About Us
Family Fostering Partners
Family Fostering Partners is one of the few family run independent fostering agencies in England. It was created with one clear purpose, to put children and foster parents at the heart of everything we do. We believe fostering works best when it feels like a true partnership, where carers feel valued, supported, and part of a wider family.
Across England, we work closely with local communities to provide safe, nurturing homes for children who need them most. For our foster parents, that means 24/7 support, ongoing training, and a team who will always be there to listen, guide, and encourage.
Judith Rees
Our Foster Family Agency Founder's Story
Hello, my name is Judith Rees, and in 2015 with the encouragement of my loved ones, I established Family Fostering Partners, an independent fostering agency. Drawing from my extensive experience as a social worker, holding frontline and senior positions in both public and private sectors, I aimed to utilise these insights to build something truly extraordinary. Collaborating with my dedicated team, our foster family agency is dedicated to prioritising foster parents and the children under their care in every aspect of our work. We are dedicated to providing the best possible support to carers fostering in England and to the children they look after.
As a parent myself, I know how vitally important a secure and nurturing home is for children as they grow and develop. At Family Fostering Partners, we want to be more than just an independent fostering agency which matches carers with children who need home, we want to become a foster family agency. It’s the significance of the word “family” which drives us to make subtle yet important changes in the way we work and talk about fostering in England. For example, we don’t refer to our amazing caregivers as foster carers, we consider them to be foster parents. This simple change in terminology encapsulates our values as an independent fostering agency.
We hold ourselves and our foster parents to the highest standards of care, ensuring that each home provides the same level of love and support we would expect for our own children. These values underpin our ethos as a family fostering agency and are the blueprint for everything we do. They are the foundation of our success and growth since our establishment in 2015. Our aim is to positively impact as many young lives as possible, creating brighter and more fulfilling futures for the children entrusted into our care.
Fostering in England
If you share our beliefs and are seeking an independent fostering agency that will support and advocate for you, enabling you to care for vulnerable children, we invite you to continue reading. We would be thrilled to hear from you. Our dedicated team for fostering in England includes experienced managers, link workers, and administrators who bring extensive knowledge of foster care and understand the essential elements required to provide an exceptional service; each individual is an indispensable part of our foster family agency.
As an extension of our support, all foster parents who foster in England with Family Fostering Partners also have access to FosterTalk, an independent service offering additional advice, training, discounts, and resources for you and your fostering family.
Our agency’s name, Family Fostering Partners, reflects our firm belief that successful fostering relies on collaboration between our carers, local authorities, and the children entrusted to our care.
Our Values as a foster family agency
At Family Fostering Partners we have spent nearly a decade supporting and training foster parents so that they can help our children and young people achieve their full potential. Our dedicated team has worked tirelessly to create an agency with a family feel that fosters a sense of belonging for everyone involved, including our staff and foster parents.
By offering genuine emotional and practical support, our independent fostering agency is able to deliver the very best support for those fostering in England. Our goal is to sort out all the small things, so that you can feel confident knowing you’re supported and can concentrate on being the best foster parent you can be.
Central to our approach are a set of guiding principles that underpin everything we do. These values form the foundation of a nurturing, stable, and supportive environment that enables the children and young people in our care to flourish.
Our team is committed to creating a space where every child feels seen, heard, and valued, and where their needs and well-being are placed at the forefront of our work. We believe that every child deserves a chance to reach their full potential, and we are dedicated to making that a reality through our work supporting everyone who works in fostering in England.
Alongside this, we recognise that every child is unique. Our approach to fostering is always personalised, with care plans tailored to each child’s individual strengths, challenges, and aspirations. We know that children flourish when their needs are truly understood, and we work closely with foster parents to make sure this happens.
Strong collaboration is also central to our values. We believe children are best supported when foster parents, social workers, schools, and local authorities work as one team. This spirit of partnership is built on trust, open communication, and a shared commitment to putting children first.
As an independent fostering agency, we are proud of the high standards we uphold. Integrity, transparency, and accountability guide our decisions, and we are committed to continuous improvement so that our carers always benefit from the latest knowledge and best practice in foster care.
Above all, our values reflect who we are as a foster family agency, inclusive, supportive, and focused on teamwork. We see foster carers as part of our extended family, and we are dedicated to making sure they always feel connected, valued, and supported in their role.
We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for future.”
Franklin D Rosevelt
The Family Fostering Partners Approach: A Journey of Care and Support
Ongoing personalised support from our professional link workers who are always available to offer friendly advice and guidance with 24/7 emergency support.
A generous fostering allowance alongside a professional fee awarded for your commitment and skill.
Ongoing training and support package designed to equip you with all of the detailed knowledge, skills and understanding you need to foster.
Regular events where you can meet with other foster families and benefit from a supportive and friendly support network.
About Our Logo
Our mascots, Buttons and Blue, are more than just two cute cartoon elephants — they symbolise the values and ethos at the heart of Family Fostering Partners. As a family run fostering agency, we chose elephants because of the way they live: with extraordinary memory, strong bonds, and nurturing matriarchal family groups. Just like our foster family agency, elephants show how deep relationships, care, and support can help the youngest members thrive.
The elephants in our logo remind us that fostering is about more than one foster parent providing a home. It’s about community, where carers support each other, share advice, and create nurturing environments so children can flourish. Buttons and Blue embody compassion, empathy, and dedication to every child’s wellbeing, while also reflecting the long-lasting relationships we aim to build with our foster parents.
Buttons and Blue also play a role in helping children understand fostering. Through e-books and videos, their story reassures young people in care by explaining the fostering process in an accessible way. Every child who joins our foster family agency receives their very own ‘Buttons the Elephant’ teddy, offering comfort as they settle into their new home.
Beyond this, Buttons and Blue are ambassadors for fostering awareness. They travel with us to events to start conversations about foster care, and we’ve even created smaller versions of Buttons that we sell at events to raise funds for children’s hospice Tŷ Hafan. All profits go directly to supporting their incredible work with children and families. Purchase your own Buttons on eBay.
Frequently Asked Questions For Fostering Agencies
An independent fostering agency is an organisation that works alongside local authorities to provide safe, nurturing homes for children who cannot live with their birth families. Local authorities remain responsible for the welfare of the children, but they often work with IFAs like Family Fostering Partners when additional support, specialist placements, or more foster families are needed.
Children in care are always the responsibility of the local authority, but foster parents can choose to work either directly with a council or with an independent fostering agency. While both routes allow you to make a difference, there are some key differences in the support you’ll receive.
Local authorities manage large teams and many placements, which can sometimes make the experience feel less personal. Independent fostering agencies, like Family Fostering Partners, are smaller and more family-focused. That means you’ll benefit from closer relationships, 24/7 support, ongoing training, and membership with FosterTalk, all designed to make sure you never feel alone in your role.
Children in care are always the responsibility of the local authority, but foster parents can choose to foster directly through their council or with an independent fostering agency. The right choice depends on what kind of support and experience you’re looking for.
Here are a few things to consider when deciding:
- Level of support – councils often work with large teams, while IFAs like Family Fostering Partners are smaller and family-run, offering more personalised support.
- Training and development – independent fostering agencies usually provide ongoing training and professional development tailored to you.
- Community and connection – many foster parents value the close-knit feel of an IFA, where you’re part of a foster family agency rather than one of many.
Extras – at Family Fostering Partners, for example, carers also receive membership with FosterTalk for independent advice and resources.
The training and support from FFP has been absolutely fantastic. I cannot fault it. We have regular training sessions, both face to face and over the computer, on teams, and our supporting social worker contacts at least once a week for a chat. We feel strongly supported by the whole team at FFP.
CJ, Foster Parent
Thinking About Fostering?
If Family Fostering Partners, and the special foster family agency we have created feels like something you would like to be a part of, please don’t hesitate before getting in touch with us by filling out the contact form.