Online Safety and a Foster Child: What Actually Works

A carer and child looking at a tablet together

Age checks arrived in July 2025, and Ofcom says children are still meeting harmful content at much the same rate. Here is what online safety actually asks of a foster carer, from the settings worth an hour to what to do on the bad day.

Supporting an LGBTQ+ Young Person in Foster Care

A warm, accepting family home

A foster carer’s job is not to work out what a young person is. It is to be someone safe enough to be told. What that looks like day to day, what you can ask a school for, and which decisions are not yours to make.

Fostering an Autistic Child: What Actually Helps

A carer and child doing a calm activity together

Most people waiting for an autism assessment in England have already passed the three-month standard the NHS sets itself. Here is what actually helps an autistic child at home and at school while you wait, almost none of which needs a diagnosis.

Communicating With a Foster Child: What Actually Gets Through

A trusted adult listening to a young person

The big conversations almost never happen when you sit a child down and ask. Here is why talking sideways works better, what the famous “93 per cent is body language” claim actually says, and what to do when a child cannot yet find the words.

Child Development in Foster Care: What to Expect and When to Ask

A carer playing with a young child

Milestone charts are built from averages, and children who have had a hard start rarely match them. Here is the rough shape of what usually happens when, the extra health checks a child in care is entitled to, and who to tell if something does not look right.

Life Story Work: Helping a Child Understand Their Own Past

A young person feeling proud of who they are

Almost half of four to seven-year-olds in care have never had a full explanation of why they are there. Here is what life story work is, who leads it, and why a foster carer’s own part is narrower: making sure the child keeps the memories of living with you.

How Foster Carers Help a Child Build Emotional Resilience

A young person feeling confident and supported

Resilience is not toughness, and you cannot train it into a child. What the research keeps pointing at is quieter: one adult who keeps turning up, a routine that holds, and a few everyday habits you can build into an ordinary week.

Supporting a Grieving Foster Child: What Actually Helps

A carer comforting an upset child

Grief in a fostering home rarely arrives when you expect it, or in the shape you expect. Here is what actually helps a bereaved child, what the five stages of grief get wrong, and who you can ring for free when you need more than a kind word.