Author: Equi
Published on: June 19, 2025
Equi was delighted to host the virtual launch of our new report, Faith, Family & the Care System: A Missed Connection? . The webinar brought together sector leaders, carers and academics for a dynamic discussion on how grounding the care system in faith and culture can deliver better outcomes for children and families across the UK.
The webinar opened with a welcome from Professor Francis Davis (Professor of Public Policy and Communities, University of Birmingham), followed by remarks from Professor Javed Khan OBE (Equi Managing Director), who provided background on Equi’s work and framed the urgent need for greater faith literacy in public policy. Dr Jennifer Eggert (Director of Policy and Research) and Sofiah Shah (Report Lead Researcher) presented the report’s findings, sparking a lively conversation on the strength of faith-based family and community networks, the barriers Muslim carers can face and the potential to unlock new partnerships between statutory and community organisations.
Real-world perspectives from foster carers and practitioners brought the issues to life. Mohammed Bashir, a Muslim care worker, spoke about the need for faith to be recognised as central to a child’s identity and the positive outcomes when children are placed in families that understand their cultural and religious background. Shama Jung, a foster carer, reflected on the impact of early intervention and support in keeping families together, as well as the challenges faced by Muslim children when faith is overlooked in care placements. Both highlighted the difference that identity-affirming care, cultural understanding and lived experience can make for children in the system.
Dr Krish Kandiah OBE (Chair of the Government’s Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board, 2019-2021) responded to the report’s findings, drawing on his own journey as a foster carer to highlight how faith is often misunderstood or seen as a barrier within the care system. He called for urgent action to improve faith literacy among professionals, shared positive examples of partnership between faith communities and local authorities and stressed that harnessing the compassion and resources of all faith groups is vital to address the ongoing fostering and recruitment crisis.
A panel Q&A allowed audience members to contribute questions and reflections, reinforcing the need to strengthen kinship care, invest in faith literacy training for professionals and mobilise effective partnerships with third sector and faith-based organisations.
The event closed with a clear call for action: policy and practice must recognise faith as an essential part of children’s identity, and partners across the sector should work together to ensure that every child receives the support they need to thrive.
We are grateful to everyone who took part and helped foster such a thoughtful, optimistic and solutions-driven conversation. Read the full report here and join us as we work towards a care system that truly values every child’s identity and every community’s contribution.
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