In this episode of Foster Care Uncovered, Sarah and Louise pull back the curtain on what foster carers really experience, and why the system’s promises of support often fall short.

From the quietly creeping national foster carer register to the realities of supervision, breaks, mental health, and training, they reveal the gap between policy and practice.

Sarah and Louise explore what real, effective support should look like, the dangers of performative measures, and how independent, peer-led organisations are filling the void.

A must listen for anyone who cares about fostering, carers, and the children they serve.

All views shared in this podcast reflect the personal opinions of the hosts alone. They are not intended as factual assertions about any person or organisation, nor do they represent the views of any employer or professional body.

If you'd like to chat about this episode or any of our past episodes, feel free to reach out to us at info@fosterwiki.com. We’d love to hear from you!

This week, Sarah and Louise tackle one of the most hidden crises in fostering, allegations against foster carers.

For decades, foster carers have quietly shared stories of false or retaliatory allegations, stories that were often dismissed as overemotional or anecdotal. In this episode, they unpack the scale of the problem, over 30,000 carers have been caught in a system that can devastate careers, families, and children’s stability.

Joining us is Dr Christian Harkensee, a paediatrician and Child Protection Lead, who shares his personal experience navigating a false allegation and the emotional toll it took on him and his family. Together, we explore how the system currently operates, why fear of allegations affects nearly every carer, and what could actually be done to protect carers and children alike.

This episode isn’t just about the headline; it’s about understanding the systemic harm that’s quietly reshaping foster care and what must change if we want a future for fostering at all.

All views shared in this podcast reflect the personal opinions of the hosts alone. They are not intended as factual assertions about any person or organisation, nor do they represent the views of any employer or professional body.

If you'd like to chat about this episode or any of our past episodes, feel free to reach out to us at info@fosterwiki.com. We’d love to hear from you!

This week, Sarah and Louise take an unflinching, slightly bemused, slightly furious wander through the week’s news before getting into the topic everyone tiptoes around in fostering: money.

From Josh MacAlister’s so-called “clarification” that somehow made things worse, where asking for basic rights and protections is reframed as carers wanting to “clock on”, and he quietly positions himself as the only one putting children first, to Ofsted handing out “Outstanding” while carers are furious and standards for them and their children still so poor, this episode follows the money, the spin, and the damage left behind.

We get into postcode lotteries, levelling down dressed up as reform, carers topping up from their own pockets, and the quiet financial engineering hollowing out fostering from the inside.

Loving children and being paid properly aren’t opposites. But pretending money doesn’t matter is how care systems rot.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/qualifying-care-relief-foster-carers-adult-placement-carers-kinship-carers-and-staying-put-carers-hs236-self-assessment-helpsheet/hs236-qualifying-care-relief-foster-carers-adult-placement-carers-kinship-carers-and-staying-put-carers-2025

https://www.gov.uk/employment-status/worker

All views shared in this podcast reflect the personal opinions of the hosts alone. They are not intended as factual assertions about any person or organisation, nor do they represent the views of any employer or professional body.

If you'd like to chat about this episode or any of our past episodes, feel free to reach out to us at info@fosterwiki.com. We’d love to hear from you!