MORE people left Barnsley’s fostering services last year than joined, new figures have revealed.

Recent Ofsted data shows about 25 mainstream fostering households approved by Barnsley Council de-registered in the year to March, meaning they ceased fostering, retired or registered with an independent fostering agency instead - an increase from ten de-registrations the previous year.

All figures are rounded to the nearest five.

Mainstream fostering households include all foster homes except those with a primary placement offer of formal kinship care arrangement - when a family member steps in to temporarily care for a child in need, supported by the local authority.

Meanwhile just ten households were newly approved for foster care by Barnsley Council, down slightly from 15 in 2023/24.

The Ofsted figures show some 4,115 households across England were approved for mainstream foster care by their local authority or an independent fostering agency in the year to March, up nine per cent from 3,785 the previous year and the first yearly increase since 2018/19.

But it means there were 33,435 such fostering households nationwide at the end of March, marking a drop on the previous year and a ten per cent fall since 2020/21.

This included 125 households in Barnsley, a decrease from 135 a year earlier and from 170 in 2020/21.

In October, the government said it was ‘determined to address the falling numbers of foster carers’ by working closely with local authorities and prioritising foster care recruitment and retention.

Children and Families Minister Josh MacAlister said: “Foster carers provide more than just a roof over a child’s head - they offer belonging, consistency and the chance for young people to grow up close to their schools, friends and the places they know.

“We will soon publish a detailed plan to improve and expand fostering which will map out how we reverse the decline that is seeing far too many children forced to live far from home in care homes, instead of a loving family environment.”