The London Borough of Bexley approved its Fostering Strategy for 2026-2030 at the Public Cabinet meeting on 1 July.
This strategy builds on the great work undertaken by both our amazing team of foster carers and our fostering service to both support existing carers and recruit more foster carers while responding to ongoing national sufficiency challenges.
The Council is focused on building and sustaining a diverse and skilled fostering community where every child can thrive in a loving, supportive and stable home.
Through innovative recruitment, targeted outreach and comprehensive support, we aim to attract, support and retain Bexley’s passionate and committed foster carers.
By building strong relationships, offering ongoing development and recognising the invaluable contributions of our fostering families, this strategy will ensure that every child's unique needs are met with understanding, care and dedication, leading to stable homes and positive outcomes for children.
The strategy will support the Council to:
- increase the availability of high-quality local fostering placements
- further improve stability and outcomes for children in care
- strengthen support and retention of foster carers
- reduce reliance on external providers
With this Strategy, the Council hopes to:
- no longer use any Independent Fostering Agency placements in emergency situations
- recruit an additional 80 Fostering Households, of which 20 will offer specialist placements for teenagers or sibling groups and 10 will offer specialist care and support to children with severe and profound disabilities
- place 90% of children in our care with our own local Foster Carers
- place 80% of sibling groups together
- offer choice of at least two foster carer profiles when children are coming into care or moving to our Host & Support carers to further support effective matching of needs and interests
Cabinet Member for Children and Families, Cllr Chris Taylor, said:
This ambitious strategy is all about supporting our foster carers and strengthening our pledge to children to ensure we provide a choice of high quality and local family-based care when needed.
We have made a commitment to the children and young people of our Borough to work tirelessly to keep them safe within their family home, and where this is not possible provide high quality care within a family environment.
Whilst most of our children in Bexley remain within their family home and connected to their community, sometimes it is necessary for children and young people to move to live elsewhere to keep them safe.
In Bexley we always endeavour to keep children in care within their family/friendship network and within their local community. This strategy furthers our ambition to ensure this.“
The percentage of children in our care who are in foster care has increased over the past 5 years (from 69% in 2021 to 71% in 2025) and is above the London and national average (London: 68%; National average: 67%).
The strategy also aims also to further develop Bexley’s Kinship Care offer, ensuring more children in care can remain safely within their wider family and friend network, supported by strong, consistent and tailored local services.
This forms a key part of our involvement in the National Kinship Care Pilot running over the next 3 years, strengthening the support available to families in Bexley so children can experience the stability and belonging they need to thrive.