Foster Carer
Open your home to a child or young person in the care of the local authority, providing a safe, stable family environment that can change a life.
Moderate
Very high
6–12 months from initial enquiry to approval — including an assessment period, home checks, references, Skills to Foster training, and a fostering panel decision. The process can take longer for complex cases or if additional checks are required.
No formal qualifications required to apply. Assessment involves a thorough Fostering Assessment (Form F) completed with a supervising social worker, covering personal history, home environment, and motivation. Skills to Foster training (provided by the fostering service) must be completed before approval. Carers are expected to engage in ongoing CPD through their fostering agency.
possible
What you do
Foster carers provide a family home for children and young people who cannot live with their birth families — due to abuse, neglect, family breakdown, or other safeguarding concerns. You provide daily care, emotional support, school support, and safe boundaries. You attend regular review meetings, work closely with social workers, contact workers, and independent reviewing officers, and maintain detailed records. Foster care encompasses short-term, long-term, respite, specialist (e.g. parent and child, remand), and therapeutic placements. It is not an employed role — carers are self-employed and receive fostering allowances.
Why this career is resilient
There is a profound and well-documented shortage of foster carers across all UK nations. The Fostering Network estimates approximately 9,000 additional foster families are needed in England alone. Children in care are a statutory responsibility — the demand is legal, consistent, and growing. Experienced foster carers with specialist skills (particularly for teenagers, sibling groups, and children with complex needs) are highly sought by local authorities and independent fostering agencies (IFAs).
A typical day
A weekday includes the school run for a fostered child, liaising with the school about a pastoral issue, attending a statutory review meeting at the local authority, completing a daily diary log, having a call with the supervising social worker, preparing a contact session with the child's birth family, and providing emotional support to a young person after a difficult day.
Routes in
Employer-funded training
Some employers — particularly the NHS, emergency services, and larger care providers — run their own funded training programmes. You apply for a job and train as you work.
Pay and costs
Earning potential: Foster carers receive fostering allowances, not a salary. Allowances vary significantly: local authority rates typically range from £400–£700/week per child; independent fostering agencies (IFAs) typically pay £600–£1,000+/week. Specialist placements (e.g. remand, therapeutic, parent and child) attract higher rates. Total annual income depends on the number and type of placements. This is not a route to high earnings — it is a vocation with financial support, not a conventional career.
Training costs: No upfront cost to become a foster carer. All assessment, training, and DBS checks are funded by the fostering service. Ongoing training and support are provided. Carers are treated as self-employed for tax purposes; HMRC offers Qualifying Care Relief which means most fostering allowances are tax-free.