to connect, chat and have fun, representing the supportive community that makes our branch so special.

Already planning our next in Northumberland, our aim is to roll these out across all four nations as we continue to grow bigger and stronger together.

Serving as a welcome distraction to gloomier news out there, it’s hopefully also a reminder of the power of community and solidarity.

If you’re a Foster Carer and haven’t yet joined us, please do consider it.

Fighting for our rights and those of all the children and young people in our care, there really has never been a greater need or more important time for us all to stand together.

https://fosteriwgb.co.uk/join/

02/07/2026

The IWGB Foster Care Worker Union acknowledges that Children and Families Minister Josh MacAllister is moving in the right direction with his various interventions on child protection, such as the recent report ‘Delivering the children’s social care reset - an implementation plan for local partners’, but it's not sufficient.

The UK Government must also see the true value of foster carers. We, who have invaluable expertise on the vulnerable kids we care for, are often the first to flag welfare concerns to social workers. Our work deserves to be recognised as such.

We recommend they start with a professional register, employment rights and union recognition. This would be a truly meaningful start to solving the many crises in children’s social care.

28/06/2026

Hoping you're all having wonderful weekends, please have a read of our latest newsletter.

Containing key points from our recent AGM, and advance notice of a membership survey launching soon, we're also hosting a Big Picnic gathering in Scotland this Thursday 2nd July, and would love to see you there!

Being held at The Craigs Scout Camp, Torphichen, EH48 4NL from 1-6pm, all IWGB members and their families are welcome, alongside non-members too.

Please join us and spread the word with RSVPs in the comments section welcome and more info on the newsletter.

15/06/2026

Gentle reminder of our Annual General Meeting taking place tomorrow Tuesday 16th June from 10.30am - 12.30pm.

Offering options to join us in-person OR online, the venue is the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh, with the Zoom link to join online found on this flyer.

Do hope to see you all there!

10/06/2026

Please do join us at our Annual General Meeting which is a hybrid event this year.

Taking place in person on Tuesday 16th June from 10.30am - 12.30pm at the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh, we'll also be online via Zoom with more information and links sent out via email and text.

All members welcome. Please spread the word and hope to see you all there!