This week, Sarah and Louise pull no punches. They’re calling out the foster care sector’s obsession with shiny recruitment schemes while ignoring the real fulcrum of the system: retention. From exposing local authorities’ latest “retention” gimmicks to unpicking a decade-old policy disaster that still fails carers and children today, nothing is off-limits.

Sarah takes us back to the 2014 Staying Put launch, where politicians were blindsided by the reality of policy, and shows how nothing has changed 12 years later. Louise dives into Somerset’s PR spin versus real-world losses, while Sarah critically analyses Nottingham’s LinkedIn updates, separating the polished messaging from the reality experienced by carers on the frontline.

They also lift the lid on the so-called “Mockingbird” solution, a model that captures only 4% of the workforce but consumes millions in public money, leaving the rest of the carers invisible.

No sugar coating, no polite headlines, just the frontline truth about what carers actually need, and why everything collapses when retention is ignored. If you care about real change in foster care, you can’t afford to miss this one.

All views shared in this podcast reflect the personal opinions of the hosts alone. They are not intended as factual assertions about any person or organisation, nor do they represent the views of any employer or professional body.