Barnardo's Fostering — Midlands
Birmingham · CharityNational
Ofsted: GoodBarnardo's is a national children's charity. Their fostering teams focus on long-term stability, sibling placements, and parent-and-child arrangements.
What sets Barnardo's Midlands apart
Barnardo's is the UK's largest children's charity with over 150 years of fostering and family-support experience. The Midlands Fostering Families Service is run from Halesowen and covers Birmingham, the Black Country, Coventry, Warwickshire and the wider West Midlands.
As a not-for-profit, any surplus is reinvested into the children Barnardo's supports. The Midlands service is best known for two things: matching mainstream long-term placements, and a specialist intensive service for young people at risk of criminal exploitation or already in contact with the criminal justice system — a service very few agencies offer.
www.barnardos.org.uk/get-support/fostering/foster-with-us51
Approved fostering households across the Midlands
68
Children living with Barnardo's Midlands foster families
150+
Years of Barnardo's experience supporting children
Support at a glance
Two supervision visits per month at the start of a placement, then monthly — with at least two unannounced visits a year.
Staff often deliver training to foster carers themselves, drawing on the wider charity's research into trauma, behaviour and mental health.
All carers are trained in Barnardo's behaviour management approach — physical intervention is a last resort and always reviewed by the manager.
Dedicated project workers build trusting relationships with children — particularly important for those at risk of exploitation or criminalisation.
An out-of-hours support line is in place; Barnardo's has been working to improve this following recent carer feedback.
Every child receives a detailed welcome guide before they move in, and a memory box when they move on.
Types of fostering offered
Barnardo's Midlands offers short-term, long-term, respite, emergency, parent-and-child, sibling groups, therapeutic and short-break placements. The agency also runs a unique intensive service for children at risk of criminal exploitation, preventing moves into secure accommodation.
Allowances
From £380/week per child. As a charity, fees and allowances are reviewed annually and reinvested rather than paid out to shareholders. Contact Barnardo's directly for current Midlands rates and any skill-based uplifts.
What Ofsted say
All three areas were rated Good at the November 2023 inspection — children's experiences and progress, how well children are helped and protected, and the effectiveness of leaders and managers.
Ofsted highlighted the agency's unique intensive service for young people at risk of criminalisation, strong matching, and a stable, experienced staff team. Two requirements were raised — on risk-assessment depth for higher-risk children and on out-of-hours support — and Barnardo's has since taken action on both.
Ofsted inspection quotes
"Children are happy and settled living with their foster carers. Children have developed positive relationships with their foster families and enjoy the time that they spend with them. Two children said that they would give their foster carers '10 out of 10'."
"The foster carers providing this support are tenacious and are excellent advocates for children, as well as providing them with a nurturing and supportive home environment. As a result of the care they provide, some children have experienced stability for the first time in their lives."
"The fostering service is supported by highly skilled and committed project workers. The trusting relationships developed between the project workers and children provide the opportunity for children to learn about how to keep themselves safe."
"Supervising social workers make sure that they match children with foster carers who can meet their needs. Matching assessments are comprehensive and provide a detailed overview of how children are matched to their carers."