Now Foster: The Future

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Trustees' Report	1—5
Independent Examiner's Report	6
Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account)	7
Balance Sheet	8—9
Notes to the Financial Statements	10—15

The trustees present their report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2026.

Objectives and Activities

Aims and Objectives

The objects of the charity are for the public benefit and specifically restricted to promote the care and upbringing of children and young people who have been or may be fostered or place in care including (but not limited to) supporting carers, working with local authorities and service providers and contributing to the improvement and development of the fostering service for children and young people in local authority care.

Public Benefit

The trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirements of Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

Achievements and Performance

Main Achievements

Our purpose

Now Foster exists to help more children and young people grow up in stable, loving family relationships. We do this by helping more people become foster carers, strengthening the networks around children and foster families, and improving the systems that support fostering.

The need for this work remains significant. England continues to face a shortage of foster carers, with more households leaving fostering than joining each year. Thousands of children are unable to access the family-based care that would best meet their needs, while many adults who express an interest in fostering never complete the recruitment process. During the year, the Department for Education published Renewing Fostering: homes for 10,000 more children, recognising both the scale of the challenge and the need for new approaches. Weekenders was referenced within that programme as an example of the type of innovation needed to help address these challenges.

During 2025-26, the charity continued to develop three closely connected areas of work: Weekenders, the digital fostering recruitment platform and community partnerships. Together these combine practice innovation, technology and community engagement to improve the way fostering works for children, carers and local authorities.

Weekenders

Weekenders remained the charity's principal programme during the year. The model recruits, assesses and trains adults to develop a regular, enduring relationship with a child or young person in care, typically spending one weekend together each month. It provides children with an additional trusted adult, strengthens the support available around foster families and creates an accessible route into fostering for people who may not initially be able to foster full-time.

During the year, Weekenders moved from an early pilot towards a programme capable of wider implementation. The charity expanded delivery across London and began working with its first local authority partners outside London through Durham County Council and North Somerset Council.

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Now Foster: The Future

Trustees' Report (continued)

For The Year Ended 31 March 2026

Main Achievements - continued

Alongside recruitment and applicant support, significant work took place with local authority partners to develop referral pathways, matching arrangements, training materials, practice guidance and regional delivery models. This work laid the foundations for scaling the programme while retaining the relationship-based approach at its heart.

The year also highlighted wider system challenges. Delays in assessments, variable local authority capacity and inconsistent administrative processes continued to affect the speed with which applicants progressed. In response, the charity strengthened applicant support, improved operational processes and explored where it could appropriately provide additional delivery capacity.

During the financial year, more than 540 people expressed an interest in becoming a Weekender. Of these, 99 progressed into the active recruitment pipeline and 70 completed a home visit. Based on current conversion rates, this cohort is expected to result in approximately 52 approved Weekender households, including the 18 households approved by 31 March 2026. As foster carer recruitment and assessment typically takes many months, much of the impact of this work will be realised after the reporting period.

Digital fostering recruitment platform

The charity continued to invest in its digital platform, originally developed to support the Weekenders recruitment process from initial enquiry through to approval.

Experience of delivering Weekenders highlighted that many of the barriers faced by prospective foster carers are common across all forms of fostering, including fragmented processes, long delays, duplication of information and limited visibility of progress. During the year, the charity therefore invested in developing the platform beyond Weekenders, with the aim of creating a broader recruitment and assessment platform that could support local authorities and regional fostering partnerships to recruit all foster carers.

Alongside improvements to applicant tracking, workflow management and practitioner tools, the charity undertook extensive user research and service design work with local authorities and practitioners. By the end of the year, discussions were underway with local authorities, regional fostering partnerships and the Department for Education regarding future implementation.

Community partnerships

The charity also began developing partnerships with trusted community organisations as an additional route into fostering.

Rather than relying solely on traditional recruitment campaigns, this approach seeks to identify and support prospective carers through organisations and communities they already know and trust.

Partnerships with Home for Good and Springboard were established during the year as early demonstrations of this approach. Community organisations help identify and encourage prospective carers, while Now Foster provides fostering expertise, applicant support, digital infrastructure and links to participating fostering services.

Strengthening the organisation

The charity's income, expenditure and staffing all increased during the year as Now Foster invested in programme delivery, digital development and the organisational capacity required for future growth.

The trustees continued to strengthen governance, financial management and strategic oversight. Work also progressed on information governance and cyber security, with substantial preparation undertaken towards Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation, which was successfully achieved shortly after the year end in June 2026.

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Now Foster: The Future

Trustees' Report (continued)

For The Year Ended 31 March 2026

Main Achievements - continued

Alongside this, the charity continued to develop its theory of change, evaluation framework and medium-term plans, ensuring that future growth is supported by robust evidence and a clear organisational strategy.

Summary

By the end of the financial year, Now Foster had established active partnerships across London and begun delivery beyond the capital, developed a substantial recruitment pipeline, evolved its digital platform into a broader fostering recruitment proposition and begun exploring new community-based approaches to engaging prospective foster carers.

At the time of publication of this report (September 2026), the number of approved Weekender households had increased from 18 at the financial year end to 30, reflecting the continued progression of applicants recruited during 2025-26.

During 2025-26 the charity:

expanded Weekenders across London and began delivery with its first local authority partners outside London;
received expressions of interest from more than 540 prospective Weekenders, supporting 99 households into the active recruitment pipeline and 70 through home visits, creating a pipeline expected to result in approximately 52 approved Weekender households;
developed the operational, digital and regional infrastructure required to support future growth;
evolved its digital platform into a broader fostering recruitment platform for local authorities and regional fostering partnerships;
established early community partnerships with Home for Good and Springboard to reach prospective carers through trusted organisations; and
strengthened the charity's governance, financial management, information governance and organisational capacity.

The trustees believe these achievements provide strong foundations for future growth. By developing, testing and sharing practical innovation, the charity aims to contribute not only to increasing the number of foster carers, but also to improving fostering practice and supporting positive change across the wider fostering system.

Reference and Administrative Details

Trustees

Mr Andrew John Theedom - Director

Ms Natasha Unwin - Director

Ms Mary Jackson - Director

Company Secretary

Miss Laurie Kilby

Charity Number

1207932

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Now Foster: The Future

Trustees' Report (continued)

For The Year Ended 31 March 2026

Company Number

13988407

Principal Address

Frontline

41 Brunswick Square

London

WC1N 1AZ

Registered Office

Frontline

41 Brunswick Square

London

WC1N 1AZ

Independent Examiner

Louise M Hudson FCCA FCA

Hudson LM Limited

Chartered Accountants

Castle Court
Castle Street
Whittington, Oswestry
Shropshire
SY11 4DF

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Now Foster: The Future

Trustees' Report (continued)

For The Year Ended 31 March 2026

Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities

The trustees (who are also the directors of Now Foster: The Future for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statement unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing the financial statements the trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP;
make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at anytime the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Small Company Rules

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to companies subject to the small companies regime within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees' report was approved by the board of trustees and signed on its behalf by:

Mr Andrew John Theedom

Trustee

7 September 2026

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Now Foster: The Future

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Now Foster: The Future

For The Year Ended 31 March 2026

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Now Foster: The Future

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2026.

Responsibilities and Basis of Report

As the charity trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law), you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (“the 2006 Act”).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent Examiner's Statement

Since the Company’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
the accounts do not accord with those records; or
the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair view' which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Louise M Hudson FCCA FCA

7 September 2026

Hudson LM Limited

Chartered Accountants

Castle Court
Castle Street
Whittington, Oswestry
Shropshire
SY11 4DF

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Now Foster: The Future

Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account)

For The Year Ended 31 March 2026

Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account)

		2026	2025
		Unrestricted funds	Unrestricted funds
	Notes	£	£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM:
Donations and legacies	3	323,333	321,667
Charitable activities:	4
Charitable Activities		87,265	5,000

		410,598	326,667

EXPENDITURE ON:
Raising funds	6	(24,398 )	(7,077 )
Charitable activities:	6
Charitable Activities		(345,782 )	(261,418 )

		(370,180 )	(268,495 )

NET INCOME		40,418	58,172


NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS		40,418	58,172
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS:
Total funds brought forward		62,142	3,970

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD	15	102,560	62,142

The notes on pages 10 to 15 form part of these financial statements.

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Now Foster: The Future

Balance Sheet

As At 31 March 2026

Balance Sheet

				2026	2025
		Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Total funds	Total funds
	Notes	£	£	£	£
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible Assets	10	60,003	-	60,003	18,510

		60,003	-	60,003	18,510
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors	11	16,900	-	16,900	-
Cash at bank and in hand		43,569	-	43,569	210,582

		60,469	-	60,469	210,582
Creditors: Amounts Falling Due Within One Year	12	(17,912 )	-	(17,912 )	(166,950 )

NET CURRENT ASSETS (LIABILITIES)		42,557	-	42,557	43,632

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES		102,560	-	102,560	62,142

NET ASSETS		102,560	-	102,560	62,142

FUNDS OF THE CHARITY
Unrestricted Funds				102,560	62,142

TOTAL FUNDS	15			102,560	62,142

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Now Foster: The Future

Balance Sheet (continued)

As At 31 March 2026

For the year ending 31 March 2026 the charitable company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

On behalf of the board

Mr Andrew John Theedom

Trustee

7 September 2026

The notes on pages 10 to 15 form part of these financial statements.

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Now Foster: The Future

Notes to the Financial Statements

For The Year Ended 31 March 2026

Notes to the Financial Statements

1. General Information

Now Foster: The Future is a company limited by guarantee, incorporated in England & Wales, registered number 13988407 and registered charity number 1207932 . The registered office is Frontline, 41 Brunswick Square, London, WC1N 1AZ.

2. Accounting Policies

2.1. Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)", Financial Reporting Standard 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Companies Act 2006.

The charitable company is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

2.2. Incoming Resources

Incoming resources are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity becomes entitled to the income, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount can be measured reliably.

Donations and Grants: Voluntary income, including donations and grants, is recognised when the charity has unconditional entitlement to the funds.

Contractual Income: Income from contracts and service agreements is recognised as performance obligations are satisfied, in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

Gift Aid: Income from Gift Aid is recognised when the related donation is received and the claim can be made with reasonable certainty.

Deferred Income: Where income relates to future periods, it is deferred and recognised in those periods.

2.3. Resources Expended

Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis when there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment, it is probable that settlement will be required, and the amount can be measured reliably.

Charitable Activities: Costs directly attributable to the charity’s objectives, including fostering support services, working with local authorities, and contributing to service development, are classified as charitable expenditure.

Support Costs: Overheads and administrative costs supporting charitable activities are allocated on a reasonable and consistent basis.

Governance Costs: Costs associated with compliance, statutory reporting, and strategic oversight are included under governance.

Irrecoverable VAT: Any VAT that cannot be recovered is included within the relevant expenditure category.

2.4. Tangible Fixed Assets and Depreciation

Tangible fixed assets are measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost of the fixed assets, less their estimated residual value, over their expected useful lives on the following bases:

Website development and software

50%

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Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

For The Year Ended 31 March 2026

2.5. Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents are basic financial assets and include cash in hand and deposits held at call with banks, other short-term highly liquid investments that mature in no more than three months from the date of acquisition and are readily convertible to a known amount of cash with insignificant risk of change in value, and bank overdrafts.

3. Income from Donations and Legacies

	2026	2025
	Unrestricted	Unrestricted
	funds	funds
	£	£
Donations and gifts	323,333	321,667

4. Income from Charitable Activities

	2026	2025
	Unrestricted funds £	Unrestricted funds £
Charitable Activities	87,265	5,000

Grants, included above, are as follows:

	2026	2025
	Unrestricted funds £	Unrestricted funds £
Newham Fostering Partnership	-	5,000
Peter Cundill Foundation	18,265	-
The 4814 Trust	15,000	-
KPMG Foundation	50,000	-

	83,265	5,000

5. Net Income/(Expenditure)

The net income is stated after charging/(crediting):

	2026	2025
	£	£
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets - owned	28,486	36,035

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Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

For The Year Ended 31 March 2026

6. Analysis of Expenditure

			2026
	Activities undertaken directly	Support costs (see note 7 )	Total
	£	£	£
Raising funds	24,398	-	24,398
Charitable Activities	253,825	91,957	345,782

	278,223	91,957	370,180

			2025
	Activities undertaken directly	Support costs (see note 7 )	Total
	£	£	£
Raising funds	7,077	-	7,077
Charitable Activities	190,194	71,224	261,418

	197,271	71,224	268,495

7. Support Costs

	2026	2025
	Charitable Activities	Charitable Activities
	£	£
Employee costs	60,722	18,991
Premises expenses	1,920	5,885
General administration	829	10,313
Depreciation	28,486	36,035

	91,957	71,224

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Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

For The Year Ended 31 March 2026

8. Staff Costs

Staff costs were as follows:

	2026	2025
	£	£
Wages and salaries	193,885	136,950
Social security costs	15,393	9,013
Other pension costs	4,495	3,157

	213,773	149,120

No employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) for the reporting period of more than £60,000.

9. Average Number of Employees

Average number of employees during the year was: 5 (2025: 4)

10. Tangible Assets

	Website development and software
	£
Cost
As at 1 April 2025	64,276
Additions	69,979

As at 31 March 2026	134,255

Depreciation
As at 1 April 2025	45,766
Provided during the period	28,486

As at 31 March 2026	74,252

Net Book Value
As at 31 March 2026	60,003

As at 1 April 2025	18,510

11. Debtors

	2026	2025
	£	£
Due within one year
Other debtors	16,900	-

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Now Foster: The Future

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

For The Year Ended 31 March 2026

12. Creditors: Amounts Falling Due Within One Year

	2026	2025
	£	£
Accruals and deferred income	17,912	166,950

13. Deferred Income

Deferred income movements in the year were as follows:

	2026	2025
	£	£
Balance at the start of the period	165,000	-
Income deferred in the current period	-	165,000
Amounts released in income from previous periods	(165,000 )	-

Balance at the end of the period	-	165,000

14. Pension Commitments

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charitable company in an independently administered fund.

During the year the charge to the statement of financial activities in respect of defined contribution schemes was £4,495 (2025: £3,157).

At the balance sheet date contributions of £NIL were due to the fund and are included in creditors.

15. Movement in Funds

	As at 1 April 2025	Income	Expenditure	As at 31 March 2026
	£	£	£	£
Unrestricted funds
General:
General unrestricted fund	62,142	410,598	(370,180 )	102,560


Total funds	62,142	410,598	(370,180 )	102,560

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Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)

For The Year Ended 31 March 2026

	As at 1 April 2024	Income	Expenditure	As at 31 March 2025
	£	£	£	£
Unrestricted funds
General:
General unrestricted fund	3,970	326,667	(268,495 )	62,142


Total funds	3,970	326,667	(268,495 )	62,142

16. Transactions with Trustees

None of the trustees received any remuneration or any other benefits from an employment with the charity or a related entity during the current or previous year.

No trustee expenses have been incurred.

17. Related Party Disclosures

There have been no related party transactions in the reporting period that require disclosure.

18. Company limited by guarantee

The company is limited by guarantee and has no share capital.

Every member of the company undertakes to contribute to the assets of the company, in the event of a winding up, such an amount as may be required not exceeding £1.

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