Foster Care Fortnight 2025 runs from May 12 - 25, and is the UK’s largest awareness campaign for foster care.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of the opportunities for foster care, and encourages people to consider if fostering could be right for them.

This year’s theme is The Power of Relationships - because at the heart of every fostering journey are the connections that make all the difference, whether it’s the bond between a foster carer and a child, the support of social workers, the friendships built within fostering communities, or the connections with birth families.

Established for almost 20 years, the campaign showcases the commitment, passion and dedication of foster carers. It also supports fostering services to highlight the need for more foster carers. Thousands of new foster families are needed every year to care for children, with the greatest need being for foster carers for older children, sibling groups, disabled children and unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

The Fostering Network is encouraging people to get involved with Foster Walk 2025, a self-led sponsored challenge to raise money for The Fostering Network.

The funds will be used to support foster carers to transform children’s lives and to ensure all children and young people in foster care experience stable family life.

If you want to take part in Foster Walk, you can choose any route you want to, as well as a challenge that suits you.

The Network suggests that you wear orange for your walk as a way to raise awareness, and encourages participants to share their challenges on social media with a JustGiving page.

If you are considering becoming a foster carer, you must have the right to work in the UK, be able to take care of a child or young person, often on a full-time basis, and you must also be at least 18 years old, though most foster service providers will require you to be at least 21.

How long you care for the child depends on the type of foster care, ranging from one night to many years, or until the child is an adult.

If you want to become a foster carer, you must pass a fostering assessment first, and if successful, you will need to attend training, keep records about the child, and attend meetings, as well as caring for the child.

There are many types of foster care, including long term foster care, for children who cannot go back to their birth family but do not want to be adopted, short term foster care, for a few weeks or months, and emergency foster care for a few nights.

Other types of foster care include ‘family and friends’ or ‘kinship’, respite care, remand, specialist therapeutic care, and fostering for adoption.

You can apply to be a foster parent with your local council or an independent fostering agency.

The Fostering Foundation is an independent and accessible agency dedicated to supporting foster carers and looked-after children in the South West of England.

You can find The Fostering Foundation at 1 & 2, 46-47, Brook St, Tavistock PL19 0HE, and you can contact them by calling 01822 618068 or visiting their website.

Call Fosterline for free on 0800 040 7675 to get advice on fostering.