Family Life

Devon County Council is hosting an information event next week (Tuesday 12th February) in a bid to encourage more people to consider becoming foster families and give those interested the chance to find out whether fostering would be suitable for them.

Devon has over 700 children in care, and just over 300 fostering households. However many current foster carers are approaching retirement age so the County Council needs to recruit new carers.

The children and young people needing foster care come from all sorts of backgrounds, and are unable to live with their own families...

Exeter Gingerbread is a friendship group for single parent families in the area. The group started out as a few single parent families from my children's school, meeting up once a month over last summer. I found it wonderfully supportive and wanting to reach as many single parent families as possible, decided to set up a Gingerbread group for the whole Exeter and surrounding area.

Gingerbread is a national charitable organisation which provides support and advice for single parent families. I had a very positive experience of Gingerbread from going to a local group when I was...

Elizabeth Truss, the education minister, is giving a speech this morning announcing plans to overhaul childcare rules. According to the new rules, nurseries and childminders in England are to be allowed to look after more children per adult in an attempt to cut childcare costs and boost standards.

Liz Truss has said that the ratio of children to child carers can be raised but only if the carers' qualifications meet new standards.

Ms Truss said this morning: "We regulate the wrong thing. Rather than focusing on quality we focused on quantity, and if you look at other...

Exeter City’s Football in the Community charity is extending the range of its popular children’s football roadshows for the upcoming February half term.

There will be four different events in Exeter, plus courses in Exmouth, Sidmouth, Crediton, Tiverton, Honiton, Feniton, Okehampton and Barnstaple.

A two-day course on the astroturf at St Luke's Science and Sports College kicks off half term, starting on Monday 18th February and costing £27 for the two days. A special goalkeepers and strikers day is being held at Middlemoor on Friday 22nd February (£15), while on the same...