Foster Care Uncovered

When Systems Shape Minds: The Psychology Undermining Confidence and Care

This week, Sarah and Louise open with a candid, slightly irreverent look at what’s been making waves in the sector, the stories behind the headlines, the language being used, and the questions few people are saying out loud. At the heart of the conversation is a deeper exploration of how control shows up in subtle, often unspoken ways, and why some of the systems designed to support children and carers can end up creating the very tensions they are trying to avoid. They dig into the psychology sitting underneath it all, what drives it, what sustains it, and what happens when it starts to backfire. After the break, the discussion tightens. This is where things get more pointed: real examples, real dynamics, and the uncomfortable patterns that many will recognise but few will name. Expect challenge, reflection, and a few moments that will stay with you long after the episode ends, including who and what sits at the centre of this week’s spotlight. Links Interview: IWGB Foster Care Workers Branch Chair Sarah Anderson on Victoria Derbyshire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGZpLaTmOPo&list=PLWEgjIZKyJRoHb1uEe8IgW-GoRhEPgLzu&index=12 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGZpLaTmOPo&list=PLWEgjIZKyJRoHb1uEe8IgW-GoRhEPgLzu&index=12] Government statements: Gov UK Fostering for the future: improving the foster care system: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/fostering-for-the-future-improving-the-foster-care-system [https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/fostering-for-the-future-improving-the-foster-care-system] Gov UK Proposed changes to assessment and handling allegations of abuse: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fostering-reform-proposed-changes-to-assessment-and-handling-allegations-of-abuse [https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fostering-reform-proposed-changes-to-assessment-and-handling-allegations-of-abuse] Foster Carers Mental Health: https://fosterwiki.com/wiki/foster-carers-mental-health/ [https://fosterwiki.com/wiki/foster-carers-mental-health/] NFCQ Foster Carers Mental Health and Wellbeing: https://education.nfcq.co.uk/nfcq-courses/foster-carers-mental-health-and-wellbeing/ [https://education.nfcq.co.uk/nfcq-courses/foster-carers-mental-health-and-wellbeing/] Recourses: FosterWiki: https://fosterwiki.com/wiki/ [https://fosterwiki.com/wiki/] 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 [info@fosterwiki.com]. We’d love to hear from you! 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.

Them and Us: Foster Care's Unspoken Civil War

This week, Sarah and Louise take on one of foster care's biggest elephants in the room: "Them and Us". For years, carers have spoken about a growing divide between those providing care and those controlling the system. Yet whenever the subject is raised, many insist the divide doesn't exist. So who's right? Drawing on frontline experience, sector news, survey data and some uncomfortable questions, Sarah and Louise explore how power, accountability, allegations, leadership culture and government policy have combined to create a system where many carers feel increasingly excluded from decisions that affect both them and the children they care for. Because perhaps the real question isn't whether a "Them and Us" culture exists. It's why so many people are still pretending it doesn't. 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 [info@fosterwiki.com]. We’d love to hear from you! 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.

Culture Wars: Power, Silence and Moral Decline

This week on Foster Care Uncovered, Sarah and Louise tackle the growing culture crisis inside fostering. From Josh MacAlister’s latest social media backlash and the controversy around foster carer pay messaging, to the Government’s new Practice Guide for supporting foster carers, they ask a bigger question: why does fostering increasingly feel like a system more focused on managing narratives than listening to frontline reality? They explore the culture of fear many carers describe, and why so many feel unable to speak openly without judgment, repercussions or being shut down altogether. The episode also takes a sharp look at performative empathy, power dynamics, workplace culture, peer support, Ofsted ratings, and the growing frustration amongst carers who feel excluded from reform conversations that directly affect their lives. Plus: Foster Care Fortnight updates, listener messages, Wandsworth’s “Outstanding” rating, and plenty of the usual murky discussion along the way. A raw, honest, and thought-provoking episode about the culture carers are actually working within, not the one presented in glossy campaigns. 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 [info@fosterwiki.com]. We’d love to hear from you! 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.

Foster Care Fortnight: Illusion, Delusion and Confusion

In this episode of Foster Care Uncovered, Louise and Sarah return with their now-notorious mix of news, commentary and uncomfortable honesty as they take on the sector’s latest headlines, contradictions and carefully polished narratives. The episode opens with news from across the fostering landscape, including shifting government messaging, growing confusion around regional reforms, and the increasingly familiar gap between official communications and frontline understanding. The now-infamous “naughty step” award was heavily contested this week, and Sarah and Louise were spoilt for choice, telling us how difficult the decision was with the ‘standard’ so high. The main focus, however, is Foster Care Fortnight itself, what it claims to be, what it has become, and what it signals about the wider culture of recognition in the sector. Beneath the events, hashtags and campaigns, the conversation asks a more difficult question: whether visibility is translating into meaningful change for foster carers, or simply a more polished version of the same structural frustrations. Expect sharp commentary, sector insight, and an unfiltered look at the language, messaging and power dynamics shaping modern fostering, and why so many carers are increasingly asking what, exactly, is being celebrated. 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 [info@fosterwiki.com]. We’d love to hear from you! 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.

In Conversation with Rebekah Pierre: Recruitment ads, marginalisation and the illegal Homes Scandal

This week, Sarah and Louise are joined by Rebekah Pierre, Deputy Director of Article 39, care-experienced author, social worker, and one of the most important voices shaping the national conversation on children’s social care, who brings both authority and professional and lived experience to the table. Her work spans frontline practice, policy influence, and powerful storytelling, most recently through her book Free Loaves on Fridays, a landmark anthology capturing the realities of the care system through the voices of those who actually live it. As always, we start with a news roundup, and Sarah doesn’t hold back on what’s been building frustration this week. From there, the conversation moves into three areas that aren’t getting the scrutiny they deserve. First, foster carer recruitment, not just what’s being said, but how it’s being marketed, and why something about it feels increasingly off. Then, a deeper look at who was left out of the care review, and what that exclusion means for reform in practice, not just on paper. And finally, a frank discussion about unregulated and unregistered children’s homes, and why their impact is becoming impossible to ignore. This is a conversation that goes beyond the usual narratives. It’s about credibility, whose voices shape the system, and what happens when lived experience is either centred or quietly sidelined. Free Loaves on Friday by Rebekah Pierre [https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Rebekah+Pierre&text=Rebekah+Pierre&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books-uk] (Author) Free Loaves on Fridays is an anthology of stories, poems, reflections and letters by more than 100 care-experienced people, which aims to challenge worn-out stereotypes. This collection gives voice to diverse experiences, including foster care, adoption, kinship care and semi-independent living, among others. Get your copy here! [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Free-Loaves-Fridays-System-Actually/dp/1806770431/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2K04WA8UH6EZF&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FZCmrPYFidH7-fLnjrnY6acBmM17zSngWaw16F1beuk.fY4hjMSLnCysrnjdm263BkdGcj6vTKBrFOfW_D-Fk-M&dib_tag=se&keywords=Free+Loaves+on+Friday&qid=1777638554&sprefix=free+loaves+on+friday%252Caps%252C192&sr=8-1] 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 [info@fosterwiki.com]. We’d love to hear from you! 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.