HUNDREDS of children were being looked after by foster families in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole last year, figures show, but there was a drop on the previous year. 

Figures from the Department for Education show there were 321 fostered children in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole at the end of March 2021, down from 352 the year before.

Separate figures from Ofsted, which cover placements organised by local authority, show around 165 households offered to foster, including around 30 newly-approved households in the latest year.

Each year, children's charity the Fostering Network organises Foster Care Fortnight, celebrating the work of the UK’s foster carers and raising the profile of fostering across the country.

Around a third of all fostering households in England are found by independent fostering agencies, which are not included in Ofsted's figures.

Children’s charities have used Foster Care Fortnight to talk about the positive impacts of fostering on both children and carers.

Andy Elvin, CEO of the Adolescent and Children’s Trust, an organisation which matches children with placements, said foster parents describe the experience as "incredibly rewarding."

But although there were more than 7,000 vacant places across England in March last year, including around 40 in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Mr Elvin warns the charity has been struggling to find homes for teenagers in particular.

He said: “There is a misconception that teenagers who are in foster care are difficult and that they are in care because of something that they have done but this is not the case.

“Like all children in foster care, regardless of their age, teenagers are in need of a safe, secure home and carers who can see their potential and help them to achieve it.”

Across the country, around 6,070 households were approved by local authorities to foster in the year to March 2021 but the Fostering Network estimates that close to 8,000 more fostering families are needed, including 722 in the South West alone.