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All our foster carers receive a maintenance allowance to cover the daily costs of caring for a child. They also receive an allowance for training and a professional fee for each child placed in their care.

 Age          Fostering
maintenance
allowance 
Training
allowance
Professional
reward
fee 
Total for
professional
     careers     
 0-4  £162  £75.17  £141.73  £378.90
 5-10  £181  £67.22  £141.73  £389.95
 11-15  £206  £103.54  £141.73  £451.27
 16-17  £240  £101.28  £141.73  £483.01
  • A professional reward fee of £108.99 per week for second and subsequent children.
  • The total specialist foster carer rate is up to £824 per week with a retainer of £450 per week for the first 4 weeks when there is no child living with you.
  • £5 is automatically deducted from the allowance for the young person’s savings plan.

The maintenance allowance is paid to all carers and covers the costs of caring for a child including food, clothing, transport, pocket money, hobbies and savings.

The training and placement allowance is paid to those carers who complete their own training, support and development portfolio to a high standard and have shown commitment to attend:

  • the required number of training courses
  • the induction group 
  • monthly foster carers support groups. 

Placement retainer

A placement retainer fee of £141.73 is paid for professional foster carers for 12 weeks if there is no child in placement. This payment is only available for professional foster carers who are available to foster a wide range of children. This is a payment for your services as a foster carer and if you are available for a child. Foster carers also get a payment for: 

  • the child’s birthday 
  • a religious holiday celebrated by the child
  • a holiday for the child, including for summer holiday outings and towards school trips.

Friends and family foster carers

You may be caring for a child who is subject to a Care Order, meaning you become a foster carer even if the child is known to you and may be related to you. Friends and family foster carers receive special advice and support from a dedicated Permanence team and can attend the same training as other foster carers. The Permanence team will also help you to plan ahead for permanent arrangements for the child.