Portsmouth City Council has joined forces with local charity Fair Ways in a new partnership, designed to broaden support for foster carers and increase awareness of the vital role they play in the lives of children and young people.
The Fostering Network’s Fostering Friendly Employer initiative promotes flexible, understanding, and compassionate employment policies that help foster carers balance their vital role at home with their careers.
Local businesses are invited to attend a free Portsmouth Fostering Friendly Business Summit on Monday 11 May, 1-4.30pm, at Portsmouth Guildhall.
Hosted by Fair Ways and Portsmouth City Council, the event will explore how employers can better support staff who foster, while strengthening workplace wellbeing and retention. Attendees can enjoy guest speakers, business networking, and light refreshments.
REGISTER for the Fostering Friendly Business Summit here.
Portsmouth City Council staff foster carer Helen shared: “The council itself is a foster-friendly employer, which helps me take time off for training and supporting young people.”
Fair Ways, which launched the fostering friendly employer charter in March 2025, has championed awareness of supporting existing and potential foster carers within the workplace through the scheme.
After launching the charter in Portsmouth, Fair Ways has already successfully encouraged 100 local businesses to sign up, resulting in Portsmouth becoming the first officially recognised fostering friendly city in the UK.
By partnering with Fair Ways, Portsmouth City Council’s fostering service Foster Portsmouth aims to build on this momentum, bringing additional resources, visibility and reach to the initiative. Together, both organisations will work to grow the number of fostering-friendly employers, encourage more residents to explore fostering, and create a wider network of support for existing foster families in Portsmouth and surrounding areas.
The partnership will focus on:
– Expanding the number of employers who commit to the Fostering Friendly Employer charter
– Strengthening support systems available to foster carers within workplaces and the community
– Raising Portsmouth city and area wide awareness of the impact foster carers make
– Creating new opportunities for collaboration between local businesses, services and the fostering community
Gareth Webb, Managing Director of Fair Ways said:
“We are proud to have created the Fostering Friendly Employer charter and to have reached the milestone of 100 businesses signing up, making Portsmouth the UK’s first fostering friendly city. This new partnership with Portsmouth City Council marks an exciting next step. Together, we can grow the initiative further and ensure more carers feel understood, supported, and empowered in their workplaces and throughout the city.”
Councillor Nick Dorrington, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education at Portsmouth City Council, said:
“By working together, Portsmouth City Council and Fair Ways will be able to ensure that more children and young people from Portsmouth are able to find loving homes in the months and years to come. Organisations across our city are joining us to help make a difference, and this is a powerful step forward with our objective to improve outcomes for all the children we care for.”
This strengthened citywide approach demonstrates Portsmouth’s ongoing commitment to children in our care and the families who support them. With Fair Ways and Portsmouth City Council, themselves a fostering friendly employer, now working side by side, the initiative is set to enter a new phase of growth, helping even more foster carers thrive and ensuring that every child has the support they deserve.
Fair Ways is a leading Portsmouth-based children’s charity dedicated to providing care, education, and support services for children, young people, and families across the South Coast. With a focus on improving lives and strengthening communities, Fair Ways operates a range of services including fostering, residential care, education, and family support.
Foster Portsmouth is Portsmouth City Council’s fostering service. Anyone aged over 21 with a spare bedroom could foster with Foster Portsmouth. Their carers benefit from ongoing quality training and local round the clock support, including through support groups, a mentoring scheme, their innovative award-winning Mockingbird programme, and from a foster carer liaison group who advocate on their behalf. They also receive a competitive financial package and free membership to The Fostering Network.
While Portsmouth may be the first fostering friendly city, Fair Ways and Portsmouth City Council hope it will not be the last. They are encouraging other local authorities and organisations nationwide to take up the challenge and make their own communities fostering friendly.
REGISTER for the Fostering Friendly Business Summit here.
Businesses interested in becoming a fostering friendly employer can find out more and sign up at: www.fairways.co/fostering-friendly-employers.
To enquire about fostering, please contact Foster Portsmouth on 023 9283 4071, email fostering@portsmouthcc.gov.uk or contact us.
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Photo: Cllr Nick Dorrington from Portsmouth City Council and Fair Ways Managing Director Gareth Webb shake hand on the Portsmouth Guildhall steps to celebrate the launch of new partnership.
