How Foster Carer Pay Works: The Fostering Allowance Explained
Greater London Fostering pays £479.50 a week for a child under 11 and £507.50 a week for a child aged 11 or over. Here is what that payment has to cover, why Qualifying Care Relief means most carers pay no tax on it, and what honestly happens to your income between placements.
Preparing to Welcome a Foster Child: What to Do Before They Arrive
The call can come with a fortnight’s notice or with four hours’. Here is what is worth sorting out before a foster child arrives, from the questions to ask on the phone to the first night, and what really does not matter.
Men in Fostering: Why We Need More Male Foster Carers
Fostering households in England have fallen for four years running, and children in care need men in their lives as well as women. Here is what male foster carers bring, the awkward parts nobody mentions, and whether you would actually qualify.
Can You Foster If You Have Pets?
Cats, dogs and the occasional chicken are welcome in foster homes across London. Here is what actually gets assessed, and the one exception: GLF cannot approve a household keeping one of the five banned dog breeds, even with a Certificate of Exemption.
Do You Need a Spare Bedroom to Foster?
For a child aged three or over you will need a bedroom that is theirs, but for a baby a cot in your own room is often enough. Here is what the national standard actually says, what we check when we visit, and what happens to your Housing Benefit while a spare room sits empty.
Can Single People Foster? An Honest Look at Fostering on Your Own
No law in England says a foster carer needs a partner, and single people are approved as foster carers every year. Here is what fostering on your own actually involves, from the support network question and the spare bedroom rule to the pay, with the hard parts left in.
Can You Foster in a Rented Home or a Flat?
Renting does not stop you fostering, and neither does living in a flat. Since 1 May 2026 your landlord cannot use a tenancy clause to block a foster child. Here is what that means, and how the bedroom rules actually work.
Can You Foster If You Work? An Honest Answer
No law stops a foster carer from having a job, and availability matters far more than the hours on your contract. Here is what fostering really takes out of a week, which jobs fit around it, and where you stand on pay, tax, employment rights and childcare in August 2026.
Family Time: What Contact With a Child’s Birth Family Really Involves
Will they know where I live? Won’t seeing their mum unsettle them? What contact with a child’s birth family really involves, who decides it, and how to get a child through the hour afterwards.
Therapeutic Parenting and PACE: What It Actually Means for Foster Carers
Therapeutic parenting sounds like something you would need a psychology degree for. You would not. PACE was built for ordinary carers in ordinary kitchens, and most of it comes down to ten difficult minutes.