Recruitment Support Hubs (“Foster with Us”): What Applicants Need to Know

Thinking about fostering and not sure where to start? In many parts of England there’s now a simpler “single front door” for enquiries: regional Recruitment Support Hubs, often branded “Foster with Us.” Below is a plain-English guide to what these hubs are, how they work, what they do (and don’t) do, and how you can use them to move from first click to approval with confidence.

What exactly is a Recruitment Support Hub?

Recruitment Support Hubs are collaborations of several local authorities that pool their recruitment teams, marketing, and first-contact support. Instead of each council running a separate enquiry line, the hub gives prospective carers one place to ask questions, check eligibility, and book a call-back—then routes serious applicants to the right council to take the application forward. The Department for Education’s Recruitment and Retention Programme backs this regional model, and delivery partners report ten regional hubs launched to improve the recruitment journey end-to-end.

You’ll see this in action in the South East, North East, East Midlands, and Cumbria/Lancashire clusters, among others, where councils advertise a combined hub website and phone line.

How does the “Foster with Us” journey work?

Most hubs follow a similar path:

1. Initial enquiry – You visit the hub website or ring the hub. Trained advisors answer common questions (spare room, work and fostering, age/health basics), explain allowances and support, and book a longer call if you want to proceed. The national fosterwithus.org.uk site showcases typical opening hours and topics the team can discuss.
2. Eligibility triage – If you’re suitable to progress, the hub shares your details with the partner council that covers your address or best fits your preferences. Some hubs publish privacy notices listing exactly what data is captured at enquiry (e.g., contact details, preferred contact time) and at “expression of interest” (e.g., date of birth, language, relationship status, and fostering type preferences).
3. Hand-off to your council – Your local authority takes over for the formal assessment (Form F), training (often Skills to Foster), checks (DBS, medical, references), and panel. The hub remains a helpdesk for general questions while the council leads the assessment.

Why hubs? The problem they aim to fix

England faces a sustained shortage of foster carers while demand for placements has grown; national and sector reports through 2024–25 highlight falling approvals and pressure on sufficiency. Hubs are designed to increase quality enquiries, reduce duplication, and smooth the customer experience so fewer people drop out before applying.

Councils also say joining forces lets them share resources (marketing budgets, events, specialist advisors) and present consistent messaging across a region—see the South East and North East partnerships for good examples.

What hubs do well (from an applicant’s perspective)

Clear first steps. You don’t need to figure out which council page to start with; the hub provides one trusted starting point and then hands you to the right team.

Faster, more responsive contact. Hubs typically publish extended hours and a central phone number. That consistency helps you get answers quickly about allowances, training, and eligibility before you commit.

Joined-up events and comms. Regional social media and outreach campaigns funnel interest to the hub, which reportedly improves conversion from “curious” to “in process.” Delivery partners involved in the programme describe this as a key goal.

Less repetition. Basic questions and documents collected once at the hub can be reused by your council so you’re not telling your story from scratch (privacy notices explain what’s shared, with whom, and why).

What hubs don’t do

• They don’t approve you. The local authority still does the assessment, panel, and decision; the hub is front-end recruitment and support.
• They don’t standardise pay across all councils. Allowances and fee/skill payments remain set by each council (or IFA, if you apply to one instead). The hub can explain typical ranges but your council confirms the package.
• They don’t replace IFAs. Hubs are a local-authority collaboration. If you’re comparing LAs with independent fostering agencies (IFAs), you can still make direct enquiries to IFAs outside the hub.

Data, privacy and consent

A good hub will be open about what information it collects at enquiry and expression-of-interest stages and exactly which partner councils can access it. The Foster with Us (Regional Fostering and Recruitment Hub) privacy notice for Cumbria/Lancashire lists fields such as contact details, preferred contact time, fostering type preferences, date of birth, primary language, religion, and sexuality—shared among the partner councils to progress your case. You can ask to see, correct, or erase data in line with data-protection law.

Tip: Before submitting, check the hub’s privacy notice and list of partner councils so you know who may contact you—and save those emails as “safe senders.”

Examples of hubs live today

• Foster for East Midlands – a collaboration between Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire with a single support hub for initial enquiries.
• Cumbria & Lancashire Regional Hub – launched July 2024 with a £1.2m joint bid; also publishes a specific privacy notice for hub data.
• South East partnership – councils “join forces” under a shared campaign to increase foster carers across the region.
• Foster with Us (national brand site) – provides the public hub front door and contact details, with advisors available seven days a week.

Will hubs change support or allowances?

In the short term, hubs mainly change how you start and how quickly you get into assessment. They don’t directly set allowances or fees—those remain council decisions. That said, the government has announced additional funding to boost recruitment and support in coming years, so you may see regional offers develop alongside hub activity. Always ask your council for a written breakdown of the allowance (child’s costs), fee/skill payment (your professional element), and extras (mileage, birthday/holiday payments).

How to make the most of a hub as a prospective carer

1) Prepare your basics. Have your postcode, household makeup, spare-room details, and work pattern to hand; hubs will triage this quickly and advise on suitability. Spare room and support network questions come up early.

2) Ask about timelines. Get a realistic view of the assessment length, training dates (Skills to Foster), and panel windows in your region. The DfE’s recruitment analysis provides context on typical application lengths—use this to sense-check what you hear.

3) Compare routes, not just messages. Use the hub to understand your local authority offer, but also look at nearby IFAs if you want different support packages or placement types (e.g., therapeutic, parent & child). The hub won’t compare IFA packages for you.

4) Clarify data sharing. If you only want one council to contact you, say so at enquiry and confirm that preference is noted—privacy pages explain how your information moves between partners.

5) Follow regional channels. Hubs often run joint events and drop-ins—these are perfect to ask real carers about training, support groups, and out-of-hours help. Regional sites and Facebook pages publish phone/email hours and event listings.

Quick FAQ

Is “Foster with Us” the same everywhere?
No. It’s a shared brand used by different regional partnerships. Each hub has its own partner councils, hours, and processes, but the core idea—single front door then hand-off to the right council—is consistent.

Will the hub speed up my approval?
It should speed up the early stage (clearer answers, faster triage). Assessment lengths still vary by council capacity and your own checks/training timetable, but the intent is fewer drop-offs between enquiry and application.

Can I talk to someone at weekends or evenings?
Many hubs advertise extended hours and 7-day availability for first contact. Check your regional site for current times.

Are hubs linked to Family Hubs?
Different initiatives. Family Hubs provide broader early-help services for families; Recruitment Support Hubs focus on foster carer recruitment. (You may see both discussed in local news, but they serve different purposes.)

Bottom line

If you’re ready to explore fostering, a Recruitment Support Hub is a straightforward, low-pressure way to start: one website/phone line, quick answers, and a clean hand-off to the council that will assess and support you. Use the hub to get clarity on eligibility, timelines, and training, then dig into your council’s support package, fees, and local networks before you apply. In a system working hard to recruit and retain more carers, hubs aim to make your first steps simpler, faster, and better supported—so you can focus on what matters: deciding whether fostering is right for you and your family.