how we support you

support and allowance in caerphilly

how we support you

We’re here to support you. That means we’ll do everything we can to help you provide a stable and loving home for a foster child.

Even before a child arrives, Foster Wales Caerphilly provides in-depth guidance and training to make sure fostering is the right fit for you and your family. But the support doesn’t end there.

Once you are fostering a child, we offer:

  • ongoing guidance from a dedicated social worker
  • fostering pay to cover essential living costs
  • a community of local fostering families who can share experience
  • friendship and social events
  • among many more benefits.
It’s important to consider all of the local benefits for a better understanding, before comparing foster carer payments.

Read on to learn more about the fostering support and rewards we offer.

Foster Wales Caerphilly team working a stand

foster care allowance

do foster carers get paid?

Yes, foster carers receive a payment to cover the costs of caring for a child.  This amount will vary based on many factors, including

  • how many children you foster,
  • what age the children are
  • and how long you’ve fostered for.

However, being a foster carer isn’t a conventional job. It doesn’t fit into a box. It’s a home-based 24-7 skilled vocation which we support you financially to do.

At Foster Wales Caerphilly we care about children receiving everything they need to thrive, so we split the payment into 3 parts; the weekly child allowance + the carer’s fee + additional payments.

child's allowance

In Caerphilly, the child’s allowance payment is £198-£248 per week, depending on the child’s age. This part of the payment is given for the sole purpose of buying anything the child needs, such as food, clothing, or toiletries plus covering additional household bills.

foster carer's fee

Fee payments are made on top of allowances to recognise a foster carer’s time, skills and experience. In Caerphilly, the fee element ranges from 140.76 to 203.44 depending on how long you’ve been a foster carer, what experience you have and what type of fostering you do.

additional payments

In Caerphilly, we also provide a payment for the child’s birthday, Christmas allowance, Holiday entitlement, Retainer payments, Initial clothing allowance, and mileage expenses, Incentive Payment (recruitment) – Care Friends App. Plus we provide equipment such as baby or child’s bedroom furniture as needed.

our commitment to you

Every Local Authority in Wales has signed up to what we call the ‘National Commitment’. This is an agreed package of training, support, and rewards enjoyed by every one of our foster carers in Wales.

Foster Wales Caerphilly team photo

local fostering team

You’re not out there on your own. You have a team to support and encourage you, every step of the way.

Support is available at any time – not just inside office hours. We’re dedicated to working as a team with our foster carers, and that means we provide support 24/7. Whatever you need, whenever you need it. We’ll be there.

Supervising social worker and foster carer

dedicated supervising social worker

You’ll have skilled and experienced professional social workers on hand, with a fostering team member dedicated to supporting you, your family and your network.

Foster Wales Caerphilly are part of the local authority, working alongside the child’s social worker. This means access to information about the child and other social services departments and closer working links with children’s social workers.

We’ll also cover your membership to The Fostering Network and The Association for Fostering and Adoption (AFA) Cymru. These specialist fostering organisations offer independent support, private advice, guidance, training, and a whole host of additional benefits.

Fostering Network Foster Walk Cardiff

peer support

You’ll also be invited to events and activities designed to bring you closer to other foster families. To give you new experiences, new friendships, and new memories. Experienced pioneer foster carers will support you.

Adult with teenage boy in kitchen making food together

learning opportunities

Our learning and development framework is tried and tested, developed with foster carers and consistent across Wales. Local training courses are a great way to meet other foster carers, and we offer other resources, tools and ways to learn too.

Adult and young girl baking together in kitchen

more questions on financial support?

We'll share and explain all the support you can receive. For a full breakdown of the local fostering allowances and financial support we offer, request an information pack.

request an information pack

other support and rewards

Icon of tickets/passes

leisure pass

SMART card, offering a range of savings including discounted entry to local attractions and venues, and free swimming to children in care.

CADW pass which gives you free entry to all castles in Wales.

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My Support Team (MyST)

Guidance, support and training from My Support Team (MyST).

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Men Who Care

Men Who Care – group for male carers that offers peer support and is part of the package of extra assistance.

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Fostering community

We also have an incredible community of foster carers who are all well connected, meeting up all around Caerphilly and over social media, who are always happy to share experiences and wisdom.