Turn Fostering into a Career
We’re often asked by prospective foster parents “is being a foster carer a job?” And the answer is, yes!
How to Turn Fostering into a Career
Careers in foster care are not only incredibly life-changing - both for you and the amazing children you will care for - but they also provide you with a great allowance, as well as a wealth of invaluable training, benefits, and rewards.
During the process of becoming a foster parent, you’ll receive comprehensive training to give you the skills and knowledge you need to be a brilliant foster carer. And the more training you receive, the more types of fostering you can provide, which allows you to earn more.
Let’s look a bit more into how to get a job in foster care and how you can turn it into an incredible new career.
Careers in foster care
To be successful in fostering, it’s important to truly care about the role you are taking on. That means you need to care about making a difference in young, vulnerable lives. You need to be happy and willing to open your home to a child, or children, who need you the most.
Children need foster care for a variety of reasons, and every circumstance is unique. It might be due to abuse or neglect, acute family stress, family dysfunction, or the child might be awaiting adoption. And while the objective is always to return the child to their parents, in some cases, that might never happen.
There are several different types of foster care you can be involved in when becoming a foster carer.
As long as you are over 21, have a spare room, and have the legal right to work in the UK, then you will meet the minimum requirement.
You don’t even need to have experience working with children, or be a parent. Our training will help prepare you for any situation you might find yourself in, and any skills from your previous or current role, as well as your natural abilities (such as compassion, communication, and cooperation), will assist you further.
You most likely already have everything in you to make you a wonderful foster carer. All you have to do is take that first step to change both your and a child in need’s lives.
Why foster care careers could be for you
As of March 2022, in the UK there were over 57,000 vulnerable children living with foster families, which is nearly three-quarters of the 97,000 children in care looked after away from home. While the number of foster carers has increased, the number of children entering the foster care system has increased at a much faster pace.
This means there are thousands of children and young people desperately in need of safe, loving, and secure foster homes. And you could help provide them.
If you have ever wondered when the right time to foster is, then the answer is right now.
There are a number of careers that will equip you with skills that can be used to successfully support and care for vulnerable children, and not all of them necessarily have to have been in the care sector or services industries. Jobs such as:
- Police officer
- Teacher or TA
- Nurse
- Nursery Practitioner
- Prison officer
- Carer
- Caring assistant
- Residential care worker
- Volunteer for children’s groups
- Volunteer for nurseries
- Childminder
- Social worker
Even if you have never worked in one of these fields, our foster carers come from an incredible range of backgrounds from a variety of different professions. Transferable skills can be picked up no matter what your background is, whether you are a residential care worker, a PA, or an office manager!
If you are patient, kind, caring, compassionate, empathetic, a great team player, a good listener, able to keep calm under pressure, loving, and passionate about changing children’s lives for the better, then foster care careers could be just the thing you are looking for.
Do foster care careers pay well?
So, is foster parenting a job? Absolutely it is. And as fostering is a career, it’s important to us that our carers are rewarded for their hard work and dedication to changing children’s and young people’s lives.
This is why you are able to earn generous and competitive fostering allowances, discounts, and rewards, so you can not only earn a competitive salary but use your allowances to further support and enhance your foster child’s life.
Our packages of financial support take into account the demands of fostering, and how important your role in changing your foster child’s life is. On average, you could be earning up to £435 per week. The fee you receive depends on a range of different factors, including; number of children you foster, the individual and complexities of each child or young person, the type of fostering you choose and the region where you live.
For example, if you are willing to foster siblings, more than one child, or older children, then your weekly allowance will increase. Additionally, if you are trauma trained, you will be able to offer specialist fostering, which is caring for children that have experienced trauma in their lives and helping them come through it with the assistance of our care professionals and support team.
If you choose to do extra training (which we offer) and take on more complex cases, then you can earn even more. These children need your unparalleled care, support, and patience, and for that, you will always be rewarded.
Just like any great career, you’ll be entitled to a range of rewards, including a summer and winter £250 bonus each year, up to 14 nights paid respite, special gifts as you reach fostering milestones, and an appreciation bonus each year, to name just a few.
You will also receive full support from your FCA team, which is available 24/7, as well as high-quality training to develop your skills, knowledge, and experience. Remember, the more training you choose to do, the more likely you’ll be able to take on complex cases, giving you the chance to increase your allowance.
It’s important to remember, that while fostering is a full-time, professional carer, and pays as such, being a foster carer is so much more than a job, so it’s not first and foremost about the allowances. It’s about being committed to giving a loving home to children who desperately need it, and making a lasting and positive difference in their lives. There couldn’t be a better reward than that.
How to get a job in foster care
It all starts with a phone call with our friendly and supportive team. They’ll talk to you about the process, and how to prepare to foster, as well as answer any questions or concerns you might have.
We can’t wait to hear from you and help you start your journey to making fostering your new career.
Foster with FCA Scotland
If you’re ready to start your journey, or you just want to chat with an expert, then simply fill in the form below or get in touch with one of our dedicated team to talk through any questions you might have about the fostering process. We’re here to talk anytime you need us.
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