Despite three-quarters of looked-after children living under foster care arrangements, the sector has been largely overlooked by politicians and policymakers in recent years.
While adoption and residential child care have had major reviews and much parliamentary time devoted to them, there has been little focus given to updating foster care policy - current regulations date back to 2011.
Critics point to the Children and Social Work Bill's emphasis on adoption and special guardianship as the route to permanence - and the omission of long-term foster care - as a case in point.
Amid concerns over placement stability, a shortage of foster carers and the role of the independent sector, the government is about to embark on what it is calling a national "stocktake" of fostering with the aim of updating and improving policy and practice.
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