Who We Are
An independent fostering charity with more than 75 years of experience.
A little bit about our fostering charity
In 1945 our founder Paul Field had a vision, he wanted all children to have the opportunity to have a home where they could feel safe, supported and loved.
As we have developed as an organisation, we have remained committed to providing a high-quality service which supports fostering households and puts children and young people first. As a not-for-profit fostering charity, we ensure that any surplus funds are directly re-invested into improving our services and enhancing the lives and futures of our looked after children.
Over the years, we have looked after many children and young people from diverse backgrounds with a variety of needs within our dedicated and committed foster families. We aim to achieve stability and security for our children and young people, helping them to develop their talents and skills, achieve their potential and make the most of the opportunities available to them.
How we're managed
As a Charity The CFT is managed by our Board of Trustees with the day-to-day decision making being delegated to the Chief Executive, Marina Mullholland. With this our Board of Trustees have an important role to play with respect to monitoring and regulating the functions of The Trust. Learn more about the role of the Trustees.
Reaching for excellence
The work we undertake is closely monitored and regulated and as such, The CFT is open to inspection and scrutiny from a range of various sources, both internal and external. As a Fostering Charity, our offices are evaluated individually by OFSTED.
In the work we do we endeavour to reach for excellence through regular consultation, involvement and engagement with our foster carers, children and local authority partners.
Annually The CFT carry out a ‘Continuous Improvement Survey’. This is commissioned by our Board of Trustees and allows all stakeholders (inclusive of our carers, staff and local authority colleagues) to be involved. This information informs our development and improves the services provided across the board and especially our children.
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Local authorities
Although our ethos and values are to create ‘Family for Life’, we also provide a range of placement types including short term, short break (respite) and specialist placements such as parent and child and sibling group placements.
For more information on working with us please get in touch on 0300 111 1945 or click here to make an enquiry and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
When you work with The CFT, you can be assured that we:
Sets a particularly high standard for entrants to our Foster Carer team
Expects our foster carers to be professional in the work they do
Will visit foster carers a minimum of twice each month to provide Supervision and Support
Will support Carers in developing their knowledge and self-confidence through training and social work support
Undertakes a careful matching process
Encourages and support Foster Carers in gaining recognised qualifications
Encourages our Foster Carers to benefit from the wider support of local Foster Carer networks
Provides qualified social work staff with child care and child protection experience
Works in partnership with the Local Authority on each child’s care plan
Recognises the importance of education and support the child to achieve their true potential
Provides a round the clock Out Of Hours Service
Provides therapeutic support in agreement with the Local Authority where needed
Maintains and supports natural family relationships wherever appropriate and promote contact
The CFT work with and support children and young people from over 100 placing Local Authorities. The CFT have contracts with the all of these local authorities and more making us a ‘Preferred Service Provider’. The Local Authorities which The CFT works with are inclusive, but not limited to:
Barnsley
Bath & NE Somerset
Bedfordshire
Birmingham
Bracknell Forest
Bradford
Bristol
Calderdale
Coventry
Cumbria
Doncaster
Dorset
Dudley
Darlington
Durham
Edinburgh
Enfield
East Sussex
Gateshead
Gloucestershire
Hampshire
Hartlepool
Herefordshire
Kirklees
Lambeth
Leeds
North East Lincolnshire
Middleborough
Newcastle
Northumberland
North & South Tyneside
North Yorkshire
Oxfordshire
Portsmouth
Reading
Redcar & Cleveland
Rotherham
Sandwell
Sheffield
Shropshire
Somerset
Southampton
Staffordshire
Stoke
Solihull
Sunderland
North Somerset
South Tyneside
Stockton
Sunderland
Surrey
Swindon
Telford & Wrekin
Warwickshire
Walsall
Wigan
Wiltshire
Windsor and Maidenhead
Wolverhampton
Worcestershire
