Help and support for foster parents in England

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1. Training and development

You need to complete the training, support, and development standards workbook within 12 months of being approved to foster.

Contact your fostering service to find out what other training and development is available. They should help you:

• with a personal development plan
• take part in learning and development sessions

The Foster Carers바카라 사이트™ Charter explains your rights as a foster parent.

You do not have a statutory right to time off work to care for foster children.

If you바카라 사이트™re fostering for adoption you바카라 사이트™ll be entitled to adoption pay and leave from when the child comes to live with you.

If you바카라 사이트™re considering fostering, find out about becoming a foster parent.

2. Help with the cost of fostering

All foster parents get a foster care allowance to help cover the cost of caring for a child. You might get additional payments, depending on:

• if the child has specific needs
• how many children you바카라 사이트™re fostering
• your skills and experience
• your fostering service

Contact your fostering service to find out how much you get.

This guidance applies to England. There바카라 사이트™s different fostering guidance if you , or .

Minimum weekly allowance

The minimum allowance you바카라 사이트™ll get depends on where you live and the age of the child you care for. The allowance is updated every April.

Weekly allowances for the tax year from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026

Child바카라 사이트™s age	London	South East	Rest of England
0 to 2	£198	£189	£170Â
3 to 4	£201	£196	£176
5 to 10	£225	£216	£194
11 to 15	£257	£247	£220
16 to 17	£299	£288	£258

Allowance rates when the child is 18

Children stop being in care when they reach 18, even if they바카라 사이트™re still living with you. There is no minimum allowance when your child is old enough to leave foster care.

Contact your fostering service for more information.

Expenses

You may be able to apply to your fostering service for extra money to help with things like:

• school trips
• holidays
• birthdays
• religious festivals

3. Tax arrangements

You should have registered as self-employed when you started to foster. You바카라 사이트™ll need to file tax returns. Check with your fostering service what you need to do.

In your tax return, you바카라 사이트™ll be able to claim:

• a tax exemption of up to £19,690 per household
• tax relief for every week you foster a child

This is known as qualifying care relief.

You may be entitled to National Insurance credits, which count towards your State Pension.

Tax exemption

In a tax year, households do not pay tax on the first £19,690 they earn from fostering. You바카라 사이트™ll still pay tax on money you earn from a job or investment.

Tax relief

On top of the £19,690 exemption, you also get tax relief for every week (or part week) that a child is in your care. This means you do not usually pay tax on your earnings from foster care, even if they go over £19,690.

Age of child	Tax relief
Under 11	£415 per child
11 or over	£495 per child

Example

Laura is a foster carer for a 14-year-old for the whole of the year and for an 8-year-old for 10 weeks of the year. She gets:

Tax exemption for the household = £19,690

Tax relief on what she earns for fostering the 14 year old (£495 x 52 weeks) = £25,740

Tax relief on what she earns for fostering the 8 year old (£415 x 10 weeks) = £4,150

Altogether, Laura does not need to pay tax on the first £49,580 she earns from fostering.

4. Claiming benefits

Being a foster parent can affect your benefits. Check a benefits calculator to see what you바카라 사이트™re eligible for.

If you바카라 사이트™re claiming benefits you need to tell the organisation that pays you that you바카라 사이트™re also getting a foster care allowance.

You can get disability benefits for your foster child if they meet the criteria. You may also be able to claim Carer바카라 사이트™s Allowance if your foster child gets Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment.

For more help on how your benefits may change:

• contact the organisation that pays you

5. Making decisions for your foster child

Your foster child바카라 사이트™s placement plan should tell you what decisions you can make, known as delegated authority.

There are 3 different levels to delegated authority:

• day-to-day decisions like dental check ups, hair cuts, school trips, parent-teacher meetings and letting your child go to sleepovers
• long-term decisions like which school a child goes to
• significant decisions made by the local authority and birth parents, like surgery

If your child바카라 사이트™s placement plan does not tell you what level of delegated authority you have you should contact your fostering service to find out.

You may not have the same level of authority for each child you foster. For example, you might foster 2 children and have the right to sign a consent form for one of them.

Going on holiday

If you do not have the authority to take your foster child on holiday you바카라 사이트™ll need to speak to their social worker.

You바카라 사이트™ll also need to:

• tell your child바카라 사이트™s social worker when you바카라 사이트™ll be going and when you바카라 사이트™ll be back
• get a letter of consent from your child바카라 사이트™s social worker for passport control (if you바카라 사이트™re going abroad)

Medical treatment for your foster child

You may not have the right to give consent to medical treatment. Check your child placement plan to find out if you have the authority to let your foster child have:

• medication
• a medical examination
• local or general anaesthetic
• surgery

6. Getting support

You should get support from your fostering service, your local council and social workers. You can also get support and advice from Fosterline.

Your local council must provide your foster child with a personal adviser from age 16 or 17 to age 25. They will help your foster child move to independent living or support them to stay with you (this is called a 바카라 사이트˜staying put바카라 사이트™ arrangement).

Extra support is available when your foster child reaches age 16, 18 and 21.

Support from your fostering service

Your foster child gets a placement plan. This tells you about the child and their needs. The fostering service should invite you to meetings on your foster child바카라 사이트™s progress and placement plan.

Your family should get:

• access to an out of hours advice and support service
• access to support groups
• practical, financial and emotional support
• training and a personal development plan, which is reviewed every year
• an opportunity to take a break from fostering if you need it

Dealing with allegations

If an allegation is made against you or anyone in your home, your local authority must:

• investigate it
• support you through it
• update you on progress
• help resolve any disagreements

They may remove your foster child from your home or ask the person the allegation is about to leave. They will also look at the safety of any other children in your home.

Support from social workers

You바카라 사이트™ll have contact with 2 social workers:

• your foster child바카라 사이트™s social worker - they make sure you meet the child바카라 사이트™s needs
• a supervising social worker to help and support you as a foster parent

Your supervising social worker is there to support you as a foster parent. Contact them if you need:

• emotional support
• to talk about any concerns or worries you have about your foster child
• help to develop your skills as a foster parent

Your social workers must make sure you understand their policies on fostering, including:

• how to manage your foster child바카라 사이트™s behaviour
• financial support for foster parents
• complaints

They must review your approval to foster at least once a year to make sure you바카라 사이트™re still suitable.

Social workers may decide to have some meetings without you if they think it바카라 사이트™s best for the foster child.

Social worker visits

Your child바카라 사이트™s social worker must visit you and your foster child:

• in the first week the child comes to live with you
• once every 6 weeks in the first year
• every 3 to 6 months after the child has lived with you for a year

They must also visit you once a year without telling you they바카라 사이트™re coming.

You or your foster child can ask for more visits from the social worker.

Ending a placement

You must give 28 days바카라 사이트™ notice to your social worker if you no longer wish to be the child바카라 사이트™s foster parent.

Support from Fosterline

Call Fosterline for free to get advice on fostering.

Fosterline
Telephone: 0800 040 7675
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (except bank holidays)
Find out about call charges

They can provide including: