Mockingbird Hubs

What is the Mockingbird Programme?

The Fostering Network's Mockingbird programme is a new way to deliver foster care using the Mockingbird Family Model™.

In this model, up to ten fostering families form a group called a 'constellation'.

At the centre of this group is a foster home known as the 'hub'.

The hub home foster carer provides planned and emergency sleepovers, short breaks, and offers advice, training, and support to the other foster families, known as 'satellite' households.

The programme aims to strengthen fostering households and improve relationships between carers, children and young people, fostering services, and birth families.

Given its success, we are looking to expand our Mockingbird programme with more constellations across Surrey.

For more information visit The Fostering Network and Mockingbird, or watch Mockingbird: a really big family

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Become a Mockingbird carer [2020]

Becoming a hub home carer

A hub home carer is an approved foster carer who is the central point of support in a group of fostering families, known as a Mockingbird constellation.

The hub home carer will support the other families in their constellation.

This will include overnight care as well as planned and emergency support to the children's main carers.

To become a hub home carer, you will need to have two spare beds in your home.

You may have one spare bedroom with two beds or one bedroom and a spare bed in an appropriate space within your home. You will also need to be available full time to support satellite carers within your hub.

For more information or to apply to be a Mockingbird hub home carer.

What is the role of a Mockingbird hub home carer?

At the heart of each Mockingbird constellation is the hub home.

To become a hub home carer, you will need:

  • Two spare beds in your home
  • To be available full time to support satellite carers
  • Hub homes must have one foster carer at home full-time.
  • To be able to offer regular sleepovers and emotional/practical support

You may have one bedroom with two beds, or two separate appropriate sleeping spaces.

The hub home carer provides support and leadership to adults and young people.

As well as caring for the children and young people, they provide emotional support and guidance to the foster carers and families within their Mockingbird constellation.

Each Mockingbird constellation has no more than ten families, including the hub home carer.

The carer will be supported by their supervising social worker to carry out this role.

They will work together to support the needs of the foster families in their Mockingbird constellation.

Where are our home hubs?

We currently have six Mockingbird hubs in Surrey, located in Tadworth, Merstham, Farnham, Guildford, Camberley and Woking.

We are excited to announce the launch of our sixth hub in June 2026 and have plans for many more.

What are the support and benefits for hub home carers?

There is a lot of support available to hub home carers. There is also coaching and mentoring available from The Fostering Network

Hub home carers benefit from:

  • Ongoing training, support, supervision, and help to run events
  • Support from The Fostering Network, including coaching and mentoring
  • Therapeutic Parenting and/or Social Pedagogy training
  • The opportunity to complete the Social Pedagogy or Therapeutic Parenting Diploma as career development
  • Payments of £540 per week
  • More allowances available
  • One day off each week and one weekend off each month
  • Four weeks paid holiday each year
Recent independent evaluations show that Mockingbird significantly improves outcomes for both foster carers and children. Carer retention is markedly higher among Mockingbird carers, with only 6% deregistering compared to 23% outside the programme, and carers consistently report feeling less isolated, more confident, and better supported. They also experience higher wellbeing than foster carers nationally, and Mockingbird households are 48% less likely to have unavailable placements, helping to increase stability for children. Sleepover and respite support is also rated exceptionally highly, with 87–88% of carers describing it as good or excellent, compared with just 37% nationally. For children and young people, wellbeing scores are comparable to those of the general population and significantly higher than clinical samples. Most (89–93%) say they have trusted adults they can turn to, sibling contact improves when brothers and sisters share a constellation, and many report strong friendships, a sense of belonging, and feeling part of a supportive community.

Interested in becoming a hub home carer

If you have space in your home, time to give, and want to help other foster families thrive, you could be the heart of a Mockingbird constellation. Hub home carers receive full training, professional support, and generous allowances.

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