St Christopher’s website is built to be accessible for all users so that you can find the information you want. Change your settings below to suit your needs.
Our mission is to create brighter futures for children and young people. We do this by providing fostering, residential and support services where children and young people can feel safe and cared for. We support them to make positive relationships which give them the confidence to succeed.
People become foster carers to help children and young people, but receiving their fostering fee stops them having to worry about the practical things in life, like paying bills and buying groceries.
As we are a charity any surplus we make is put straight back into the children and young people we work with.
What you receive varies depending on the support a young person needs, your region, and your level of training. For example, if you are looking after a child with higher needs you may receive a higher allowance. Below are a few examples.
Fostering allowances cover the cost of looking after a young person including amounts to be set aside for presents, holidays and pocket money. Sometimes expenses will be covered in a payment too, such as covering the cost of a child’s travel to school if they need special arrangements.
Foster carers are classed as self-employed so pay little or no tax and National Insurance.
There is a special scheme called qualifying care relief which calculates how much tax you should pay based on your fostering household’s income. You don’t have to pay tax on the first £18,140 of income (after expenses) that you receive from fostering. You will also get tax relief for every week you foster a child.
As a foster carer you will also be eligible for National Insurance credits, which count towards your State Pension for when you are of retirement age.
Please speak to a member of our team in your regional office – the West Midlands or Eastern Region – if you have any questions.