Payments
What foster carers are actually paid.
Not the minimum allowance you may have seen quoted. Services publish their own weekly totals for one child, and most agencies start around £460 a week. Here are the figures from their own websites, what they depend on, and a calculator to make them yours.
Try the pay calculatorRead the pay guide
Typical weekly pay per child
Independent agencies
£460 to £652
a week per child, from newly approved to experienced. Typical of 22 agencies’ published rates (range £400 to £1,000).
Council services
£375 to £697
a week per child. Typical of 9 councils’ published rates (range £268 to £1,087).
Minimum allowance
£176 to £309
a week in England for 2026-27, for the child’s costs only; the fee for you comes on top. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own.
Typical figures are the middle of what the services below publish. The real figure depends on the child’s age and needs, your experience and training, and whether you have a child placed; payments stop between placements unless a service pays a retainer.
What each service publishes
Independent agencies (28)
| Service | Nation | Per child per week | Depends on | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Action for Children (England example) (worked example) | England | up to £890 | Location, type of fostering, siblings, complex needs (specialist add-on payments); 'many factors' | 27 October 2026 |
| Apex Fostering | England | £500 to £1,000 | Child's needs / level of care required; type of placement | 31 July 2026 |
| Barnardo's Fostering | England | £495 to £630 | type of foster care, number of children, child's age, child's needs | 27 October 2026 |
| Capstone Foster Care | England | £460 to £660 | child's needs (level of training/support required), child's age, location, type of arrangement (standard over £460; therapeutic MATTS up to £660; parent and child from £910), number of children | 27 October 2026 |
| Caritas Care | England | £405 to £642 | Not stated on the page (no age, level or needs criteria given) | 27 October 2026 |
| Clifford House Fostering | England | £408 to £515 | Child's age (lower figure younger children, higher older); carer's grade/experience | 11 May 2026 |
| Compass Fostering (worked example) | England | £430 to £800 | number of children, child's needs, type of fostering (standard £434–£465.50 by age; therapeutic £668.50; parent and child £791), carer experience | 23 September 2026 |
| Five Rivers Child Care | England | up to £470 | child's age, whether siblings are also placed, additional needs (payments adjusted) | 14 September 2026 |
| Foster Care Associates (FCA) (worked example) | England | £460 to £917 | child's age and complexity of needs; placement type (standard child over 11 = £508.20; enhanced/complex = £549; parent and child up to £917) | 22 May 2026 |
| Fostering People | England | £493 to £900 | child's age (standard for child over 5 in England over £521), individual needs (enhanced allowance), type of placement (mother and baby example £849.06), number of children | 16 April 2026 |
| Fostering UK | England | £400 to £700 | Type of placement; child's age and circumstances; higher allowance for ASD, disabilities or special behavioural needs | 27 October 2026 |
| Fosterplus | England | £408 to £502 | where you live (England or Scotland), your experience, the child in your care | 16 April 2026 |
| ISP Fostering | England | £573 to £713 | carer tier: Core £572.74, Main £635.46, Senior £660.52 (London: £616.70 / £685.51 / £713.16); parent and child £946.75 | 17 July 2026 |
| Little Acorns Fostering | England | £440 to £900 | Child's needs; type of fostering placement (parent and child from £700) | 17 October 2025 |
| Mosaic Foster Care | England | £600 to £700 | Carer's completion of training; number of children | 5 April 2026 |
| National Fostering Group (NFG) | England | £487 to £652 | type of fostering (standard average £487; enhanced/complex needs average £652), skills, location, number of children | 27 October 2026 |
| Nexus Fostering (worked example) | England | up to £780 | age and needs of the child, type of fostering (therapeutic pays more), carer experience; paid per child | 27 October 2026 |
| Orange Grove Foster Care | England | £410 to £517 | carer grade (Grade 1 £410–£497; Grade 2 £420–£507; Grade 3 £430–£517, based on experience/training/years fostering) and child's age | 16 April 2026 |
| Parallel Parents | England | up to £500 | Carer's experience/level (training), child's specific needs, number of children | 27 October 2026 |
| Sparks Fostering | England | up to £750 | Carer's qualifications; teenagers with additional needs; linked to the local authority fee | 26 October 2024 |
| Sunbeam Fostering Agency | England | up to £700 | Child's needs (complex needs, parent and child, remand attract higher rates); each placement assessed individually | 3 October 2026 |
| Swiis Foster Care (England) | England | up to £625 | placement type and number of children (one child up to £625; enhanced one child placed alone with additional needs up to £1,380; two siblings up to £1,218; two unrelated children up to £1,250; parent and child up to £1,167), child's age, region, individual assessment | 30 September 2026 |
| TACT Fostering | England | £491 to £564 | child's age, complexity of needs (single child average £491; child with additional needs £564), number of children (two children £982), type of care (parent and child £817) | 21 September 2026 |
| Team Fostering | England | from £554 | Child's age; child's assessed additional difficulties | 21 April 2026 |
| Action for Children (Northern Ireland example) (worked example) | Northern Ireland | from £642 | Location, type of fostering, siblings, complex needs; special needs shown in the example | 27 October 2026 |
| Action for Children (Scotland example) (worked example) | Scotland | from £769 | Location, type of fostering, siblings, complex needs; child's age shown only in the example | 27 October 2026 |
| FCA Scotland | Scotland | £460 to £711 | child's age and complexity of needs; placement type | 13 August 2026 |
| Swiis Foster Care Scotland | Scotland | £442 to £563 | child's age, placement type (one child up to £563; enhanced one child up to £746; two siblings up to £986; two unrelated children up to £1,126; parent and child up to £746), additional needs, region | 1 April 2026 |
Council fostering services (10)
| Service | Nation | Per child per week | Depends on | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Children's Trust (Foster Birmingham) (worked example) | England | from £402 | carer level (3 or 4), child's age, number of children | 3 July 2026 |
| East Sussex County Council | England | £430 to £705 | child's age band (0–2 £430–£602; 3–4 £438–£610; 5–10 £458–£630; 11–15 £490–£662; 16–17 £533–£705); children with disabilities £602–£705; parent and child £1,307 | 27 October 2026 |
| Foster for Greater Manchester (10 GM councils incl. Manchester) | England | £268 to £560 | carer experience, type of fostering, child's age; each GM council sets its own rates | 27 October 2026 |
| Kent County Council (Kent Fostering) | England | £342 to £849 | child's age band (under 2, 2–4, 5–8, 9–10, 11–15, 16–18) and type of fostering: standard £341.82–£574.30; solo and complex £486.56–£849.22; disabled children standard £424.30–£656.78; disabled enhanced £451.79–£684.27; parent and child up to £1,191.04 | 27 October 2026 |
| London Borough of Bromley | England | £408 to £557 | child's age band (0–4 £407.66; 5–10 £431.66; 11–12 £463.66; 13–15 £515.27; 16+ £557.27); enhanced fee of £50 per week by agreement; parent and child total £823.93 | 21 October 2026 |
| Sheffield City Council | England | £301 to £468 | carer skill level (Level 1 £301–£443; Level 2 £366–£458; Level 3 £386–£468) and child's age band (0–4, 5–7, 8–10, 11–15, 16+) | 27 October 2026 |
| Wigan Council | England | £296 to £915 | carer tier (Tier 2 newly approved £296.23–£418.29; Tier 3 experienced £373.69–£518.71; Tier 4 specialist £725.18 / £812.49 / £915.01) and child's age band (0–2, 3–4, 5–10, 11–15, 16–17) | 6 April 2026 |
| City of Edinburgh Council (Edinburgh Fostering) | Scotland | £485 to £697 | child's age and placement type (disability and specialist fee is higher) | 27 October 2026 |
| Renfrewshire Council | Scotland | up to £615 | child's age (allowance); the £330.46 fee is a flat per-child amount | 17 April 2026 |
| Foster Wales Swansea (Swansea Council) | Wales | £442 to £1,087 | type of fostering, number of children, length of fostering | 2 April 2026 |
Each figure is as published on the service’s own website on the date shown, for one child, and in most cases combines the child’s allowance and the carer’s fee. Rates change: the service’s own page is the authority. Is yours wrong or missing? Tell us.
Why the headline minimums look low
Each government sets a minimum weekly allowance for the child’s costs (£176 to £309 in England for 2026-27). That is the floor for one part of the payment. The fee for you comes on top and is set by each service, which is why the totals above are two or three times the minimum. Most of what you receive is also tax-free under Qualifying Care Relief; the calculator shows how much.