Allowances
Most people who foster don’t do it for the money but for their desire to help children in need. However bringing up children is expensive and most people who foster need financial support to be able to give their time to fostering.
Our rates allow for carers to be rewarded for their professional development as foster carers as they gain experience and attend training. Most carers start on band one progressing through the banding system as they meet the relevant criteria. Experienced foster carers will start on a higher band providing they meet the criteria.
Rates
The allowances are to reward the foster carer for their skills as well as providing for the expenses involved in looking after the child.
They are made up of an allowance to cover the needs of the child, calculated on their age and a fee and training element for the carer, based on their level of skill.
| Weekly Combination of Fostering child Allowances, Fees and Training Element | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Age of Child/YP | Band One | Band Two | Band Three |
| 0 – 2 years | £316.53 | £361.11 | £418.06 |
| 3 – 4 years | £320.53 | £365.11 | £422.06 |
| 5 – 10 years | £342.53 | £387.11 | £444.06 |
| 11 – 15 years | £373.53 | £418.11 | £475.06 |
| 16+ years | £414.53 | £459.11 | £516.06 |
Baby and parent – Fee band 3 (x2) + Allowance 3 to 4 + Allowance 16+
Total: £938.12
Please note that the allowances include £10 for savings for each child, per week, which is deducted.
Additional benefits
To support our foster carers, we have some fantastic new benefits. Foster carers with Ealing will receive:
• full council tax exemption for Ealing residents and reimbursement for out of borough carers
• highly competitive fees and allowances – recent payment uplift of 18.5 %
• free parking in resident-controlled parking zones (CPZs) borough-wide
• free garden waste collection
• dedicated therapeutic support from our clinical psychologists
• discounts at council leisure centres
• excellent support including dedicated out of hours support, peer support and Mockingbird scheme
• bespoke training and other incentives
(*Fee uplift from Jan 2025, Council Tax exemption for band 2 carers and above whilst child is in placement, parking and garden waste incentives from April 2025, for band 1 carers and above)
