NEWS AND BLOGS

In honour of Safer Internet Day, one of our incredible foster carers, Chris has shared some top tips on how to keep foster children safe online.

Prepare for your foster care journey with these five essential insights. Learn what to expect, how to prepare, and how to support foster children effectively.

Learn practical tips and strategies to help foster children navigate peer pressure. Empower them with confidence and resilience through open communication and support.

The fostering sector is at a crossroads. Recent reports in The Mail have highlighted a troubling trend: private fostering agencies, backed by profit-driven private equity firms, are turning vulnerable children’s care into big business. As the need for foster families rises, charities like Step by Step are stepping in to provide an ethical and community-focused alternative.

The fostering community in England is facing an urgent crisis. Statistics released in December from the Department for Education reveal a worrying decline in the number of approved foster carers, with a drop of 2% over the past year alone.

In this guide, we’ll define some of the most common terms used in fostering. Whether you’re just beginning to explore fostering or are already in the application process, this glossary will help you better understand the language used in fostering.

While many of us associate the festive season with joy and togetherness, it can be a difficult time for children in foster care. It’s essential to be sensitive to the emotional and psychological needs of foster children, as their past experiences may influence how they view and react to the season.

It’s Anti-Bullying week and this year’s theme is Choose Respect, empowering people to do something positive to counter the harm that bullying causes. Sadly, children in care report twice the level of bullying than other children in primary school and four times the level of bullying than other children in secondary school.

The latest edition of our Meet the Team series features our Supervising Social Worker, Sue Collier. We interviewed Sue to learn more about her busy roles at Step by Step and what inspired her to work with young people.