Practical guidance for real fostering life.

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.

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.

Children in care come with a virtual school head, a designated teacher, a plan reviewed every term and £2,690 of funding attached to them. Here is what all of that gives a foster carer the right to ask for, and when to ask.

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.

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.

Anxiety in a child who has been through a lot rarely announces itself. Here is what the signs look like, what steadies a child during a panic attack, what helps over the following months, and when to involve the GP.

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.

Around four in ten children in care score in the range the Department for Education calls a cause for concern. A practical guide to what actually helps at home, and how to get professional support when a child needs more.

Behaviour is what most people worry about before they enquire about fostering. Here is what actually helps: staying calm in the moment, the quiet work you do beforehand, what a fair consequence looks like, and where the legal lines sit.