We'll pay you an allowance and a skills payment for fostering

Allowance for the child or young person
Age range	Rate (per week)
0-4	£131.47
5-10	£149.76
11-15	£186.43
16+	£226.74

We'll also pay 2 additional weeks for holidays, 1 extra weeks pay to help cover Christmas or other religious holidays and an extra payment for the child or young person's birthday so that you're not out of pocket for giving each child what they deserve.

Your skills payment
Level 1	£100
Level 2	£125
Level 3	£175
Level 4	£225

You'll also receive £60 per week for each additional child you foster.

In recognition of the skills you develop as foster carers, we pay an additional continuous service payment of £10 per week for every year you've worked for Kirklees Council, up to a maximum of 15 years i.e. up to an extra £150 per week.

As a foster cerer you pay little or no tax on your fostering income, this is because the payments are broken down to two separate weekly amounts.

The skills payment is in recognition of your fostering skills and the fostering allowance helps cover all the costs associated with looking after a child or young person, including household bills, food, clothes, travel, school dinners, pocket money and so forth.

We also make extra payments at birthdays, Christmas (or other festivals) and for a summer holiday. If you look after a child of school age, you can work up to 18.5 hours per week during school hours, giving you an additional income.

Training and development

We aim to reduce the number of moves children and young people have to experience whilst in our care to prevent further distress.

Foster carers that receive regular support and opportunities for training and development are more likely to have the skills needed to support children and young people through difficult times.

All foster carers are expected to attend some training sessions as part of their ongoing approval. During your fostering career your supervising social worker will work with you to develop your skills through attending training and giving you the support you need. You may have the opportunity to gain qualifications such as NVQ level 3 for working with children and young people. We pay your travel expenses to attend training courses. Training courses are tailored to fit in with childcare commitments.

The following courses are mandatory:

• Safe Care
• Health & Hygiene
• First Aid
• Skills Development(developing your role as a foster carer)
• Awareness of child abuse and neglect

Support from your social worker

Each foster carer has a professionally qualified supervising social worker, who will visit you at home regularly. As your foster carer skills develop, these visits will probably take place every four to six weeks.

Your supervising social worker will discuss with you the care of the child in placement, with report writing and dealing with other people involved in the care of the child you foster. They will also help you achieve your training objectives and support your development needs.

Support Groups

The fostering team in the Family Placement Unit provide a number of support groups for our foster carers, such as:

• The opportunity for you to meet other carers
• Training on specific issues around fostering
• Updated information on the work of the team and services
• Practical advise and support

We also offer a 24 hour foster carer support line which is run by, and for, foster carers in Kirklees called the Kirklees Fostering Network.

Kirklees Fostering Network will contact you after you have been approved as a foster carer. They also provide regular support groups.Kirklees fostering Network organise social and training events, and act as an advocate for foster carers to ensure that we are providing you with a high quality of service.

Fostering Network - People who are approved as foster carers are also supported by the Fostering Network, a national organisation. The Fostering Network will send you helpful and relevant information and details of training courses.