Why choose us?
When you foster with us, you are supported by a reliable local authority that’s placed thousands of children into loving homes. You also get offered placements first, before fostering agencies do.
From dedicated social worker support to competitive fees, discover all the support and benefits we offer.
Stress-free processes
The start of your fostering journey should be as straightforward as possible. To help make this a reality, we’ve developed a simple process that should take an average of 16 to 20 weeks.
Find out more about our fostering process.
Extensive training
Right from the start, you’ll feel well-equipped for your fostering journey with our comprehensive training programme. A mix of online and in-person events, our training will support you in developing knowledge and skills as a foster carer.
You get access to a wide range of courses, such as:
- Safety and first aid
- Child development
- Managing challenging behaviour
- Special educational needs
- Therapeutic childcare
A dedicated social worker
You’ll be allocated a supervising social worker. They will regularly visit you to support you and your family. If you need to reach out to your social worker for immediate support, you can do that too.
You also get access to round-the-clock support, including an out-of-hours social worker service and an Emergency Duty team.
If you’re looking after children with specific needs, you’ll get additional help from our specialist team.
Peer support and networking
Want to meet others in the same boat? We run annual social events for foster carers, as well as bespoke support groups and quarterly Fostering Forums.
You will also have access to Fosterline, run by the Fostering Network. Open 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday, the service provides information and advice for foster carers and people thinking about becoming foster carers.
A recommended service
Don't just take our word for it. Read the fostering experiences of carers and children to hear first hand about the benefits of fostering with us.
Competitive payments
It’s important to feel financially secure when you’re fostering. That’s why we pay fees and allowances that are competitive.
For carers of children aged 0 to 10, we pay:
- Weekly fee - £194.40
- Weekly allowance - £209.80
- Total - £404.20 per week
For carers of children aged 11 to 18, we pay:
- Weekly fee - £228.30
- Weekly allowance - £273.04
- Total - £501.34 per week
For children with additional needs, we also pay an addition weekly enhanced fee:
- Enhancement - £217.40
- Total - £718.74 per week
On top of this, we also offer:
- Additional allowances for holidays, birthdays and festive celebrations
- Additional payment to transport primary school aged children to school
- Additional payment and benefits, based on the needs of individual children
- Time-limited retention payments if you’re not allocated a child
- A £1,000 referral fee if you recommend friends and family members who go on to become foster carers
- Bonuses in recognition of long service
- One year free premium membership at Places Leisure
Tax breaks
All foster carers benefit from significant tax breaks.
You will not pay tax on the first £18,140 you earn from fostering. You also won’t have to pay tax on some of your earnings over this amount – that’s because you receive tax relief for every week a child is in your care.
Find out more about tax arrangements for foster carers.