Fostering in Haringey: Training, Support and Fees

Thinking about fostering in Haringey? You’re in a good place. The borough runs a well-structured recruitment and training pathway, offers wrap-around support once you’re approved, and advertises a competitive payment package—alongside practical perks that make day-to-day caring easier. This guide brings together the essentials: what training looks like (before and after approval), the support you can expect, and how fees and allowances work—plus how they relate to national minimums.

Why foster with Haringey?

Haringey Council promotes a foster-carer offer that includes fees and allowance “up to £477 per week, per child”, access to support groups, parking permits, and extensive training and development opportunities. The council provides a “Benefits and Perks” booklet on request, and a dedicated recruitment line for quick queries. This “whole package” approach (money + training + practical help) is designed to keep placements steady and carers well supported.

Haringey also sets out clear information on what fostering is, who can foster, and the expectation that carers will have a spare bedroom for any child over two. If you’re just starting to explore the idea, their pages give a plain-English overview and easy next steps to speak to the team.

The training pathway: from enquiry to approval

Step 1: Initial enquiry and home discussion

After you contact the fostering team, the council explores your circumstances (family, home, support network, and motivation to foster). This isn’t an exam—think of it as a two-way conversation to help everyone decide whether to proceed.

Step 2: Preparation course – Skills to Foster

Before formal assessment, Haringey runs a compulsory Skills to Foster preparation group. It’s typically a three-day course that introduces the role, common needs of children, safer caring, recording, and teamwork with social workers, schools and birth families. Trainers and applicants decide together whether fostering feels right, and if so, you move into the assessment.

Step 3: The assessment

The council completes background checks (DBS, references, medicals) and a detailed assessment of your experience, skills and home environment. The process concludes with fostering panel, which makes a recommendation to the agency decision maker.

Good to know: Many independent fostering agencies (IFAs) also run a Skills to Foster course; if you’re comparing routes, you’ll see similar foundations. (For example, TACT and others reference introductory training during assessment.)

Ongoing learning once you’re approved

Haringey doesn’t stop at the prep course. The service runs a broad training programme during the year—covering everything from trauma-informed practice and managing allegations to caring for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. A recent training brochure and Haringey’s online training catalogue show short modules, themed courses and sessions delivered across the year.

You’ll have a Personal Development Plan, agreed with your Supervising Social Worker (SSW), and access to support groups where carers share what works. This mix of formal learning and peer-to-peer support helps when you face new situations (e.g., first court report, first school move, first holiday abroad with consent letters).

Support you can expect as a Haringey carer

• Named Supervising Social Worker (SSW): Your main point of contact for supervision, visiting, and practical help (e.g., equipment requests, recording, matching queries). Haringey’s fostering support team is responsible for recruitment, assessment, training and ongoing support of approved carers.
• Out-of-hours support: Essential when something crops up outside 9–5—especially during settling-in, school transitions, or contact changes.
• Support groups and learning network: Regular forums to swap strategies and stay up to date.
• Specialist training and themed sessions: For example, caring for UASC, managing allegations, safer internet use, and therapeutic approaches (your SSW can help you prioritise modules).
• Practical perks: Parking permits and other small but meaningful perks that cut everyday friction for carers on school runs, appointments and contact.
• Mockingbird-style peer support: Haringey has referenced the Mockingbird approach (a hub-home model that connects carers in a “constellation” for practical and emotional support). The Fostering Network leads the UK programme, and Haringey has showcased its use within the borough in carer communications.
• Early years help: Where eligible, fostered children in Haringey can access funded early learning and childcare, and from 1 September 2025 qualifying cases can apply for codes for the additional hours up to 30 hours. Your SSW and the early years team can guide you through the criteria and application.

Fees and allowances: how payments work

It’s helpful to separate two parts of the money:

1. Child’s allowance – covers the child’s day-to-day living costs (food, clothing, transport, utilities, activities).
2. Carer fee (sometimes “skill fee”) – recognises your time, skills, and the professional commitment involved.

Haringey’s headline figure: The council advertises fees and allowance “up to £477 per week, per child.” The exact total depends on the child’s needs, your skill level, and any additional elements (e.g., mileage, birthdays, holidays). Always ask the team for a written breakdown—what’s the allowance portion, what’s the fee, and what add-ons are available.

Local Haringey rates and tiers

A council document detailing foster carer payments shows tiered weekly rates by child age and carer tier (Probation, Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 for complex needs), plus a length-of-service allowance (one-off payments at 5, 7, 10 and 15 years). Tier 3 is negotiated based on complexity. While figures evolve over time, the structure demonstrates how Haringey layers fees on top of core allowances and recognises experience. Request the current schedule when you apply.

National minimums for context (England)

Alongside local packages, England sets a National Minimum Allowance (NMA) by region and age, updated each April. For 6 April 2025 – 5 April 2026, the weekly NMA ranges, for example, from £170 (0–2, Rest of England) to £299 (16–17, London). Haringey sits in the London band, so the locally paid allowance element should at least meet the London minimum for each age band.

How Haringey compares with IFAs

Independent fostering agencies sometimes publish combined packages that appear higher because they roll allowance + fee together. Sector examples show typical IFA ranges between roughly £350–£450 per week depending on needs and skills; however, you must compare like-for-like: check what’s included (e.g., mileage, retainers, respite, specialist training, 24/7 support) and the expectations placed on you (availability, travel, matching profile).

Extra costs and add-ons

Ask about:

• Mileage and transport (school, contacts, appointments).
• Birthdays, festivals and holidays (some councils pay set amounts).
• Equipment (beds, car seats, pushchairs) and school uniforms.
• Retainers (for keeping a placement space open between matches).
  Haringey’s payments paperwork and your SSW can clarify the current position and any evidence needed for claims.

Tax relief you can use

Most foster carers pay little or no tax thanks to Qualifying Care Relief (QCR)—a fixed annual amount plus a weekly amount per child, uprated each tax year. Your accountant or the HMRC helpsheet will help you decide whether to use QCR’s simplified method or standard profit-and-loss accounting.

Types of fostering in Haringey

Haringey outlines the placement types you can offer—short-term, long-term, emergency, respite, and often specialist routes like parent & child or UASC. Short-term can be anything from a few weeks up to about two years while plans are decided; long-term means a child is matched to live with you until adulthood. Your training and assessment will explore which types fit your family best, and your SSW will work with you on matching.

How matching and support work day to day

• Reading referrals well: You’ll receive a snapshot of the child’s history, routines, school, contact plan and risks.
• Asking the right questions quickly: Good matching involves clarifying school distance, health appointments, and contact schedules so you can manage logistics.
• Multi-agency teamwork: You’ll link with the child’s social worker, school (including Virtual School support where relevant), health teams and contact services.
• Recording and reviews: You’ll keep simple daily logs and attend reviews; Haringey training covers recording and allegations so you feel confident about what to note and how.

Practical benefits that make a difference

• Parking permits: Vital for city school runs, appointments and contact centres—one of those “small” benefits that prevent big headaches.
• Funded early learning/childcare (where eligible): Haringey outlines eligibility and processes for funded early learning, and from 1 September 2025 qualifying cases can apply for additional hours up to the 30-hour entitlement.
• Peer support networks: Mockingbird-style constellations (where available), carer forums, and informal buddy systems keep you connected and resilient.

Frequently asked questions

How long does approval take?
Timescales vary, but a typical journey is a few months from enquiry to panel, depending on checks, training dates and your availability. The three-day Skills to Foster course runs several times a year, so there’s regular opportunity to start.

Do I need a spare room?
Yes—for any child over the age of two. This is a safeguarding standard across the UK and is set out plainly by Haringey.

What will I be paid?
Haringey advertises up to £477 per week, per child combining fees and allowance. Actual figures depend on the child’s age and needs, your tier/skills, and any add-ons (mileage, holidays). Always ask for a written breakdown and the latest schedule.

How do Haringey’s payments relate to national minimums?
England updates the National Minimum Allowance every April by region and age; Haringey falls in the London band. The allowance portion of your package should meet or exceed the relevant minimum for your child’s age, with your fee on top.

Is there childcare support for fostered children?
Haringey explains eligibility for funded early learning and childcare; from 1 September 2025, qualifying cases can apply for the additional 15 hours (to reach 30). Your SSW and early years team can help with codes and criteria.

Next steps

1. Speak to the team: Use Haringey’s fostering pages to enquire and request the Benefits and Perks booklet for full details of fees, allowances and perks.
2. Book into Skills to Foster: Secure a place on the next three-day course to get a realistic feel for the role and decide together whether to proceed.
3. Compare like-for-like: If you’re also exploring IFAs, compare allowance vs fee, what’s included (mileage, respite, training), and the support out of hours—don’t just read the headline weekly figure.
4. Ask about support networks: Find out about support groups, Mockingbird constellations, and peer mentors so you know who’s in your corner.

Bottom line

Haringey offers a clear route into fostering—Skills to Foster, thorough assessment, and strong post-approval training—plus a support package that includes a named SSW, out-of-hours help, support groups and practical perks such as parking permits. The payment package is positioned as competitive (up to £477 per week, per child when you factor in fees and allowance), and sits within England’s London national minimum context. If you’re ready to explore, your first move is simple: enquire with the fostering team, book the prep course, and ask for the latest written breakdown of fees, allowances and add-ons so you can plan with confidence.