The support we offer
We're committed to providing high-quality foster care for children in our boroughs. This means that we provide the best training and support to our foster carers to make sure that our standards of care are met.
Ongoing support
- ‘Skills to Foster’ preparation training to give you an understanding of fostering for the Shared Service and prepare you for your role as a professional foster carer
- You will have your own supervising social worker who will visit you at least every six weeks to guide and support you, identifying any training needs that you might have
- Ongoing training to help you develop your skills and knowledge as a foster carer
- Support for other members of your household
- Support and guidance to complete the Training, Support and Development (TSD) Standards for Foster Care within their first year of approval
- Access to an emergency duty team outside office hours
Financial support
- A weekly fee and allowance
- Council tax grant
- Birthday and religious festival allowances
- Summer holiday activities allowance
- Annual holiday grants to contribute towards the travel and accommodation costs for the child
- Bonus payments in recognition of long service (loyalty bonus)
- Referral reward up to £750
Network of peers
- Social events for foster carers over the course of the year
- Accessible support groups to enable you to share your experiences with other carers
Professional support
- Membership to the Fostering Network
- Access to a wide range of professional support from education, health and child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)
- A bi-annual award ceremony
