This Is Not Just Fostering
It’s Foster Care Fortnight from 11th-24th May – the UK’s largest campaign aimed at raising awareness about fostering, and the celebration and appreciation of foster carers who put their hearts into the everyday care, support and advocacy for children. The Fostering Network’s theme for 2026 is ‘This Is Fostering’. TACT have chosen to put a spin on this year’s theme: This Is Not Just Fostering.
The term ‘fostering’ can sometimes feel broad and abstract. It often masks the everyday experiences, the inspiring stories and the amazing outcomes for children and young people. This Foster Care Fortnight, we wanted to delve deeper into the specific experiences, perspectives and what fostering really means on a day-to-day level. This is why we’ve chosen to put a spin on this year’s theme using the headline prompt of ‘This Is Not Just Fostering…’
This is not just fostering…
Foster Care Fortnight is about celebrating our amazing teams of foster carers all over the UK, whilst also inspiring others to want to make a difference.
As a fostering charity, we find ourselves constantly in awe of the skill, dedication and compassion of our foster carers. They dedicate their time to guiding young people through school, helping them with their homework, cheering them on at the 5-a-side and listening to them when they need a chat. Sometimes the smaller actions and gestures pass unnoticed. Not because they are not important, but because fostering is about establishing stability, normality and security for young people who have lived with uncertainty and disruption.
Our campaign aims to bring into focus the everyday, the great outcomes and the rewarding aspects of foster care. We’re doing this by asking the prompt question ‘This Is Not Just Fostering…’.
This is what our foster carers said:
This Is Not Just Fostering…This Is 30 Years of Making A Difference
“Bill and I started fostering in 1992, simply because we wanted to make a difference to the lives of children in need. In the early days of fostering we were with an agency run by a gentleman called Jim Armstrong who went on to establish TACT. So we were really part of the birth of TACT and we are very proud to be the charity’s longest serving foster carers.”
Rose & Bill, TACT Foster Carers Since 1992
This Is Not Just Fostering…This Is Keeping Siblings Together
“The two siblings who are currently with us were originally placed separately when they came into care. The boy came to us, while his sister was placed elsewhere. Through no fault of her own, the young lady came to us on an emergency temporary respite [placement] but never left. Her relationship with her brother started to blossom and she told us she felt like she belonged here. Being together has brought both of them closer together.”
Nicky & Darren, TACT Foster Carers Since 2006
How TACT Goes Above and Beyond
Some of the key issues for foster carers on a national level are finances and quality of fostering support. It’s no surprise that these areas are a point of focus for The Fostering Network’s Foster Care Fortnight campaign. As the UK’s largest dedicated fostering charity, we ensure that reinvestment in our services turn into tangible benefits that positively impact foster carers and the young people they provide care for. Being a charitable fostering agency is not just about ticking the boxes, it’s about creating more boxes to tick.
Some of those areas are:
Financial Wellbeing For Foster Carers
In our current climate with living costs skyrocketing, finances are a universal concern. Here at TACT, we uplifted the fee we pay to our carers in April 2026 by 4%, following on from an uplift in 2024 by 4.5%. We also established our Council Tax Contribution Scheme, centred around TACT making contributions to foster carer’s council tax bill – with the amount contributed increasing according to a carer’s length of service (including their fostering experience outside of TACT).
We call this financial wellbeing. Our objective is to remove finances as a point of concern, to enable our foster carers to fully invest their skill and passion into the day-to-day care of children, without financial distraction. Read more about TACT’s fostering pay and allowances.
Robust Fostering Support
Fostering support is another key priority for TACT. 24/7 support should be a standard expectation of any fostering agency. It should cover multiple touchpoints, and be provided in lots of different ways.
We provide robust support for foster carers, the young people they provide care for – and any of the carer’s own ‘birth children’. This additional support includes access to wellbeing-themed apps, Breathways sessions for stress and anxiety, and regular wellbeing days out.
We also provide specific targeted support for young people, via specialist teams of Children’s Resource Workers and Engagement & Activity Practitioners. Our teams offer 1-1 sessions with young people, right through to days out filled with activities that enhance wellbeing and a sense of belonging.
Our new Pass the Praise scheme provides TACT staff with the opportunity to nominate a foster carer for outstanding work. We’re currently looking at ways to enable foster carers to ‘nominate’ each other. This is why TACT is often cited as having a family or community feel. We pride ourselves on our support and wellbeing offer, that extends from our staff, to our foster carers – all the way through to each child in every household. Read more about TACT’s fostering support.
What Will Your Fostering Story Look Like?
The term ‘fostering’ can sometimes feel broad and abstract. It can carry myths, misconceptions and assumptions that make it difficult to fully understand what fostering really involves.
At its heart, fostering is about providing stability, normality and security for young people who may have experienced significant uncertainty or disruption. It’s more about the smaller moments and connections that require empathy and compassion – rather than the grander gestures. It’s about bringing the extraordinary into the everyday.
What will your fostering story look like?
Our Foster Care Fortnight events
- May 11, 2026
- Wales
- Time: 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Rhondda Cynon Taf Information Event – 11th May
Live in Rhondda Cynon Taf? Come along to our fostering information event at Brewers Fayre on Mon 11th May to learn more about becoming a foster carer.
- May 11, 2026
- East Midlands, London, London & The South, North West, Scotland, South West, Virtual, Wales, West Midlands, Yorkshire & North East,
- Time: 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Virtual Information Event – 11th May
Our virtual information event on 11th May is the perfect opportunity to learn more from the comfort of your own home.
- May 12, 2026
- East Midlands, London, London & The South, North West, Scotland, South West, Virtual, Wales, West Midlands, Yorkshire & North East,
- Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Speak To A TACT Foster Carer – 12th May
Hear directly from TACT Foster Carer Laura about what fostering is really like, with a Fostering Information Advisor on hand to support the session and answer questions.