Coram BAAF

18/02/2026

CoramBAAF Fostering Conference 2026: Fostering reform - The opportunities, challenges and realities

2 March 2026 | Coram Campus, London | 9:30am – 4:30pm

Linda Briheim-Crookall, Head of Policy and Practice Development, Coram Voice

From Surviving to Thriving, covers the seven key drivers of well-being for children in care and care leavers. These drivers are taken from a pool of 27,000 responses from across 70 local authorities and allow practitioners to use the voices of care-experienced children and young people to inform their service development. We are excited to hear from Linda on the latest findings from the Bright Spots programme and how these findings can be applied in practice.

Sign up here: https://corambaaf.org.uk/events/corambaaf-fostering-conference-2026-fostering-reform-opportunities-challenges-and-realities

13/02/2026

The Reflective Fostering Programme – Improving the wellbeing of children in care through a group intervention for foster carers: A randomised controlled trial

We have published an article in our Adoption & Fostering journal presenting the results of a large-scale randomised controlled trial on the Reflective Fostering Programme - an intervention for foster carers. The study showed significant benefits for foster carers in terms of reducing burnout and stress and demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of the programme.

Read the Adoption & Fostering article here: https://corambaaf.org.uk/resources/adoption-fostering-journal

Its implications for UK policy and the support offered to foster carers by independent fostering agencies and local authorities are particularly timely given the government announcement last week on fostering reforms.

Read more here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewing-fostering-homes-for-10000-more-children

12/02/2026

CoramBAAF Fostering Conference 2026: Fostering reform - The opportunities, challenges and realities

2 March 2026 | Coram Campus, London | 9:30am – 4:30pm

Helen Hayes MP, Chair of the Education Commitee

Helen is Chair of the Education Committee, a parliamentary select committee that scrutinises the work of the Department for Education, covering children’s social care, schools, colleges, the early years and higher education. In 2025, Helen led the inquiry into the state of children's social care, calling for a national fostering strategy - a topic central to this year's conference discussions. We are delighted to welcome her and look forward to hearing her perspective on fostering reform.

Sign up here: https://corambaaf.org.uk/events/corambaaf-fostering-conference-2026-fostering-reform-opportunities-challenges-and-realities

12/02/2026

🌟 Foster carers — the DfE want to hear from you!

The Department for Education is looking for foster carers approved within the last 2 years to take part in a 60‑minute online research interview. This will be about your experience of applying to become a foster carer.

📅 Sessions run 9 to 12 March
💻 60 minutes on Microsoft TEAMS
📝 Share your experience of applying to become a foster carer and help improve the journey for future foster carers

👉 Register your interest to take part and indicate your availability: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=yXfS-grGoU2187O4s0qC-fLgHrJzzX5Jt33JfvNWB4JUREJPQTZWSVJETDBGUzJOUTZLUkdJSkFYQS4u

If you’re eligible to take part, a representative from the DfE will get in touch to confirm your session.

10/02/2026

CoramBAAF welcomes the government announcement today confirming that funding will be in place for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund until March 2028 alongside a formal consultation on the future of the fund.

The announcement about the funding being in place for the next two years, including an increase to £55 million for the next financial year, is something that CoramBAAF and partners (Adoption UK, CVAA, Kinship, FRG and ASGSF campaign) have been calling for.

Read our full statement here:

CoramBAAF welcomes the government announcement today confirming that funding will be in place for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund until March 2028 alongside a formal consultation on the future of the fund.

10/02/2026

We're proud to support 2026! Join us in helping children and young people stay safe, confident and empowered online.

The UK Safer Internet Centre has released new research with Nominet exploring young people's attitudes to AI and how it affects their digital experiences.

Explore the findings: www.saferinternet.org.uk/sid-research-2026

09/02/2026

Redefining foster carer role is crucial to government reform agenda. Read our opinion piece on CYP Children & Young People Now

"Government efforts to recruit more foster carers will only be successful if they reflect the realities of the role and address the concerns of those already providing care, says Emma Fincham, fostering consultant, CoramBAAF."

Read the full article here:

06/02/2026

Fostering reform

CoramBAAF welcomes the long awaited reforms to fostering. We do though have concerns about some of the proposals and have identified where they do not go far enough to address the major challenges of retention and the need for increased respect for the critical role of foster families.

We have already started to gather feedback from our foster carer advisory committee. Over the six-week consultation phase we will explore all the reforms in detail and seek views from our members in various ways.

· This starts on Monday 9 February when the Department for Education will be presenting the reforms to practitioners at an online event. Sign up here: https://corambaaf.org.uk/events/fostering-reform-implications-social-workers-local-authorities-and-agencies

· We have our fostering conference on 2 March.
Sign up here: https://corambaaf.org.uk/events/fostering-reform-implications-social-workers-local-authorities-and-agencies

· We have a practice forum focusing on the reforms on 3 March. Sign up here: https://corambaaf.org.uk/networking/practice-forums/fostering-practice-forum

05/02/2026

CoramBAAF response to the announcement of the government’s new fostering action plan, consultation and the target to increase the number of foster carers by 10,000

CoramBAAF welcomes the government's announcement of their action plan to develop fostering, increase the number of foster carers and invest funding into support, training and innovation. We will be working closely with local authorities, agencies, partners and the government to deliver the changes needed to improve the lives of children and foster carers.

We were delighted that the children's minister Josh MacAlister MP came to Coram offices in London yesterday to share his vision for reform with foster carers and key partners.

For further details about the announcement and our response please go here: https://corambaaf.org.uk/updates/corambaaf-response-announcement-governments-new-fostering-action-plan-consultation-and

05/02/2026

CoramBAAF Fostering Conference 2026: Fostering reform - The opportunities, challenges and realities

2 March 2026 | Coram Campus, London | 9:30am – 4:30pm

EARLY BIRD SALE UNTIL 6 FEBRUARY!

We are delighted to announce the Department for Education will be speaking at our Fostering Conference, focusing on what the latest fostering reforms mean in practice and the direction of travel for the sector. As consultation on these reforms opens, this session creates space for practitioners to consider how their experience can contribute to shaping policy in ways that work for children, carers and services.

Sign up here: https://corambaaf.org.uk/events/corambaaf-fostering-conference-2026-fostering-reform-opportunities-challenges-and-realities

30/01/2026

COLLAGE mental health online survey for care experienced young people

Care experienced young people (aged 13 – 25, living in England) are invited to take part in this anonymous online survey to share their experiences of finding and getting mental health support.

This research is led by the University of Birmingham and their partners at the Universities of Bristol and Kent

COLLAGE research study flyer: