Diversity in Fostering

The foster care system plays a vital role in providing safe, nurturing environments for children who cannot live with their birth families. Yet, recent data reveals a mismatch between the ethnic backgrounds of children in care and the foster carers who support them.

Cultural identity is a key component of a child’s sense of belonging and well-being. When foster carers share or understand a child’s cultural background, it supports emotional stability, identity development, and better long-term outcomes. A mismatch can lead to:

• A lack of cultural understanding.
• Isolation or identity confusion for children.
• Difficulty preserving language, religion, or traditions.

While White British children make up 74.9% of those in care, 89.74% of Swindon foster carers are White British. Children from other ethnic backgrounds are significantly underrepresented amongst carers:

Of the 303 children we care for, predominantly they are older. 31.7% are 16 + and 35.6% are between 11 to 15 years old while 21.5% are between 5 to 10 years old and last but not least 11.2% are from new born to 4 years old, with a mix of boys and girls, this also includes brothers and sisters.

To date this year there have been 25 children that have needed a fostering home and to give you some context there have been 5 newly approved foster carers and 6 households starting the assessment process so the need for more people to foster is very real here in Swindon.

There are many types of people that foster. Our carers come from all backgrounds and start at different ages, from their 20s to their 60s, they including single people, members of the LGBTQ+ community, renters, and those with or without children of their own proving there’s no one "right" kind of foster carer.