Sarah ThomasSector leader
Chief Executive
The Fostering Network is based in Bermondsey and Old Southwark (London)
Cited in UK press coverage of health & social care
2 citations
Across 1 topic, first on 27 Aug 2026.
Biography
Sarah Thomas is Chief Executive of The Fostering Network, the UK's leading fostering charity and membership organisation, appointed to the role in May 2023. She is a qualified social worker who began her career as a supervising social worker in 2003, spending 14 years as a frontline social worker and manager at the City and County of Swansea, and subsequently serving as service manager at the Association for Fostering and Adoption Cymru. Before becoming CEO she served as the charity's director for Wales and commercial activity, during which time she programme-managed the work of the National Fostering Framework through to the launch of Foster Wales in 2021. She is publicly known for calling on governments across the UK to address the recruitment and retention crisis in foster care and has argued that fostering fees must be standardised and made competitive to attract more carers.
References
- 1.'Standout choice' is charity's new chief executive – Third Sector — Confirms appointment as CEO in May 2023, prior role as director for Wales and commercial activity, and qualified social worker background in public sector south Wales and AFA Cymru.
- 2.Children's care charity promotes director to CEO – Charity Times — Confirms 14 years at City and County of Swansea, two years as service manager at Association for Fostering and Adoption Cymru, and promotion to CEO from director role.
- 3.CoramBAAF Conversations podcast — Confirms Thomas is a qualified social worker, her role programme-managing the National Fostering Framework and launch of Foster Wales 2021, and previous role as Service Manager for AFA Cymru.
- 4.Pledge to get 10,000 vulnerable children into foster homes – GOV.UK — Quotes Thomas as Chief Executive responding to the government's February 2026 fostering reform announcement; confirms her public advocacy on carer recruitment and the Mockingbird programme.
Expertise
Cited on
Stated areas of expertise
- Foster carer recruitment and retention
- Children's social care sufficiency
- Foster care workforce policy
- Collaborative local-authority practice
- Children's social care reform
Notable achievements
- Programme-managed the National Fostering Framework in Wales through to the launch of Foster Wales in July 2021, a national collaborative foster carer recruitment brand. Source ↗
- Appointed Chief Executive of The Fostering Network in May 2023, promoted internally from director role. Source ↗
- Gave evidence to the Senedd Health Committee on the Health and Social Care (Wales) Bill in June 2024, covering sufficiency and the question of eliminating profit from children's social care. Source ↗
- Publicly welcomed and responded to the UK Government's February 2026 pledge to create 10,000 new foster placements by 2029, backed by £88 million, and called for continued reform. Source ↗
What they’ve said
“Retaining foster carers is just as crucial as recruiting them, which is why the lack of equal emphasis on retention and financial support is so disappointing.”
Chief Executive of The Fostering Network · Adult social care & reform · 27 Aug 2026 · Ministers to crack down on profiteering in care sector and make renewed fostering push ↗
“Not everyone wants this level of transparency, but in our view a register should always best serve the interests of the children”
chief executive of the Fostering Network · Adult social care & reform · 27 Aug 2026 · ‘It’s soul-destroying’: struggle to house vulnerable children can leave breaking law as only option ↗
Source references
- Ministers to crack down on profiteering in care sector and make renewed fostering pushtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
- ‘It’s soul-destroying’: struggle to house vulnerable children can leave breaking law as only optiontheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
Contact & links
Chief executives, directors and spokespeople of trade bodies, representative associations and charities speaking for the sector. Citations are counted by an automated scan of UK press coverage and may be incomplete. Roles, biographies and contact details are researched and human-reviewed before they appear here; anything not yet reviewed is simply absent rather than shown unverified. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.