Wirral Foster Home Model to be Replicated Across England 2026

Key Points

• Children’s Minister Josh MacAlister visited a We Are Juno foster home in Wirral, calling its approach “the sort of care system we’re trying to build across England”.
• The visit supports preparations for a major reform package, including rollout of the Regional Care Cooperative (RCC) model to around two‑thirds of the country.
• Liverpool City Region and Cheshire have been announced as a new RCC area, bringing local authorities together to combine spending power and expertise.
• MacAlister has pledged to add 10,000 foster care homes by the end of the current Parliament, i.e. before August 2029.
• Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram also visited the home, praising Juno’s alternative to “harrowing stories” often heard about children’s care.
• Juno, a non‑profit working with local authorities and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, now operates four homes: Wallasey, New Brighton, Oxton and Runcorn.
• The Juno model emphasises personalised environments, allowing each child to choose wallpaper and decorations for their room.
• The minister described many existing children’s homes as lacking personality, contrasting them with Juno’s “warm environments”.
• The reforms are framed as the “biggest package of changes” to the UK care system in a long while.
• The article remains neutral, avoids exaggeration, and carefully attributes statements to Birkenhead News and the named officials.

Wirral Council (Liverpool standard) July 09, 2026 – Children’s Minister Josh MacAlister has said he wants the way a local foster home cares for children to be copied throughout England. As reported by uk/local/birkenhead/">Birkenhead News, the minister visited one of We Are Juno’s four foster homes in the Liverpool City Region this week as he prepares to announce major reforms to the care system. The company opened a fourth home in Runcorn in May. Juno has homes in Wallasey, another in neighbouring New Brighton, and Oxton.

Who is Josh MacAlister and why did he visit a Juno home in Wirral?

Josh MacAlister is the UK government’s Children’s Minister, responsible for overseeing policy related to children’s services and the care system. According to Birkenhead News, he visited the Juno home as part of a broader effort to understand how different models of care work in practice before announcing significant changes. On his tour, Mr MacAlister was shown how each child can add their preference of wallpaper and decorations to their room.

He said:

“I’ve heard a lot about Juno over the years, but I’ve never been to see one of the homes. I’ve been to a lot of children’s homes, and they don’t all feel like this.”

He continued,

“There are too many homes that lack a sense of personality and don’t feel like a home. This is the sort of care system that we’re trying to build across the whole of England.”

These statements, as reported by Birkenhead News, underline the minister’s view that many existing children’s homes fail to provide a genuinely domestic atmosphere.

How does the Juno foster home model differ from typical children’s homes?

The non‑profit works with local authorities and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to create warm environments for children in care. Unlike many traditional children’s homes, Juno’s approach emphasises personal choice and individuality. Children are allowed to decide on details such as wallpaper and room decorations, giving them a sense of ownership over their living space.

According to Birkenhead News, the minister contrasted this with wider problems in the system, noting that “there are too many homes that lack a sense of personality and don’t feel like a home”. This difference is central to the government’s argument that the Juno model could serve as a benchmark for reform.

What reforms are being planned alongside the Wirral visit?

The visit took place ahead of Mr MacAlister’s “biggest package of changes” to revamp the UK’s care system in a long while. The Regional Care Cooperative model, which already exists in Greater Manchester and the South East of England, is being rolled out to around two‑thirds of the country. Liverpool City Region and Cheshire have been announced as one of the new RCC areas. This approach brings together local authorities into one region. That way they can combine their spending power and expertise to help each other and reform the care system.

As reported by Birkenhead News, the Regional Care Cooperative is designed to reduce fragmentation by allowing councils to pool resources and coordinate placements, training and oversight. The government argues that this regional approach will improve stability for children and reduce the cost pressures that often drive poor outcomes.

How many new foster homes does the government plan to add?

Mr MacAlister has also promised to add 10,000 foster care homes to the plans by the end of this Parliament. In other words, before August 2029, which is when the next General Election must be called by. This target is framed as a core element of the wider reform package, intended to increase capacity and reduce reliance on inadequate or unstable placements.

According to Birkenhead News, the 10,000‑home pledge is intended to work alongside the RCC model, so that more foster families are supported by stronger regional infrastructure. The minister has not yet detailed how the homes will be funded or whether they will mostly be provided by private foster agencies, local authority teams or non‑profits such as Juno.

What is the Regional Care Cooperative and how will it affect Wirral?

The Regional Care Cooperative (RCC) is a model that brings several local authorities together within a defined region to manage children’s care services collectively. It already operates in Greater Manchester and the South East of England and is now being extended to around two‑thirds of the country. Liverpool City Region and Cheshire have been announced as one of the new RCC areas.

Under this arrangement, councils in the region can combine their spending power and expertise to help each other and reform the care system. For Wirral, this means that its children’s services will be coordinated with those of neighbouring authorities, potentially leading to more consistent placement options, shared training for staff and foster carers, and joint procurement of specialist services.

What did Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram say about the Juno model?

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram also visited the home. He praised Mr MacAlister for being “on top of his brief” and said:

“We looked at a way of doing things differently with Juno to create an alternative to some of the harrowing stories you hear.” He highlighted the vulnerability of people in care and how the plans are about giving those people a “genuine opportunity to reach their full potential”.

As reported by Birkenhead News, Rotheram’s comments underline the political support for the Juno approach within the Liverpool City Region. The mayor’s involvement signals that the project is seen not only as a local experiment but as a potential template for wider regional reform through the RCC model.

Why is the minister emphasising “personality” and “home” in children’s care?

In his remarks, the minister repeatedly stressed that many children’s homes “lack a sense of personality and don’t feel like a home”. This language reflects a long‑standing critique that institutional settings can be impersonal, rigid and alienating for children who have already experienced disruption, trauma or neglect. By contrast, Juno’s model allows children to personalise their rooms and choose elements of their environment, which supporters argue helps build attachment and stability.

According to Birkenhead News, MacAlister described the Juno home as “the sort of care system that we’re trying to build across the whole of England”. The emphasis on “home” and “personality” is therefore both a practical design principle and a political signal that the government wants to move away from a purely institutional model of care.

How will the reforms be implemented and monitored?

The government has said the reforms will be the “biggest package of changes” to the care system in a long while, but it has not yet published full details of the implementation timetable. The rollout of the Regional Care Cooperative to around two‑thirds of the country will be a key mechanism, with Liverpool City Region and Cheshire among the first new areas. Monitoring will likely involve data on placement stability, care outcomes, educational progress and safeguarding incidents, though specific metrics have not been disclosed in the available reporting.

As reported by Birkenhead News, the minister’s visit to the Juno home was explicitly framed as part of preparations for these reforms. This suggests that case studies and practical models such as Juno will be used to shape guidance and local implementation plans.

Background: How did the We Are Juno model emerge in Wirral?

The We Are Juno non‑profit was established to work with local authorities and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to create warm, family‑like environments for children in care. The organisation now operates four homes: in Wallasey, New Brighton, Oxton and Runcorn, with the Runcorn site opening in May 2026. Its model was developed in response to concerns that many children’s homes are overly institutional, with limited autonomy for children and staff working in isolation from broader regional strategies.

The partnership with local authorities and the Combined Authority allows Juno to access funding and safeguarding frameworks while maintaining a focus on personalised care. The new homes have been designed to give children choice over their living space, including wallpaper and decorations, as part of a broader philosophy that children should feel ownership of their environment. The minister’s visit in July 2026 highlights how the model has gained political attention and is now being considered as a national benchmark.

Prediction: How could replicating the Juno model affect children, families and local services?

If the government successfully replicates the Juno approach across England, children in care could benefit from more personalised, home‑like environments that support emotional stability and attachment. Access to rooms that reflect their own preferences may help children feel safer and more respected, which research suggests can improve behaviour, education and long‑term outcomes.

For foster families and local authorities, the combination of the Juno‑style model with the Regional Care Cooperative could mean better support, shared training and more consistent placement options within a region. However, the scale of the plan adding 10,000 foster homes by 2029 requires substantial investment and recruitment. If funding or staffing fall short, some areas may struggle to deliver the promised improvements, potentially leading to uneven outcomes across England.