Key Points
- Millie’s Trust, a Stockport-based charity, has become a fostering friendly employer.
- The move is intended to support foster carers and kinship carers among its staff.
- The charity has introduced flexible working arrangements to help employees balance work and caring duties.
- Dan Thompson, co-founder and training and partnerships director at Millie’s Trust, said the charity recognises the value of foster carers and wants to support staff who may consider fostering.
- Stockport Council cabinet member Cllr Colin MacAlister welcomed the move and said employers have an important role in supporting foster carers.
- Stockport Council says more foster carers are needed in the borough, including people able to care for siblings together.
- The council says foster carers receive training, support and financial allowances.
Stockport (Manchester Mirror) July 30, 2026 – Marketing uk/local/stockport/">Stockport reported that Millie’s Trust has joined the fostering friendly employers scheme, introducing a policy aimed at supporting staff who foster or provide kinship care.
What has Millie’s Trust announced?
As reported by Marketing Stockport, Millie’s Trust has become the latest local employer to take part in the fostering friendly employers scheme. The charity, based in Cheadle Hulme, has brought in a policy designed to support foster carers and young people in Stockport.
The report said the charity now offers flexible working for employees who are foster carers or kinship carers. That change is intended to help staff manage both work and the responsibilities that come with caring for a child.
Why has the charity taken this step?
According to Dan Thompson, co-founder and training and partnerships director at Millie’s Trust, the charity wants to recognise the contribution foster carers make to children and families. He said the organisation understands that carers need flexibility at work if they are to provide the care a child needs.
As reported by Marketing Stockport, Thompson said the policy also gives the charity a chance to support staff who may be thinking about fostering. The move is framed as a practical workplace measure rather than a symbolic gesture.
What has Stockport Council said?
Cllr Colin MacAlister, Stockport Council’s cabinet member for children, families and education, welcomed the announcement. He said employers play a vital role in helping foster carers give children and young people the best possible care.
Stockport Council has repeatedly said it needs more local foster carers. The council says this is especially important for siblings who should, where possible, stay together in one placement.
How does fostering friendly support work?
The fostering friendly employers scheme gives organisations a way to support staff who foster. The Fostering Network says the scheme is open to businesses of all sizes and is intended to help carers remain in work while meeting their fostering responsibilities.
Stockport Council says employers can help by offering flexible hours, time off for training, support for meetings and emergency leave. It also says fostering friendly employers can strengthen their public image while helping children in care.
Why does Stockport need more foster carers?
Stockport Council says there is an ongoing need for more foster carers across the borough. The council says children and young people in care need stable homes, and some placements require carers who can look after older children, teenagers or siblings.
The council also says fostering can offer children family life when they cannot live with their birth families. In some cases, children return home, move to adoption or become independent after living with foster carers.
What does this mean for workers?
For existing foster carers, the policy may make it easier to stay in work while caring for a child. Flexible working can help staff deal with meetings, school issues and other responsibilities linked to fostering.
For employees thinking about fostering, the change may reduce concerns about whether work and care can be managed together. The announcement may also encourage other employers in Stockport to adopt similar policies.
Background of the development
Millie’s Trust becoming a fostering friendly employer sits within a wider effort in Stockport to recruit more foster carers and encourage businesses to support them. Stockport Council says workplace flexibility is one of the main barriers carers face, so employer backing can help make fostering more accessible.
The Fostering Network says its scheme allows organisations to show practical support for carers while helping children in care. In that context, Millie’s Trust’s decision adds another local example of an employer aligning workplace policy with social care needs.
Prediction
This development could encourage more Stockport employers to review how they support staff who foster or care for children. If that happens, more people may feel able to come forward as foster carers because they know their jobs are less likely to conflict with caring duties.
For children in care, the likely effect is gradual rather than immediate, but a wider network of fostering friendly employers could improve the chances of finding suitable carers locally. That may be especially relevant for siblings and older children who often need more specialised placements.
