Helping Greater Manchester reach potential foster carers

Helping Greater Manchester’s fostering teams reach potential carers and support them from their first question, with a clearer website journey and a shared system that makes working together easier.

Since 2023, we have worked with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to support a shared ambition: encouraging more people to consider fostering and helping them take the next step.

Our work began behind the scenes, building a central system to help local authority teams receive enquiries, share information safely and keep in touch with prospective carers.

The partnership has grown to include search advertising, SEO and ongoing website improvements, helping people find answers, understand their options and feel ready to make contact.

Foster for Greater Manchester brings local authorities together to encourage and support people interested in becoming foster carers.

A shared recruitment service offered the chance to reach more residents and provide a clearer starting point for anyone exploring fostering. It also needed a reliable way for different council teams to work together.

GMCA approached us to help create that foundation. The aim was to make the process easier for prospective carers while giving local authority staff more time to focus on the people behind each enquiry.

Enquiring about fostering can be a significant step. People may have spent months thinking about it, or they may simply want to ask an initial question.

Whatever their starting point, they need clear information and a reassuring experience when they get in touch.

Behind the scenes, teams across different local authorities needed to pass enquiries to the right people, understand previous conversations and handle sensitive information carefully. Without a coordinated system, this could mean repeated administration, gaps in communication and a less joined-up experience.

There was also an ongoing need to reach potential carers and understand what helped them move from curiosity to making contact.

We brought the website, recruitment activity and enquiry management together, keeping the needs of prospective carers and council teams at the centre.

Giving teams one place to manage enquiries

We built a tailored HubSpot system to receive enquiries centrally and pass them to the appropriate local authority. Teams could record conversations, follow progress and see the information needed to support each person.

Making handovers and follow-ups easier

We introduced automatic notifications and communications to reduce repetitive administration and help enquiries move between teams. This supported more consistent contact with prospective carers and made it easier for staff to pick up where a colleague had left off.

Helping teams handle information responsibly

We set different access levels according to people’s roles, helping staff see the information they needed while restricting wider access. The system and communication processes were designed to support GMCA’s data protection responsibilities.

Reaching people who are considering fostering

Through Google Ads, we help Foster for Greater Manchester appear when people are looking for information about fostering. We review and refine the advertising to help relevant audiences find their way to useful information and opportunities to enquire.

Making information easier to find through search

Our SEO work supports people finding the website naturally through search engines. This complements advertising and helps connect prospective carers with information as they explore whether fostering could be right for them.

Continually improving the website

We work on the website over time, using what we learn from visitors to make information clearer and the next steps easier to find. This allows the service to keep developing around people’s needs.

Learning what helps people take the next step

We have tested different advertising placements, formats and landing pages to understand which approaches encourage people to engage and get in touch. Each round of testing helps us improve the experience for future visitors.

GMCA now has a central system that helps fostering teams work together, with a clearer picture of each person’s enquiry and the support they have received.

The partnership supports both sides of that journey: the people considering opening their homes to a child, and the teams there to guide them.