Fostering in England FAQs
Deciding to become a foster parent is a big step, and it’s completely natural to have lots of questions along the way. We’ve brought together answers to some of the things people ask us most often to give you a clearer picture of what fostering in England involves. If you’re looking for something more specific, please get in touch and a member of our team will be happy to help.
Fostering Basics
What is Fostering?
Fostering provides a temporary, safe, and supportive home for a child who cannot live with their birth family. Local authorities are responsible for the child’s care, and they work closely with independent fostering agencies like Family Fostering Partners to place children with approved foster parents. The aim is to give each child stability and consistent day-to-day care while professionals decide the best long-term plan for them. Some children stay for a short period, while others may need longer-term care, and throughout the placement foster parents work with the child’s link worker and the wider team to make sure a child receives the support they need.
Why Do Children Need Foster Care?
Children need foster care when they cannot safely remain at home. This may be due to concerns about neglect, physical or emotional harm, family breakdown, illness, or situations where a parent is temporarily unable to care for them. In some cases, children need short-term support while plans are made for them to return home; in others, they require longer-term stability while professionals decide the most appropriate future for them. Foster care ensures each child has a safe, nurturing environment while their needs are assessed and their long-term plan is agreed.
How Long Does Approval Take?
The fostering approval process in England typically takes around four to six months from the point of application to the decision made by the fostering panel. This includes initial checks, training, the full assessment, and the panel meeting. Timelines can vary slightly depending on individual circumstances, but the aim is always to complete the process safely, thoroughly, and as efficiently as possible.
Who Regulates Family Fostering Partners in England?
Family Fostering Partners in England is regulated and inspected by Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills). Ofsted is responsible for ensuring independent fostering agencies meet national standards, follow all statutory guidance, and provide safe, high-quality care for children.
Do Foster Carers Get Paid?
Yes. Foster carers receive a fostering allowance to cover the full cost of caring for a child, as well as a fee that recognises their time, skills, and commitment. The exact amount varies depending on a child’s needs, the type of placement, and the fostering agency.
Foster carers are classed as self-employed and benefit from HMRC’s Qualifying Care Relief scheme, which provides favourable tax arrangements.
At Family Fostering Partners, new foster carers in England can also access Be There to Care, a financial support scheme that provides monthly payments during the assessment process and the early months of fostering, helping families focus fully on preparing for the role.
What Types of Fostering Are Available in England?
In England, there are several types of fostering to meet different children’s needs. These include:
- Short-term fostering: Providing care while plans are made for a child’s future. This can last from a few days to many months.
- Long-term fostering: Offering a stable home for children who are unlikely to return to their birth family and are not being adopted.
- Emergency fostering: Taking a child at very short notice, often for a brief period while professionals decide the next steps.
- Respite fostering: Short planned stays that gives a child or existing foster family a temporary break.
- Parent and child fostering: Supporting a parent and their baby or young child in the same household, helping them learn to care safely for their child.
- Siblings fostering: Caring for brothers and sisters together to maintain important family relationships.
- Teenage Fostering: Teenage fostering involves caring for young people aged roughly 13–18 who cannot live with their birth families.Â
Family Fostering Partners discusses each type during assessment so foster parents can choose the placements that best match their skills, home life, and availability.
Can I Foster Babies or Young Children?
Yes. You can foster babies and young children if you meet the requirements and have the right home circumstances. Babies and very young children often come into foster care due to concerns about their safety or because their parents need support.
To foster a baby, you must have the time and emotional availability to meet their needs, as babies require constant care, regular routines, and frequent appointments with health professionals. To become a foster carer, you must have a spare bedroom available, whether you plan to care for babies or older children.
Working With an Independent Fostering Agency
Who Regulates Family Fostering Partners in England?
Family Fostering Partners in England is regulated and inspected by Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills). Ofsted is responsible for ensuring independent fostering agencies meet national standards, follow all statutory guidance, and provide safe, high-quality care for children.
What is an Independent Fostering Agency?
An independent fostering agency (IFA) works alongside local authorities to provide safe, stable homes for children who cannot live with their birth families. Local authorities remain responsible for a child’s care, but they partner with IFAs like Family Fostering Partners when they need foster parents with the right skills, availability, or experience for a particular child.
IFAs assess, train, and support foster parents, ensuring they meet national standards and receive the guidance they need throughout every placement. In England, IFAs are regulated and inspected by Ofsted.
Can I Transfer From Another Agency or Local Authority?
Yes. Approved foster parents can transfer from another fostering agency or from a local authority, as long as there are no safeguarding concerns and any child currently in placement continues to have their needs fully met. The transfer process follows a national protocol, which ensures the move is well-coordinated and that all professionals involved work together to maintain stability for the child.
Family Fostering Partners will guide you through each step, including gathering your existing records, completing a streamlined assessment, and liaising with your current agency or local authority to make sure the transition is smooth and child-centred.
What Support Will I Receive as a Carer?
Foster parents receive extensive support throughout their fostering journey. At Family Fostering Partners, every carer is assigned a dedicated link worker who offers regular supervision, guidance, and practical help whenever it’s needed. There is 24/7 on-call support for emergencies, so you are never left to manage a situation alone.
You will also receive high-quality training before approval and ongoing learning once you’re fostering, including specialist courses tailored to the needs of the children in your care. Carers have access to peer support, support groups, and local activities that help build strong networks.
Financial support includes fostering allowances, fees, and access to Be There to Care, which provides additional financial help during the assessment process and the early months of fostering.
What Training is Available After Approval?
After approval, foster parents have access to ongoing training designed to build confidence and develop the skills needed to support children of different ages and backgrounds. This includes core topics such as safeguarding, attachment, behaviour, and trauma-informed care, as well as specialist courses based on the needs of the children you look after.
Family Fostering Partners provides regular face-to-face and online training, workshops, and development sessions throughout the year. Your link worker will help identify any additional learning that may benefit you or match the needs of a child placed in your care. Continuous training ensures foster parents feel prepared, supported, and equipped for every stage of their fostering journey.
Do Foster Parents Get Respite?
Yes. Foster parents can access respite, which provides short, planned breaks that support both the foster family and the child. Respite may involve a child staying with another approved foster family for a few days, a weekend, or occasionally slightly longer, depending on their needs and the care plan.
Respite is arranged carefully to maintain stability for the child, and it is never used automatically, it is agreed only when it is in a child’s best interests and supports the foster placement. Family Fostering Partners works closely with carers to plan respite in advance and ensure children are placed with trusted, experienced foster families.
Can I Take my Child on Holiday?
Yes, foster parents can take their foster child on holiday, both in the UK and abroad, as long as it is agreed in advance with the child’s local authority. Holidays can be a positive experience, giving children the chance to make memories and feel included as part of family life.
For trips outside the UK, the local authority must provide written consent and ensure the child has the correct travel documents. Your link worker will help with the planning, permissions, and any practical arrangements to make sure the holiday is safe, suitable, and in a child’s best interests.
Eligibility & Requirements
Do I Need Formal Qualifications to Foster?
No. You do not need formal qualifications to become a foster parent. What matters most is that you can provide a safe, stable, and nurturing home, and that you have the time and emotional availability to support a child.
All foster parents receive training before approval and ongoing learning once they are approved. This includes the Skills to Foster preparation course and regular development opportunities to help you feel confident in the role. Family Fostering Partners provides full training and support throughout the process.
Do I Need a Spare Bedroom?
Yes. In England, foster parents must have a spare bedroom for each fostered child. This is a national requirement and ensures every child has their own private, safe space to sleep, store their belongings, and feel settled.
Can I Foster if I Rent My Home?
Yes. In England under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, you can foster even if you rent your home. Landlords cannot refuse permission for fostering simply because you are a tenant. What matters is that your tenancy is stable and your home meets fostering standards.
Agencies and local authorities may still ask for confirmation of your tenancy details, but they cannot require landlord consent as a condition for fostering.
Your home must meet the same safety and space requirements as any foster home, including having a spare bedroom for each fostered child.
Can I Foster if I work Full Time?
Fostering is possible for people who work full time, as long as there is enough time and flexibility in your routine to meet a child’s needs. Children often have school runs, appointments, meetings, and activities that require an adult to be available, so your work pattern must allow for this.
Some foster parents adjust their hours, work shifts, or have a partner who can share the day-to-day care. What Family Fostering Partners looks for is reliable availability, a stable routine, and the capacity to put a child’s wellbeing first.
Can I Foster if I Receive Benefits?
Yes. Receiving benefits does not prevent you from becoming a foster parent. Fostering allowances are treated differently from other income, and many benefits are unaffected. The main requirement is that you can provide a stable home and have the time and emotional availability to care for a child.
During the assessment, your financial situation is discussed simply to ensure long-term stability, not to exclude anyone on benefits. Family Fostering Partners will talk through how fostering payments interact with your individual circumstances so you have a clear understanding from the outset.
Is There an Age Limit As a Foster Parent?
There is no upper age limit for fostering. The only legal requirement is that foster parents must be at least 21. What matters is your health, energy, and ability to meet a child’s needs.
As part of the assessment, Family Fostering Partners considers your overall wellbeing, lifestyle, and support network rather than your age alone. Many people foster successfully well into later adulthood, provided they can offer stability, availability, and a nurturing home.
Do I Have to Be Married to Foster?
No. You do not have to be married to become a foster parent. Foster carers can be single, married, cohabiting, in a civil partnership, or in any committed and stable relationship.
What matters is that you can provide a safe, consistent, and supportive home. During the assessment, Family Fostering Partners looks at the stability of your household and the support you have around you, not your marital status.
Can LGBTQ+ People Foster?
Yes. LGBTQ+ people can foster, and they are welcomed and fully supported throughout the process. Your gender identity or sexual orientation has no impact on your ability to provide a safe, loving, and stable home for a child.
Family Fostering Partners focuses on your capacity to care, your availability, and the stability of your home life. Many LGBTQ+ foster parents provide exceptional care, and fostering services across England actively encourage applications from people of all identities and backgrounds.
Can I Foster if I Have Pets?
Yes. Many foster parents have pets, and animals can be a positive part of a child’s experience in foster care. As part of the assessment, Family Fostering Partners will look at your pets’ behaviour, temperament, and routines to make sure they are safe around children.
Certain animals or behaviours may require additional consideration, but in most cases pets do not prevent someone from fostering. The key is ensuring that a home environment is safe, calm, and suitable for a child’s needs.
Can I Foster if I Have My Own Children?
Yes. Many foster parents have birth children at home. Having your own children can even be an advantage, as you already have experience of family life and supporting children of different ages.
During the assessment, Family Fostering Partners will look at how fostering may affect your children and how they feel about welcoming another child into the family. The aim is to make sure the arrangement works well for everyone in the household and that both your own children and any fostered child receive the attention and support they need.
Can I Foster if I Have a Disability or Health Condition?
Yes. Having a disability or health condition does not automatically prevent you from fostering. What matters is how your health affects your daily life and whether you can meet a child’s needs safely and consistently.
As part of the assessment, Family Fostering Partners will ask for information from your GP and talk to you about your routines, mobility, and any support you already have in place. Many people with disabilities or long-term health conditions foster successfully, and each application is considered individually with a focus on your strengths, availability, and ability to offer a stable, nurturing home.
Can People Who are Retired Foster?
Yes. Retired people can foster, and many choose to do so because they have more time and flexibility to support a child’s routine. There is no upper age limit for fostering; the key consideration is your health, energy, and ability to meet a child’s needs.
During the assessment, Family Fostering Partners will look at your overall wellbeing, lifestyle, and support network to ensure fostering is a good fit. As long as you can provide stability, availability, and a nurturing home, retirement is not a barrier to becoming a foster parent.
Practical Questions
How Much is the Fostering Allowance in England?
Foster carers in England receive a weekly fostering allowance to cover the full cost of caring for a child. The minimum rates set by the government vary depending on the child’s age and where you live, but most carers receive between £460 and £1022 per week as a baseline allowance. In addition to this, foster parents also receive a fee that recognises their time, skills, and commitment, which means overall earnings are higher than the allowance alone. Rates differ between local authorities and independent fostering agencies, and additional payments may be provided for birthdays, holidays, or children with specific needs. Foster carers also benefit from HMRC’s Qualifying Care Relief, which offers highly favourable tax arrangements.
Do I Need a Driver’s License to Foster?
You do not need a driver’s licence to become a foster parent, but you must be able to meet a child’s transport needs reliably. Children often have school runs, appointments, activities, and family time sessions that require regular travel. If you do not drive, you will need a clear plan for how you will manage this, for example, access to reliable public transport or another adult in the household who can support with driving. Family Fostering Partners will discuss transport arrangements during your assessment to make sure they are practical and sustainable for achild.
How is Matching Decided?
Matching is a careful process designed to ensure a child is placed with the foster family best suited to their needs. The local authority shares detailed information about a child, including their background, routines, health, education, and any specific support they require. Family Fostering Partners then considers your experience, strengths, household dynamics, location, and availability to see whether the placement would be a good fit.
Your link worker will discuss a child’s profile with you so you can make an informed decision. A placement only goes ahead when everyone involved believes the match will provide safety, stability, and the right environment for the child to thrive.
What is the Difference Between Fostering and Adoption?
Fostering provides a temporary home for a child who cannot live with their birth family. The local authority remains responsible for a child, and the aim is to give them stability while decisions are made about their long-term future. Some children stay for a short period; others may remain in long-term foster care, but legal responsibility always remains with the local authority.
Adoption is permanent. When a child is adopted, all legal rights and responsibilities transfer to the adoptive parents, and the child becomes a full legal member of their family for life.
In fostering, the focus is on caring for a child during a period of uncertainty. In adoption, the focus is on providing a permanent home and legal parenthood.
How do I Start my Application?
Starting your fostering application is simple. The first step is to contact Family Fostering Partners for an initial conversation, where you can ask questions and talk through your circumstances. If you decide to go ahead, you’ll be visited at home for an initial assessment to make sure fostering is the right fit for you and your household. From there, you can begin the full application, which includes checks, references, training, and a detailed assessment carried out by a link worker. Throughout the process, you’ll be guided at every stage so you always know what to expect and feel fully supported from the beginning.
Types of Foster Placements
Find out more about the types of foster care placements we offer.Â
Short Term Fostering
Short term fostering is when a child stays with a foster family for a finite amount of time.Â
Emergency Foster Care
A type of fostering where a safe home is needed for a child at very short notice, often with only a few hours warning. Â
Fostering Teenagers
As teenagers develop independence and face adult decisions, a stable foster home offers crucial support.