‘I feel like I’m collecting families’

‘Magical’ childhood memories were formed in foster care after a woman was removed from her mother at the age of three.

Catherine Burland told The News how foster care not only enriched her life as a child, but remains a crucial part of her identity as an adult, with her birth and foster family remaining in contact years later.

Catherine Burland with her mum. | Catherine Burland

placeholder image — Catherine Burland with her mum. | Catherine Burland

As part of The News’ Fostering a Better Future campaign, Catherine shared her early childhood experiences in and out of foster placements before being adopted.

The campaign, which launched on Tuesday, August 11, aims to support the recruitment of more foster carers amid a national shortage despite the continued increase of children in the care system.

As of March 2025, England had 33,435 foster homes, marking a 10 per cent drop since 2021. Despite the shortage of carers, the number of children in care has continued to rise substantially, from 64,460 in 2010 to 81,770 in 2025 - the highest recorded numbers since the 1980s.

Catherine, who now works at Portsmouth City Council, said: “Life happens and it can be really tough for people but foster families provide that stability and extra piece of care and often people think foster kids have issues but in today’s society it isn’t always the case - It takes a village to raise a family so the more foster carers we have the better.”

Catherine at the funfair in Southsea. | Catherine Burland

Born in Gloucestershire, Catherine spent her first few months surrounded by family before her mother decided to relocate to Portsmouth. Within a short amount of time, it became apparent her mother, who suffered with bipolar disorder, was unable to care for her properly, prompting Catherine to be removed from her home.

“I was about three years old when I was officially removed so before that my birth mother was identified as somebody who needed extra support”, she said, “she had a lifelong mental illness and I was an unplanned pregnancy and didn’t have the resources to cope with me.

“She had bipolar and struggled to manage, and she knew she wasn’t able to support me but they kept giving me back to her. I was removed a couple of times while she was in St James Hospital when she had an episode because we didn’t have any nearby family. There was a lot of interaction with social services - she wasn’t a bad mum, she just couldn’t manage alone.”

The first foster family Catherine was placed with was in Milton and she recalled how her short time there was “fun”, but she was required to be moved. Over the course of the years, she lived at five different placements across the city, with her final foster family being the right fit for her before she was adopted at the age of seven.

The 37-year-old told The News: “My foster mum had been a nurse at Great Ormond Street and had experience of children with behavioural issues and that was my long-term placement and I absolutely adored them. They had an older daughter and she would take me to Southsea on the bus and we would go to the funfair. It was just really special and magical but behind the scenes there were a lot of court orders going on.

“I was with my foster family for a couple of years and then I got adopted, but it was lovely because my foster sister would come over and come to family bbq’s. A lot of people think foster care is cut and shut but that really isn’t the case. My foster mum and my birth aunt remain in contact.

“I lost my entire family when I was a child - looking back, it is so amazing because my foster family are my extended family. They didn’t have to look after me or keep in contact, but they did, and that is the beauty of fostering.”

Proud of her background, Catherine previously became an Independent Visitor to support young people in care and said she would consider being a foster carer “when the time is right.”

Catherine Burland as a child | Catherine Burland

Now living in Gosport with her husband, she explained that although her story is “quite dramatic, fostering created a community” that she is extremely grateful for.

She continued: “I got married to my childhood sweetheart and I had so much family there - I feel like I’m collecting families at this point.

“I think a lot of people are scared to foster because I don’t think they understand the amazing work carers do. It can be tough, but I have found over the course of my life it has been really really positive - knowing I have got that village behind me and so many people I meet have been fostered or are foster carers and it is the loveliest community. Often people who have been in care have something to prove and want to make everyone proud, and they are just amazing.

“My parents and I are really close and I got married to my childhood sweetheart and it felt like I had so many families come together - my social worker even came to my wedding. I feel like I’m collecting families at this point.

“Anyone considering becoming a foster carer, you will see some of the hard stuff but overall these kids have so much to offer.”

To be an eligible foster carer you must: