What we can achieve by working together

When Tom first met the young person he would be fostering, it was over hot chocolate at a local café. the young person, aged 9, had spent most of his childhood in residential care after several placement breakdowns. But this meeting felt different, it was calm, unhurried, and full of possibility. Over the next few...

“You are similar age as my son, but I don’t think my son can do what you are doing, you are a young and hardworking person.”  In the care sector where outcomes are usually measured in care plans and progress reports, there exists an unseen architecture. It is built of small, human moments—the shared silence over a cup of tea after a...

When Dawn and Amanda talk about Spring Meadow, they keep coming back to one idea. This is not a place where life pauses. It is a place designed to help young people move forward. Spring Meadow is the newest short breaks service from Progress, and for its deputy manager and registered manager, it represents a...

Sometimes, the simplest things make the biggest difference.  Today and for the rest of the week, colleagues across Progress are marking Brew Monday by doing just that, pausing, putting the kettle on, and taking a few minutes to connect. From homes and services to head office and virtual Teams rooms, mugs were raised, biscuits were...

Progress is set to open Spring Meadow, a purpose-built service created to support young people and adults who need stability, space and meaningful opportunities to grow.  Spring Meadow represents the next chapter in Progress’ short breaks and adult services. After years of growing demand at Stourbridge House, where the organisation now supports more than 50...

In this end-of-year reflection, Bal Dhanoa MBE, Founder and CEO of Progress, shares what 2025 taught us and how it has shaped the year ahead. As I reflect on 2025, I do so with openness, pride and a deep sense of responsibility to the people who make Progress what it is. It has been a...

When Tadi joined Progress in April 2024, his induction photo captured a bright, easy smile. Months on, that same warmth still greets colleagues and families alike—but it is now paired with a growing confidence and a clear sense of purpose shaped by a year of change, learning, and steady progress. By 2025, Tadi describes the...

In many ways, 2025 at Progress Fostering Service has been defined by the quiet, consistent work of care. Not the kind that announces itself loudly, but the kind that shows up every day. In living rooms and kitchens, at school gates, in meetings that stretch long into the afternoon, and in moments that matter deeply...

It started with one question and a room full of honest answers. Last Friday, the team meeting at Oak Cottage unfolded a little differently. Amid the hum of a busy children’s home and the soft glow of Christmas decorations, the team paused. Chairs were pulled closer in a circle, voices softened, and I asked one...

Christmas at Spring Meadow is about the limitless possibilities. Christmas at Spring Meadow is still taking shape. It lives, for now, in conversations, careful planning, and the first decorations placed with intention. On the day the service officially opened its doors for visitors, I interviewed the team leaders Chloe, Caitlin, and Mary, alongside Dawn, Deputy...