Contents
1. Introduction
Devon County Council consulted on proposals for a new scheme of fostering fees and allowances between 2nd July and 31st July 2025. Proposals to increase fostering fees and allowances were presented to Devon County Council’s Cabinet on Wednesday November 12, 2025, and a major £2million investment for its fostering services was approved.
This document sets out the fostering schedule of payments to be delivered by Devon County Council to their foster carers (Fostering Devon) from 30th March 2026. The scheme increases the total payment made to most foster carers. However, if there is a decrease because of these proposals, affected foster carers will be protected for the duration of the child living with them.
2. The payments
Foster carers shall receive two types of payment:
- An allowance for the child
- A fee for the foster carer
Allowance for the child
The current standard allowance for the care of the child will, over time, be aligned with the Department for Education National Minimum Allowance (NMA).
This covers the cost of caring for the child, including:
- Clothing
- Food and household costs
- Travel (everyday use)
- Pocket money
- Activities and leisure
Fostering Devon will continue to pay its existing flat-rate allowance (which excludes training and support payments) for each age group until the NMA rises to match it. We want to reassure all foster carers that the current Fostering Devon standard allowance will not reduce at any point during this transition.
This is currently £237.44 for under-16s or £267.05 for over-16s (from Monday 30 March 2026).
Once the NMA equals or exceeds what foster carers currently receive, the allowance for the child will increase in line with the NMA. This means foster carers are fully protected and shall continue to receive at least their current payment, and should see an increase once the NMA overtakes the existing rate.
Based on current national projections, this is expected to happen in approximately:
- 3 years for carers of 11–15-year-olds
- 6 years for carers of 5–10-year-olds
- 9 years for carers of 0–4-year-olds
Foster carers of 16–17-year-olds are already aligned with the NMA.
Fee for the foster carer
A payment for fully approved foster carers that recognises skills, responsibilities, and the level of care provided. Foster carers receive one fee per child, based on the child’s age and assessed needs, and the foster carer’s skills and abilities to meet those needs.
3. The foster carer fees
Foster carer core fee
It is expected that most foster carers will receive the core fostering fee for the care of most children. The core fee is:
- £250.04 per week + child allowance (children aged 0–4)
- £300.02 per week + child allowance (children aged 5–17)
To receive the Core Fee, foster carers must complete their mandatory training and all training and support identified as part of their personal development plan.
Higher core fees
Some children in our care have a very high level of additional needs, for which a higher core fee will be paid. More information about the child’s needs criteria is available in the Additional Needs Framework (Appendix A) and the requirements of foster carers in Appendix B.
All requests for a Higher Core Fee are made by the child’s social worker and the supervising social worker to the Head of Service, Fostering & Kinship Care. The Head of Service will convene regular panels to consider requests; the supervising social worker will notify the foster carer of the outcome.
All Higher Core Fee payments are based on the assessed needs of the child and an assessment of the foster carer’s skills and the support required to meet those needs.
| Higher core fee | Weekly amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Higher core fee 1 | £350.00+ allowance | Children aged 0 – 4 with high level of additional needs |
| Higher core fee 2 | £400.05 + allowance | Children aged 5 –17 with high level of additional needs |
| Higher core fee 3 | £450.03 + allowance | Children who move to foster care as an alternative to residential where a home with a foster carer is assessed as able to meet the young person’s complex needs, is matched with a foster carer following multiple breakdowns of homes or requires a ‘solo’ foster home. |
| Higher core fee 4 | £500.01 + allowance | Children 0 – 17 for children in care with highly complex medical needs and/or significant disabilities and receiving a service from the Children with Disabilities Team. |
4. Short stays and sleepovers
For Children With Other Foster Carers (Not Short Breaks For Children With Disabilities)
The main foster carer will continue to receive the child’s allowance and appropriate Core Fee for up to 3 nights per month. These short stays must be agreed as part of the child’s care plan.
If a single short stay exceeds 6 nights, the child’s allowance will stop and restart when the child returns. The Core Fee will continue to be paid.
This is different from taking a break from fostering (see Section 8: Foster Carer Holidays/Breaks Without Children in Their Care).
Foster carers providing sleepovers/short stays for other foster carers are paid the age-related allowance and appropriate Core Fee on a pro rata basis.
For example, a Friday–Monday stay equates to 4 days of payment.
5. Annual additional allowances
For each child in care, foster carers receive:
- 1 week’s child allowance in December (or an alternative cultural celebration)
- 1 week’s child allowance before the child’s birthday
- 2 weeks’ child allowance in July for the main foster carer (to support school holidays)
These payments do not apply to children in Parent and Child (CPAT) arrangements (see Section 7).
6. Pocket money and savings
Children in care should receive pocket money (minimum amounts):
- Ages 5–10: £7.00
- Ages 11–15: £12.00
- Ages 16–17: £20.00
For children in care for 12+ months, Devon County Council saves £5 per week in a Junior ISA.
7. Other fostering schemes and arrangements
Parent and child (CPAT)
No changes have been made to the CPAT scheme. CPAT carers receive a higher rate to support parents and babies/young children placed together.
Rates vary depending on the number of parents/children. Retainers and additional payments remain available.
CPAT carers do not receive a birthday allowance.
Where CPAT carers are caring for families during the December period, they receive an additional £100 per child.
Mockingbird constellation
Hub Home Carers: £638.54 per week (including 16 sleepovers per month)
Additional sleepovers: £71.11 per child
Supporting reunification
Foster carers supporting children returning to their birth family will continue to receive the child’s allowance for 7 nights. After this, payments may be reviewed and reduced.
The Core Fee continues until the transition is completed.
Supported lodgings
A new Supported Lodgings scheme will be developed and implemented for Fostering Devon.
£300.02 per week for the supported lodgings provider, plus a contribution from the young person (assessed individually).
Staying put
Care Experienced Young People remaining with their former Foster Carers after they become 18.
£301.77 per week
25% retained if the young person is away (e.g. university/Armed Forces) and their room is kept for them.
Children with disabilities short break fostering (children receiving a service from the Children with Disabilities Team)
This will be a new scheme for Fostering Devon. Foster carers who join this scheme and are approved as foster carers to provide short breaks for children with disabilities will be paid at a higher rate to reflect the child’s additional needs:
- £360 for 5 nights
- £290 for 4 nights
- £220 for 1–3 nights
This payment includes both an allowance for the child and a fee for the foster carer.
Emergency rota
Available to care for a child in an emergency. This is a new offer to support Fostering Devon to improve arrangements for finding foster carers to care for children in an emergency.
£200.06 per full week is paid to foster carers who can participate in the on-call rota and can care for any child or young person in an emergency, including outside of regular hours via the Emergency Duty Service. The foster carer should be available to care for the child for the next 7 days.
When a child goes to stay with the foster carer, the age-related allowance and the core fee will begin. The rota payment is paid for each week and will not be reduced if a child is placed part way through the week.
For foster carers, who could be available to take a child in an emergency for less than a full week and available to care for the child for the next 7 days pro rata nightly emergency rota payments can be made.
8. Foster carer holidays/breaks without the children in their care
Where a foster carer takes holiday without the children in their care, they can request up to a maximum of 14 nights per year, per fostering household (not per child). Foster carers who are taking a break will be paid the appropriate core fee for all children in their care for this period.
The weekly allowance for the child will not be paid during this time.
If required, a foster carer break of up to an additional12 nights can be agreed. Carers will be paid a single child fee for this period. If there is more than one child in their care prior to the carer break and one or more of the children has a higher core fee agreed, the highest core fee will be paid (as the single core fee). The weekly allowance for the child will not be paid during this time.
Payments to retain foster carers
Children linked to foster carers
A retainer payment equivalent to the appropriate core fee for the age of the child can be paid to the foster carer when they have been linked with a child who is moving to their care. This will enable the necessary preparations to be made prior to the child moving to the home.
Children attending boarding residential school
Foster carers who offer a home for a child or young person who attends a boarding or residential school, will receive a retainer payment while the child is away at school.
Where the child is away at school for 3 nights or more, the foster carers will receive 50% of the child’s allowance and 50% of the appropriate core fee for keeping in touch and supporting the child whilst they are at school.
Where the child is away at school for fewer than 3 nights, there will be no reduction in the child’s allowance and core fee payments.
Children in hospital
The child’s allowance and the appropriate core fee will continue to be made for the first four weeks the child is in hospital.
Monies spent on comforts for the child, and travel to and from hospital, is to be met from these allowances.
After four weeks, the payment of the child’s allowance will be reviewed and may reduce. The appropriate core fee will continue to be paid to the foster carer for as long as they remain the child’s foster carer.
Children leaving foster carer due to a change in foster carer circumstances
If, because of the foster carer being unwell, the children in their care need to move, all foster carer core fees for the children will continue to be payable to the foster carer for a period of up to 28 nights.
The weekly allowance for the child will not be paid during this time.
Foster carers subject to allegations
Should there be a concern raised about a foster carer or a member of their household which requires a safeguarding or standards of care investigation, during which the children’s social work team decide to remove the child/ren in their care, all the appropriate core fees will be payable for a maximum of 12 weeks.
If the investigation has not concluded, the Head of Service Fostering & Kinship Care must review and decide if payment of the core fees should continue for longer.
The weekly allowance for the child will be paid for the first 7 nights following removal of the children. After this time, the child allowance payments will end.
Appendix A
Children in care additional needs framework – overview for foster carers
1st April 2026 – March 2027+
The £350.00 Higher Core Fee 1 is available for children aged 0 – 4 in the following circumstances:
- A child requires ongoing and frequent medical intervention / has complex health care needs / requires regular hospitalisation.
- When it is agreed by the professional network or social work team that a child is unable to attend pre-school, nursery, or school due to the complexities of their behaviours. A child requires a significant level of assistance over and above normal level of functioning with their continence needs.
- A child exhibits consistent and ongoing distress or aggression towards others resulting in injury to themselves or others in the household.
- A child has consistent and ongoing, significantly reduced awareness, below that expected of a child of a similar age, of external dangers and this requires highly / extra vigilant adult support to enable them to access the environment.
- A child has consistent and ongoing needs and behaviours that significantly impact on their ability to interact with others, requiring a high level of adult support/ supervision to enable and encourage interaction with peers.
All requests for Higher Core Fee 1 are made by the child’s social worker and supervising social worker to the Head of Service Fostering & Kinship Care. If agreed, the relevant higher fee is paid for the duration the foster home is provided for the child or until the child is 18, and is not subject to review, apart from if the additional fee is given due to a child withdrawing from drugs at birth. This will be subject to review, and the additional payment will cease if the child is no longer showing symptoms or behaviours associated with drug withdrawal.
The £400.05 Higher Core Fee 2 is available for children aged 5 – 17 in the following circumstances:
- A child requires ongoing and frequent medical intervention / has complex health care needs / requires regular hospitalisation.
- A child exhibits consistent and ongoing self-harming or aggression towards others resulting in injury or distress to themselves or others in the household.
- A child has consistent and ongoing, significantly reduced awareness, below that expected of a child of a similar age, of external dangers and this requires highly / extra vigilant adult support to enable them to access the environment.
- A child has consistent and ongoing needs and behaviours that significantly impact on their ability to interact with peers and maintain peer relationships requiring a high level of adult support/ supervision to enable and encourage interaction with peers.
- A child has complex behaviours / needs which will require the foster carer to remain available for an indefinite period (not at alternative work) during usual school hours.
- A child who persistently does not attend school and is unlikely to return to full time attendance.
- A child who is frequently excluded fr. om school and is unlikely to return to full time attendance.
- A child who has frequent missing episodes and these are likely to continue for an indefinite period.
All requests for Higher Core Fee 2 are made by the child’s social worker and the supervising social worker to the Head of Service Fostering & Kinship Care. If agreed, the relevant higher fee is paid for the duration the foster home is provided for the child or until the child is 18, and is not subject to review, apart from if the child is supported into full time education. In these circumstances the payment of the fee will be reviewed and possibly end.
The £450.03 Higher Core Fee 3 is available for children aged 5 – 17 in the following circumstances:
Stepping down from residential care
A child moves to foster care from a residential home, where a home with a foster carer is assessed as able to meet the child or young person’s complex needs. This excludes children who were in a Parent and Child residential setting. *
Due to multiple home moves
A child who is matched with a foster care following multiple home moves (more than 3 within any 12-month period) of homes due to their high level of need and complex behaviours. *
Requires a solo foster home
A child’s professional network or social work team identifies that they should be the only child in the family due to the high level of need. **
- All requests for the £450 fee are made by the child’s social worker and the supervising social worker to the Head of Service Fostering & Kinship Care. There will be no requirement to review for the alternative to residential or multiple home moves payments.
** All requests for the £450 solo foster home are made by the child’s social worker and the supervising social worker to the Head of Service Fostering & Kinship Care. These payments will be reviewed every 6 months. If the child is assessed as no longer requiring a ‘solo’ home enabling the Foster Carer to care for additional children, the £450 Fee will cease.
The £500.01 Higher Core Fee 4 is available for children with disabilities aged 0 – 17 in the following circumstances:
The child will be receiving a social work service from the Children With Disabilities Team and the child will have highly complex medical needs and/or significant disabilities.
A child, any age, is placed with a foster carer and they have highly complex medical needs and/or significant disabilities.
All requests for Higher Core Fee 4 are made by the child’s social worker and the supervising social worker to the Head of Service Fostering & Kinship Care. If agreed, the relevant higher fee is paid for the duration the foster home is provided for the child or until the child is 18 and is not subject to review.
Appendix B
Assessment of foster carer skills and support required to meet the child’s needs
Each foster carer who is caring for a child who meets the requirements for a Higher Core Fee must have a Foster Carer Valuing Care Profile completed.
To receive payments for children with a high level of additional needs (not children with disabilities) foster carers should be able to meet those Valuing Care domains 8, 9 & 10 which corresponds to the Valuing Care profile of the needs of the child.
The Valuing Care domains
- 8, 9, 10: The carers have an enhanced level of skill and/or experience which enables them to support a young person with an intensive standard of care in this need area.
- 5, 6, 7: The carers have a moderate level of skills and/or experience which means they are able to provide support that is above the basic standard of care in this area of need
- 2, 3, 4: The carers have some skills and/or experience to support a young person with this need, but it is at a basic level as expected within any placement. They may require additional support to care for a young person with high needs in this area.
- 1: The carers have limited capacity to meet some basic needs.
The foster carers personal development plan should set out the training and support required to support the foster carer and should be tailored to supporting the foster carers meet the child’s identified needs.
The foster carer should be committed to undertaking their identified learning and development with a plan to complete in place.
Fostering Devon will consider the needs and circumstances of Kinship foster carers and acknowledges specific training and support may be required to meet their needs to support them care for children with a high level of additional needs.
The Promoting Stability Team (PST) may be requested to provide an initial consultation session with the foster carers to identify needs PST could support with and agree a package of support if appropriate.