Strong Relationships
Our social work team and our directors are available to you by telephone 24 hours a day every day. We even have a fallback service that automatically redirects your call if your social worker is busy. Your call gets answered by one of us. We also make many home visits combining regular and at request visits to help you through difficulties and decision points.
We all care about you, your family and the children you are looking after. Thats our service to you.
Comprehensive Training
Our Training programme is a mix of internal and external trainers and online courses. The programme is redesigned every year with a combination of fixed elements and specialist training based on carers and placement needs in the agency.
We deliver training in a variety of ways from classroom, to workshop and practical styles to make it interesting and valuable.
We even pay you to attend!
Appreciation & Encouragement
We all need to be recognised when we do things that are benefiting others. In foster care that is more important than in most occupations. We identify the great work of foster carers every week and acknowledge that with regular recognition. Carers who develop are financially rewarded for attendance and the level of engagement demonstrated.
When we invite children to our events we invite your whole family.
What Our Carers Are Saying
Don’t just take it from us, let our carers do the talking!
“When I call late at night after the kids are asleep, I know Lisa has also had a hard day at work already. She never makes me feel like that though. In fact, she always asks me how I am when I call and she really wants to know the answer. “
“Even the office team are really there for me. I call in to talk about administration or statutory checks with the office team. They always ask about my kids and the foster children and how they are doing.”
“Support is not just about the hard times, sometimes its just a smiling face or a little joke that makes your day better. There’s plenty of that here and that helps make the difficult converstaions easier to get through.”
Typical Annual Training Programme
Fostering Agency London
Safeguarding
First Aid
Induction Courses
On Line Training
Other Training Courses Include
Frequently Asked Questions About Training & Development
Press the blue bars to see the answers
How much training do I need to do each year?
What training do you give to beginners?
Can I decide what training I do?
Will my family also get training and development opportunities?
What other forms of development are there besides group activities?
Fostering is an activity that takes place continuously. There are opportunities to learn and develop at every moment. Often the most valuable development takes place on reflection. We encourage you to discuss every aspect of fostering with your supervising social worker, esecially when you first start fostering. This can be informally in your home, over the telephone, in our office or meeting in a relaxed atmosphere like a cafe or public place.
Your supervising social worker’s role is principally to develop and coach you and your family to foster children and young people to the best of your ability.
Some Benefits of Fostering
The decision to foster is different for each family or person considering this as a future lifestyle. Your reasons will be personal to you. Bear in mind that most people tell us that money is not enough and its the other less clear benefits that attracted them to this decision. Here are some reasons people have told us about but there are many more.
Personal Development
Good Feelings and Special Achievements
Emotional Resilience
Benefits, Allowances and Rewards
We know that most Foster Carers do not do this for the money, but equally they would probably not be able to do it without! Our allowances are paid weekly in arrears directly into your bank account and we send you a breakdown of your payment. No invoicing, no fuss and no waiting.
In addition to the allowance which is paid to cover the child costs we also pay a reward element which is paid based on the level of skills and capability you have reached in the agency. This is reviewed annually. You will also be entitled to claim expenses for certain activities and you will be paid each time you attend training and complete a brief learning report.
Due to the socially positive nature of this occupation there are significant tax benefits to Foster Carers in the form of enhanced tax allowances. Typically foster carers do not pay tax on the first £20000 of their allowances. In some circumstances, foster families do not pay any tax at all. There is more detail at this HMRC webpage.
Allowance
Covers the cost of caring for children
eg food, clothes, gifts, hobbies, mobile phone, savings
Complex Allowance
Reward Element
Solo Placements
Remand Placements
Young Parents Allowance
Typical Carer Payment - One Child
Over a year the typical foster family looking after one child will receive over £25k per year
Typical Carer Payments - Two Children
A foster family of a typical sibling group of two will receive over £40k per year in allowances and rewards
Typical Carer Payment - Parent & Child
If you care for a young parent and their child in your home this usually requires in one large bedroom to accomodate them. The placements are usually short term (3-6 months) in nature but are equivalent to £39k per year.
Typical Carer Payment - Complex Child
Typically a foster family looking after a complex child will receive over £30k per year
Training Allowance
Respite Payments
Each family is entitled to two weeks of paid respite providing that the child in care remains in your home with one of your back up carers or stays with another foster carer in the agency.
We encourage families to stay together though so taking the family away on holiday together would be a better respite in most cases.