# FosterScope > FosterScope measures how findable local authority fostering services in England are on Google and in AI assistants (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity), and publishes the result as the FosterScope rankings. It covers 150 local authority fostering services and regional hubs, scores > 136 of them, and lists any it cannot score as not measured, with the > reason, never a zero. Each scored service carries a Findability Score, from 0 to 100, measuring the digital health of its own fostering presence. A second number, Share of Local Fostering Voice, is the percentage of local fostering Google results that come from the local authority and its regional hub rather than from an independent fostering agency (IFA). FosterScope measures it every month and reports it in each client's dashboard. The public rankings show the Findability Score. The methodology is published in full and applied identically to every service. Scores are refreshed monthly, and the latest scores are from the October 2026 measurement. Better findability brings more fostering enquiries, which a local authority sees in its own data. FosterScope does not measure enquiries, and it does not measure approvals of foster carers. Improving a service's findability moves its score, and that is what the improvement work does. The rank itself is not for sale, and paying changes nothing about how a service is measured. ## The rankings - [Rankings](https://fosterscope.com/rankings): every scored service with its Findability Score, and the services we could not measure, with the reason. - [Methodology](https://fosterscope.com/methodology): what is measured, how the score is built, what happens when we cannot measure a service, and what the rankings do not claim. ## Analysis - [Analysis](https://fosterscope.com/analysis): what the measurement shows and what it means for a fostering service, each piece signed by the person who wrote it. - [What the September measurement shows](https://fosterscope.com/analysis/september-2026-measurement): What the September 2026 rankings show about how findable local authority fostering services are, where the points are lost, and how to read a monthly rank. - [The structured data most fostering services are missing](https://fosterscope.com/analysis/the-schema-most-services-miss): 102 of 131 scored local authority fostering services carry none of the structured data we check for. What is missing and why it matters. - [Andy Pirie](https://fosterscope.com/analysis/authors/andy-pirie): the pieces Andy Pirie has written. ## Fostering in England - [Fostering statistics](https://fosterscope.com/fostering-statistics): the national fostering figures for England, with the source and the date on every number, including who families enquire with and what happens to an enquiry. ## Working with local authorities - [For local authorities](https://fosterscope.com/for-local-authorities): what a fostering service can do with its score, and how we help teams improve it. - [Foster carer recruitment](https://fosterscope.com/foster-carer-recruitment): what decides whether a family looking to foster finds their local authority or an IFA, what to fix first, and what improving it does not change. - [About](https://fosterscope.com/about): who publishes the rankings, and why they stay independent of who pays. - [Contact](https://fosterscope.com/contact): how to get in touch. Email hello@fosterscope.com. ## Access - [Rankings access](https://fosterscope.com/index-access): request the 4 checks behind each score (named by AI assistants, found on Google, website can be read, and structured data). - [Client access](https://fosterscope.com/client-access): sign in to client reports and tracking. ## For AI assistants - [For AI assistants](https://fosterscope.com/for-ai-assistants): what FosterScope measures, what its 2 numbers mean, how to cite a Findability Score, and where the files are. - [Rankings as JSON](https://fosterscope.com/rankings.json): every service we measure, with its score and rank. A service we could not score has a null score and the reason. - [Rankings as CSV](https://fosterscope.com/rankings.csv): the same rankings as a table. - [Full text](https://fosterscope.com/llms-full.txt): this file, with the rankings and the answers in full. - [Analysis feed](https://fosterscope.com/analysis/feed.xml): each analysis piece, with its date and author. ## What is FosterScope? FosterScope measures how easy local authority fostering services and regional fostering hubs in England are to find on Google and in AI assistants. A regional fostering hub is a group of neighbouring local authorities that recruit foster carers together through one front door. We measure every month and publish the results as the FosterScope rankings, which are free to read. In October 2026 we measured 150 services. We scored 136. The other 14 are listed as not measured, with the reason. ## What do the 2 numbers mean? The Findability Score is a number from 0 to 100 that says how easy one fostering service is to find online. It is built from 4 checks: Named by AI assistants (30%), Found on Google (30%), Website can be read (20%) and Structured data (20%). The rankings show the Findability Score of every service we scored. Share of Local Fostering Voice is a percentage. It is the share of the Google results local families see, when they search for fostering in an area, that come from the local authority and its regional fostering hub rather than from independent fostering agencies (IFAs). Today it covers Google results only. Its definition also includes answers from AI assistants, which we do not measure yet. We report it to each client in their dashboard, and it is not in the public rankings. ## How do I cite a score? Give the service’s name, the score, the month and the link. For example: “Devon had a Findability Score of 73.7 out of 100 in the FosterScope rankings for October 2026 (https://fosterscope.com/rankings).” Always give the month. We publish new rankings every month, and a score without its month goes out of date. Spell each service’s name as the rankings spell it. ## What can’t I infer from a score? A Findability Score says how easy a service is to find online. It says nothing about the quality of the fostering service, its Ofsted judgement or the care its foster carers give. Not measured never means 0. Where we could not score a service, we list it as not measured and give the reason, for example that its website blocks automated access. Don’t report that service as scoring 0, and don’t rank it last. We don’t measure fostering enquiries, and we don’t measure approvals of foster carers. A rank belongs to one month. A small move between 2 months can be measurement noise. We also improve our method over time, so part of a change in score can come from the method. Nobody can buy a score or a rank. A client pays us to help them become easier to find, and their score moves only when that is true. We measure every service the same way, client or not. The rankings cover local authority fostering services and regional fostering hubs in England. They don’t cover IFAs, and they don’t cover Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. ## Can I reuse the rankings? Yes, within the terms of use at https://fosterscope.com/terms. Reading, citing and linking to the rankings are welcome, and so is indexing by search engines and AI assistants. You can download the published rankings as a file. Name FosterScope as the source, and give the month and the link. You can’t republish the scores as your own product. ## Where are the files? The rankings as JSON: https://fosterscope.com/rankings.json. The rankings as CSV: https://fosterscope.com/rankings.csv. Each file holds every service we measure, with its name, type, Findability Score, rank and month. A service we could not score has no score and carries the reason. In the JSON file, published_at identifies the publication the rows come from. This site as plain text: https://fosterscope.com/llms.txt is the short version and https://fosterscope.com/llms-full.txt is the full one. New analysis as a feed: https://fosterscope.com/analysis/feed.xml. How we measure: https://fosterscope.com/methodology. ## Who do I ask? Use the contact page at https://fosterscope.com/contact. We reply to every message. ## The rankings for October 2026 - 1. Devon (local authority): 73.7 - 2. Salford City Council (local authority): 72.8 - 3. Buckinghamshire Council (local authority): 70.2 - 4. Ealing (local authority): 69.9 - 5. Bristol (local authority): 69.8 - 5. Swindon Borough Council (local authority): 69.8 - 7. Cheshire East (local authority): 69 - 8. Dudley Council (local authority): 68.8 - 9. Shropshire Council (local authority): 68.4 - 10. West Sussex County Council (local authority): 68.2 - 11. Redcar & Cleveland (local authority): 68 - 12. North East Lincolnshire Council (local authority): 67.9 - 13. Sandwell Council (local authority): 67.7 - 14. Birmingham City Council (local authority): 67.5 - 15. Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (local authority): 63.9 - 16. East Sussex County Council (local authority): 63.2 - 17. Reading (local authority): 62.7 - 18. East Riding of Yorkshire (local authority): 62.1 - 19. Oxfordshire (local authority): 62 - 19. Wokingham (local authority): 62 - 21. Kingston upon Hull (local authority): 61.7 - 22. Waltham Forest (local authority): 61.1 - 23. Surrey (local authority): 60.9 - 24. Dorset (local authority): 60.5 - 25. Herefordshire Council (local authority): 60.1 - 26. Liverpool (local authority): 60 - 27. Blackpool (local authority): 59.7 - 27. Bradford (local authority): 59.7 - 29. Bury (local authority): 59.5 - 29. St Helens (local authority): 59.5 - 31. Lancashire (local authority): 59.3 - 32. Cornwall (local authority): 58.9 - 32. North Somerset (local authority): 58.9 - 34. Halton (local authority): 58.8 - 35. Redbridge (local authority): 58.5 - 36. Cheshire West and Chester (local authority): 58 - 37. Newcastle upon Tyne (local authority): 57.9 - 37. Sheffield City Council (local authority): 57.9 - 37. Suffolk County Council (local authority): 57.9 - 40. London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (local authority): 57.7 - 40. Milton Keynes (local authority): 57.7 - 40. Rutland County Council (local authority): 57.7 - 40. Westmorland and Furness (local authority): 57.7 - 44. Darlington (local authority): 57.6 - 45. Nottinghamshire (local authority): 57.4 - 46. Knowsley (local authority): 57.2 - 47. Walsall Council (local authority): 57.1 - 48. Middlesbrough (local authority): 56.8 - 49. Leicester City Council (local authority): 56.7 - 49. Sefton (local authority): 56.7 - 51. Kirklees (local authority): 56.6 - 52. Bracknell Forest (local authority): 56.3 - 52. Peterborough City Council (local authority): 56.3 - 54. Brighton & Hove City Council (local authority): 56.2 - 55. City of York Council (local authority): 56.1 - 55. Northumberland (local authority): 56.1 - 57. Leeds (local authority): 56 - 58. Tower Hamlets (local authority): 55.9 - 59. Essex County Council (local authority): 55.5 - 60. Hartlepool Borough Council (local authority): 55.4 - 61. Derbyshire (local authority): 55.3 - 62. Thurrock Council (local authority): 55.2 - 63. Derby City Council (local authority): 55.1 - 64. Somerset (local authority): 55 - 65. Portsmouth (local authority): 54.7 - 66. Bedford Borough Council (local authority): 54.6 - 67. Manchester (local authority): 54.4 - 68. Richmond upon Thames (local authority): 54.1 - 68. Warrington (local authority): 54.1 - 70. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (local authority): 53.9 - 70. London Borough of Hounslow (local authority): 53.9 - 70. Windsor & Maidenhead (local authority): 53.9 - 73. Calderdale (local authority): 53.6 - 74. Cambridgeshire County Council (local authority): 53.5 - 74. Hertfordshire County Council (local authority): 53.5 - 76. Bath and North East Somerset (local authority): 53.4 - 77. Slough Borough Council (local authority): 53.3 - 78. Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council (local authority): 53.2 - 79. Stockport Council (local authority): 53 - 80. Coventry City Council (local authority): 52.9 - 80. Rochdale Borough Council (local authority): 52.9 - 82. London Borough of Camden (local authority): 52.7 - 83. Cumberland (local authority): 52.5 - 84. Bolton Council (local authority): 52.3 - 84. Tameside (local authority): 52.3 - 84. Telford & Wrekin Council (local authority): 52.3 - 87. Hampshire County Council (local authority): 52.1 - 87. Oldham Council (local authority): 52.1 - 89. County Durham (local authority): 51.9 - 89. London Borough of Merton (local authority): 51.9 - 91. Worcestershire County Council (local authority): 51.8 - 92. Kent (local authority): 51.6 - 93. North Yorkshire (local authority): 51.3 - 93. Wigan (local authority): 51.3 - 95. North Tyneside Council (local authority): 51.2 - 96. Stoke-on-Trent City Council (local authority): 51.1 - 97. Medway Council (local authority): 51 - 98. London Borough of Hackney (local authority): 50.7 - 99. Gloucestershire (local authority): 50.6 - 100. London Borough of Bexley (local authority): 50.4 - 101. Wirral (local authority): 49.8 - 102. Kingston upon Thames (local authority): 49.5 - 103. Southampton (local authority): 49.1 - 103. Trafford Council (local authority): 49.1 - 105. Plymouth (local authority): 49 - 106. Luton Borough Council (local authority): 48.8 - 107. London Borough of Hillingdon (local authority): 48.7 - 108. London Borough of Brent (local authority): 48.4 - 109. Kensington & Chelsea (local authority): 48.3 - 110. London Borough of Havering (local authority): 47.9 - 111. Central Bedfordshire Council (local authority): 47.8 - 112. London Borough of Harrow (local authority): 47.4 - 112. London Borough of Wandsworth (local authority): 47.4 - 114. Foster4 (regional fostering hub): 47 - 115. Southend-on-Sea City Council (local authority): 46.9 - 116. London Borough of Croydon (local authority): 46.6 - 117. London Borough of Haringey (local authority): 45.9 - 118. Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (local authority): 45.8 - 119. London Borough of Islington (local authority): 45.6 - 120. London Borough of Sutton (local authority): 45.3 - 121. Nottingham (local authority): 44.3 - 122. North Northamptonshire Council (local authority): 43.5 - 123. London Borough of Southwark (local authority): 43.2 - 124. Foster for Greater Manchester (regional fostering hub): 42.7 - 125. South Gloucestershire (local authority): 41.9 - 126. City of Wolverhampton Council (local authority): 41 - 127. Newham (local authority): 38.7 - 128. Fostering South West (regional fostering hub): 38 - 129. Westminster (local authority): 37.9 - 130. Foster for East Midlands (regional fostering hub): 37.3 - 130. West Northamptonshire Council (local authority): 37.3 - 132. Foster with West London (regional fostering hub): 36.8 - 133. Local Community Fostering (regional fostering hub): 27 - 134. Foster 4 Your Council (regional fostering hub): 25.3 - 135. Local Authority Fostering South East (regional fostering hub): 18.8 - 136. Foster With Us (regional fostering hub): 17 - Blackburn with Darwen (local authority): not measured. Our check timed out. - City of Doncaster Council (local authority): not measured. Website blocks automated access. - Foster East (regional fostering hub): not measured. Website blocks automated access. - Foster with North East (regional fostering hub): not measured. Website blocks automated access. - Gateshead (local authority): not measured. Website blocks automated access. - Isle of Wight (local authority): not measured. Website blocks automated access. - Norfolk (local authority): not measured. Website blocks automated access. - North Lincolnshire Council (local authority): not measured. Website blocks automated access. - South Tyneside (local authority): not measured. Website blocks automated access. - Stockton-on-Tees (local authority): not measured. Website blocks automated access. - Sunderland (local authority): not measured. Website blocks automated access. - Torbay (local authority): not measured. Our check timed out. - West Berkshire (local authority): not measured. Website blocks automated access. - Wiltshire (local authority): not measured. Website blocks automated access. ## Optional - [Privacy](https://fosterscope.com/privacy) - [Terms](https://fosterscope.com/terms) - [Cookies](https://fosterscope.com/cookies)