Training That Closes a Real Gap in Care
Most foster carer training doesn't cover hair care for Black and mixed-race children at all — leaving carers to learn by trial and error, often at the child's expense. Crowned With Confidence is a complete, trauma-informed training programme built specifically to close that gap.
The Gap in Numbers
of foster carers in England are white, while a quarter of looked-after children come from an ethnic minority background.
Source: TACT, citing the 2021/22 national statistics on fostering in England
of looked-after children identify as Mixed ethnicity — but foster carers from Mixed backgrounds make up fewer than 3% of all foster carers.
Source: Department for Education–commissioned study, "The demographic characteristics of foster carers in the UK"
Children from Black and Mixed ethnic backgrounds are also over-represented in the care system relative to their share of the general child population (Nuffield Family Justice Observatory / DfE analysis). In practice, this means many Black and mixed-race children in care are placed with carers who have no personal lived experience of their hair, identity, or cultural needs — and, until now, little or no training to bridge that gap either.
What This Means for These Children
These aren't abstract numbers. Behind them are real children navigating identity, belonging, and daily care with a carer who may never have needed to think about any of this before.
Loss of identity and "living in a white world." A UK study interviewing young people aged 12–18 living in transracial foster placements identified three recurring themes: a loss of identity, the experience of "living in a white world," and their own advice for foster carers on what they wished had been different. One participant's words gave the study its title: "I'm Black but I don't feel like I am."
Racial microaggressions, even from loving carers. Research and practice guidance on transracial placements is consistent on this point: when carers lack the understanding, skills, or confidence to actively support a child's racial and cultural identity — not through malice, simply through not knowing — children can experience racial microaggressions within their own home. A carer not knowing how to touch, wash, or style a child's hair is rarely framed by researchers as a "hair problem." It's usually one of the clearest and most frequent physical examples of this wider gap.
A measurable link to mental health. This connects directly to findings covered earlier in this course: research on Black adolescent girls found "hair-esteem" — how positively a girl sees her own hair — was significantly associated with both depression and anxiety, and a 2025 UK study described the psychological toll of hair-related experiences on Black youth as "hidden wounds." Hair is not a side issue to a child's wellbeing; for many children, it is one of the places that wellbeing is most visibly at stake.
It follows children outside the home too. Research from World Afro Day and De Montfort University found that a majority of Black students have experienced name-calling or uncomfortable questions about their hair at school in the UK, with downstream links to disengagement and higher anxiety. A child who isn't confident their own carer can care for their hair often isn't confident facing that world either.
Source: World Afro Day / De Montfort University research, cited by the Halo Collective
The gap in the numbers above is exactly where a carer's daily choices land. Hair care is one of the few parts of this much larger picture that can be directly and practically taught — which is exactly what this course exists to do.
Why This Matters to Your Service
- Supports cultural competence expectations reflected in Ofsted's inspection framework and the National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services
- Addresses a documented link between hair-related experiences and children's confidence, identity, and wellbeing
- Reduces risk — untrained carers using incorrect technique can cause real physical and emotional harm; this training teaches it properly, safely, from the start
What's Included
- 12 comprehensive modules, video-supported
- Full knowledge and practical assessment workbook
- Certificate on completion
- Printable worksheets and a competency checklist your service can build into supervision and review
Credentials & Assurance
- ✅ Fully insured — Crowned With Confidence Ltd holds public liability and professional indemnity insurance
- ✅ Registered UK limited company
Founding Authority Offer
The first three local authorities to join receive 75% off their first year, in exchange for feedback, testimonials, and participation in a case study. See the full Founders Programme →
Full Pricing
See our Pricing page for the complete breakdown of all tiers and add-ons.