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

If you’ve seen ads or social posts inviting you to “Foster with Us”, you’ve already met the new Recruitment Support Hubs—regional “front doors” set up by local authorities (with DfE funding) to make it easier to start fostering. Here’s a clear, applicant-first guide to what hubs are, how they work, and what you should expect from the moment you click “enquire”.

What is a Recruitment Support Hub?

A Recruitment Support Hub is a shared, regional service run by a group (or “cluster”) of local authorities. Instead of every council running completely separate enquiry teams and marketing, the hub acts as a single front door: it attracts, triages and nurtures enquiries, then routes you to the right fostering team in your area. The approach grew from the North East pathfinder and has since expanded across England, with around ten hubs launched by mid-2024 and additional regions mobilised in 2025.

Hubs exist to tackle a real problem: England has seen a multi-year decline in fostering households, making recruitment both urgent and strategic.

Why create hubs at all?

• Less duplication, more consistency. A shared hub means pooled marketing budgets, consistent information, and one set of digital tools (web, CRM, live chat) rather than many tiny, under-resourced efforts.
• A better first contact. Hubs specialise in enquiry handling—expect clearer eligibility information, quick responses, and warm handovers to your local authority when you’re ready.
• More visibility. Regional launches (e.g., East Midlands; Cumbria & Lancashire) show how combined campaigns cut through and convert interest into applications faster.

What happens after you submit an enquiry?

1. Acknowledgement & quick triage. You’ll receive an email or call from the hub team. They’ll check basics (age, spare room, right to remain, availability) and answer early questions. Many hubs also use self-assessment tools (“Could fostering be right for you?”) and live chat to support hesitant enquirers.
2. Information session invite. Expect an online or in-person session covering the process, support, and payments.
3. Warm handover to your council. The hub passes your details securely to the most appropriate local authority for formal pre-assessment and the Skills to Foster training pathway. (Hubs operate under public-sector privacy standards; for example, Westmorland & Furness’ hub notice explains the legal basis for processing and the DfE-funded context.)

What the process looks like (high level)

• Enquiry → pre-screen (hub)
• Pre-assessment & home visit (your council)
• Training & checks (DBS, medicals, references)
• Form F assessment (in-depth home study)
• Panel & approval → matching

The hub doesn’t replace your local council’s assessment team; it gets you there faster and better informed. Regions emphasise the ease of a single point of contact before you’re handed over (e.g., the South East hub describes a “centralised platform for initial enquiries and support”).

What’s different for applicants vs the “old way”?

• One brand, many councils. You’ll often see a regional brand (e.g., “Foster with Us”, “Foster for East Midlands”). Don’t let that confuse you: your approving authority remains your local council; the hub simply coordinates the first stages.
• Faster response and clearer info. Centralised marketing and trained enquiry officers mean quicker answers on essentials: spare room rules, fostering while working, age/health questions, and allowances.
• Data handled once, well. Rather than repeating your story to multiple teams, the hub securely stores and shares what’s needed for the handover. Public notices set out what’s collected and why.

Where are hubs operating?

The programme has scaled from the North East pathfinder to multiple regions—ten hubs were confirmed by July 2024, with additional hubs mobilised in 2025 through DfE funding to local authority clusters. Local announcements (East Midlands; Cumbria & Lancashire) give a flavour of how regions implement the model.

How hubs are funded (and why that matters to you)

The Department for Education provided non-ringfenced grants to lead local authorities coordinating clusters. That funding specifically references setting up recruitment support hubs and linked comms, as well as retention activity (e.g., Mockingbird). This matters because hubs aren’t an “extra cost” to you; they’re a service designed to make your journey smoother and to help councils recruit the right carers.

Common applicant questions

Do hubs cover Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs) too?
No—the recruitment hubs are local-authority collaborations. However, part of their purpose is to address the national shortfall and ensure people who want to foster can do so locally, with consistent support. (Sector data shows why: approvals have dropped while need remains high.)

Will a hub speed up my timeline?
It won’t skip statutory steps, but it typically delivers faster, clearer early-stage progress: one enquiry route, immediate triage, and quicker booking into information events and initial visits. Early evaluations point to improved conversion from enquiry to application where hubs are live.

Is my information safe?
Yes—public hub privacy notices set out lawful bases for processing and how data is shared with your local council. You can ask to see, correct, or restrict use of your data at any time.

What support exists after I’m approved?
Hubs are part of a wider recruitment & retention push. Regions are also expanding Mockingbird and standardising support offers to improve retention—because keeping great carers matters as much as recruiting them.

Practical tips to get the most from your hub

1. Use the self-check tools on the hub site. They’re designed to answer “deal-breaker” questions quickly (spare room, right to work, health).
2. Book the earliest information session and come with questions about allowances vs fees in your council, expected placement types locally (babies, siblings, teens, UASC), and training.
3. Be open about your availability and support network. This helps the hub route you correctly and speeds up matching later.
4. Ask about timelines from enquiry to Skills to Foster, and on to Form F—each council varies, but the hub should set realistic expectations.
5. Note the regional brand and the council name. You’ll see “Foster with Us” (or similar), but keep track of your lead council contact post-handover.

What we’ll be watching in 2025–26

• Coverage and consistency. Government and sector partners report expansion and additional investment to grow and sustain the model; applicants should see more regions with a single front door and consistent information quality.
• Conversion and retention. The big test is whether hubs convert interest into approved carers—and whether those carers stay. Early data and toolkits emphasise the importance of pairing recruitment with robust support.
• Local flavour within a regional brand. Expect hubs to keep improving how they personalise routes for specific boroughs/counties, while maintaining the efficiency of shared marketing and tech.

Bottom line for applicants

Recruitment Support Hubs are designed to simplify your first steps: one front door, quick answers, and a warm handover to your local council’s assessment team. If you’ve been thinking about fostering, the hub in your region is the fastest, clearest way to find out if it’s right for you—and to get moving. Watch for the “Foster with Us” branding, use the self-assessment tools, and book that info session; from there, you’ll be connected to the people who will guide you through training, checks, panel and your first placement.

If you’d like, I can adapt this into a location-specific page (e.g., Kent, Hounslow, Medway) with your local hub link, information session dates, and council contact details—so readers can go from curious to enquiring in a single click.