News & guides
Useful reading for the curious, the nearly-ready and everyone in between. Start with the question that brought you here.
A good place to start
Five questions worth asking before you choose a fostering agency.
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6 articles
Getting started
Yes. Care, consistency and commitment are what matter. Here are a few things to think about.
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Getting started
Your experience can be a strength. The conversation starts with your life now, and what you could offer.
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Getting started
You don’t need a partner to foster. You do need the time, stability and support to care for a child.
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Home & family
What to know about the spare room, and why it is part of the fostering conversation.
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Choosing your agency
A useful first conversation should leave you clearer about the people, payments and support around you.
Read the guideSCF news · January 2026 inspection
Read the independent findings from South Coast Fostering’s Ofsted inspection.
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You do not need a partner to become a foster carer, and you never have. The Department for Education says plainly that relationship status is not a barrier. Here is what single applicants are actually asked about, whether you can keep your job, and how the money works on one income.
More people talk themselves out of fostering over a bedroom than over almost anything else. Here is what the fostering standards actually require, which rooms count, what happens at the home safety check, and why a baby under two can sleep in a cot in your room.
Foster carers are self-employed and must file a tax return every year, but thanks to Qualifying Care Relief most pay no income tax at all. Here is what to register for, when, the 2026/27 thresholds, and how to protect your state pension.
What South Coast Fostering actually pays, what the weekly amount is for, and why most foster carers pay no tax on it at all. With current rates, the 2026/27 qualifying care relief figures, and two worked examples.
Article taken from BBC News website A medical student who grew up in care says she could not have secured her place
Did you know that next week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week (18th – 24th of March 2024)? It’s a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and
Every child and young person can present with a behaviour which is hard to understand, manage and change. This article will look
I was delighted to be invited to a parliamentary reception on Wednesday, on behalf of Positive Aspirations, to celebrate the success of foster
The more children move from fostering families to another, the more their ability to form secure attachments is impacted. Every broken attachment impacts
A conversation, at your pace
You don’t need to be ready to apply. A friendly conversation can help you work out your next step.
Usually 15–20 minutes. No pressure to apply.
