Cultural Compass Mark BFCA developed and delivered the Cultural Compass Mark, an accreditation framework for fostering agencies demonstrating a sustained commitment to culturally responsive practice. The accreditation assesses agencies against a set of principles across recruitment, retention, training and placement matching, recognising those that take meaningful, evidenced action to support foster carers and children from Global Majority communities. By holding agencies to an accountable standard, the Cultural Compass Mark drives systemic improvement in the quality of care available to Black children in care across England. CPD-Accredited Training BFCA delivered continuing professional development training accredited to recognised standards, equipping social workers, foster carers and fostering professionals with the cultural competence required to support Black and Global Majority children in care. Training covered identity-affirming practice, transracial placement considerations and the application of BFCA's proprietary WHOLE Identity, Culture and Belonging Framework. Over the course of its activities to date, BFCA has trained over 350 professionals across more than 20 fostering services nationally. Training fee income for the year was 32,693 pounds (2024: 5,235 pounds), demonstrating significant growth in earned income and sector demand. Training Needs Assessment BFCA conducted training needs assessments with fostering services, identifying gaps in cultural competence and developing tailored programmes to address them. This diagnostic work enabled partner agencies to understand where workforce development was needed and ensured that training delivered by BFCA was targeted, relevant and impactful for the communities those agencies serve. Voice of the Alliance Magazine BFCA produced Voice of the Alliance, a magazine providing information, insight and community connection for and about the Black and Global Majority fostering community. The magazine serves as both a resource for foster carers and a platform for amplifying lived experience, raising awareness of the issues facing Black children in care and promoting the positive contribution of Black foster carers across the sector. Consultancy BFCA provided specialist consultancy to fostering services, local authorities and sector bodies on culturally responsive foster carer recruitment, retention strategies and placement practice. This consultancy drew on BFCA's unique expertise as an organisation led by and for the Black fostering community, enabling commissioners and providers to develop more equitable approaches to fostering that better reflect the diversity of children in their care. Overall Community Impact The combined effect of these activities during the year was to increase cultural competence across the fostering sector, strengthen the support available to Black foster carers, and improve outcomes for Black and Global Majority children in care. By providing accreditation, training, assessment, publication and consultancy, BFCA operated as both a direct service provider and a systemic change agent, equipping the sector with the tools, knowledge and accountability frameworks needed to close the transracial placement gap.

Black Foster Carers Alliance CIC's stakeholders include Black, Asian and Global Majority foster carers (current and prospective); Black and Global Majority children in care and their families; local authority fostering teams; independent fostering agencies (IFAs); social workers and fostering professionals; partner organisations in the voluntary and community sector; academic and research partners; and funders and commissioners of fostering services. Black and Global Majority foster carers were consulted throughout the year through post-training evaluations and feedback sessions following CPD-accredited training delivery, providing direct responses on the relevance, quality and cultural appropriateness of BFCA's programmes. Screening events for the Fostering in Colour documentary included structured Q and A sessions in which foster carers shared their lived experiences and views on the support available to them within the fostering system. BFCA consulted fostering service managers, practice leads and commissioners through the delivery of training needs assessments, which involved structured conversations and diagnostic exercises to identify gaps in cultural competence within their workforces. Consultancy engagements with local authorities and IFAs included feedback and review stages, enabling agencies to comment on proposed approaches and shape the support BFCA provided. The Cultural Compass Mark accreditation process itself involved detailed agency self-assessment and dialogue with BFCA, creating a structured consultation mechanism embedded within the accreditation framework. BFCA maintained its relationship with academic evaluation partner Dr Veena Meetoo at the UCL Thomas Coram Research Unit, consulting on programme design, evidence frameworks and the robustness of BFCA's approach to measuring impact. This partnership provided independent external scrutiny and ensured that BFCA's activities were grounded in research evidence as well as community experience. The Voice of the Alliance magazine provided a channel through which the broader Black fostering community could see their experiences reflected and validated, and through which BFCA gathered insight into the issues of greatest concern to its community. Editorial direction was informed by themes emerging from community engagement, training delivery and foster carer feedback.

No remuneration was received

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration