We would like to reassure you that it is fine to ask about pay and allowances when it comes to fostering.
You are looking after a child or young person full-time, and we consider you a childcare professional so it is important you receive a fair wage.
You receive a generous fostering allowance for every night a child or young person lives in your home.
There are a number of different factors which contribute to how much foster carers are paid per week.
As a minimum, our fostering families receive £441 per week for one child on a standard fostering arrangement.
This will equate to £23,360 a year as your basic allowance, although carers can earn more.
A lot of our carers support more than one child, and some support children with additional needs, meaning they will be receiving more per week.
If you are fostering a parent and child, which is one of the most in-demand areas of fostering, you can expect to earn a minimum of £882 per week.
If you are fostering siblings, like lots of our families do, this can be in the region of £1,300 per week.
A young person with complex needs, or unable to live alongside other children, may mean you can earn £630 per week.
It is important to note that the allowance given to you is to help cover the cost of the child as well as payment for your work. But we always strive to pay our carers a competitive allowance, so do not let finances be the reason to stop you from fostering.
GET IN TOUCHAll carers are self-employed so you are responsible for paying your own taxes, however, you will be eligible for some tax relief.
As of April 2023 the tax relief rates will be increased and will continue to rise each year in line with inflation. This is fantastic news for foster families.
This means that for lots of fostering families, there will be a reduction in their tax bill or no longer be required to pay tax at all.
You may also be entitled to national insurance credits, which count towards your state pension.
This may feel a little bit overwhelming but with your membership to FosterTalk that we provide, you will be able to get help to make sure you fill out your tax returns properly, and we are able to support you with your allowances, your income summaries and anything else you need help with.
GET IN TOUCHThere are more benefits to fostering!
You get 14 days of paid holiday a year for the child you look after. This respite allowance is so that you can take a break when you need it, without worrying about losing your income.
You also receive extra money for Christmas, Birthdays and Summer holidays.
We also facilitate different activities, at no extra cost to your children such as sports, dance or drama clubs. We run days out at no extra cost to you, so your whole family can be part of our fostering family.
There are also financial long-service rewards, as well as opportunities to receive payment by recommending and recruiting other foster families.
Being a small, local independent agency gives us the benefit of personally knowing you so we can quickly respond to what you need. For example, all our families received a one-off payment at the start of the pandemic to help support them in getting what they needed to continue caring for the children in their home, enabling them to get play equipment, study aids, or just to pay for those higher food bills.
During the energy crisis, we made two generous payments to our carers to help cover the costs of rising household bills.
GET IN TOUCHSome of our foster carers do still work and foster, as long as the job is flexible enough to still allow you the time to care for the child or young person in your home.
The commitment to working as a foster carer may mean it is difficult to work full-time somewhere else.
GET IN TOUCHSome benefits you may still be able to claim such as;
Even if you need the extra financial support do not let that be the reason you think you can’t foster.
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