Islington is a trusted local authority serving the community that has been working with children and families for over 100 years. We are an inclusive, diverse and supportive community and firmly believe we can achieve much more for our children by working together. We believe in creating better life chances for our children to promote positive outcomes as they develop into young adulthood. We do this by working together as a team with our foster carers.
We value diversity and appreciate the benefits that our diverse community of foster carers bring to our fostering community.
All Islington foster carers receive an excellent support package of financial and practical support and the latest high quality training. Retention in Islington is high with our foster carers staying with us for many years. They are incredibly happy with the support they receive from us and enjoy being part of our fostering community.
All our foster carers get an extensive support and training package. Read more about our training and support.
Ongoing support from our team
- A thorough induction with a full programme of training and development.
- Access to professional support - regular supervision from a dedicated social worker and advice round the clock.
- Trauma-informed practice and learning about therapeutic parenting.
- Support for you to get additional qualifications if you wish.
Financial support
- Council tax exemption for foster carers living in Islington.
- Generous weekly allowance.
- Career development.
- Legal protection insurance and public liability cover.
- £1,500 referral reward when you recommend a friend or family member who becomes an approved active foster carer for Islington Housing and Home adaptation scheme.
A network of peer support
- Foster carer mentors to support you.
- Circles of support scheme where a central carer provides peer support, planned and emergency respite care and regular social activities to between six and eight foster families close to them.
- An active foster carer’s association offering representation and peer support with weekly coffee mornings and an annual ‘thank you’ event.
Access to professional support
- Free Fostering Network membership.
- Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) available for our foster carers and children.
- Close working with professional support teams, including child social workers and health and education specialists.
The benefits of fostering with Islington
- Islington is a non-profit organisation putting our children and foster carers at the heart of our fostering community.
- We are an outstanding children’s service as rated by Ofsted in March 2020.
- We pay more than independent fostering agencies or will match your current rate of fostering allowance.
- We offer retainers of £139 paid between placements for a maximum of 12 weeks.
- You will be looking after local children, meaning local meetings and contact or within one-hour travelling time.
- We have 24/7 expert duty, with support from social workers and managers, plus monthly supervision and support.
- You are likely to have children placed with you on a regular basis due to the large number of our looked-after children. This means that you will have less time between placements.
- We offer excellent training, social worker support and support groups.
- We have excellent educational support for children.
- We will reimburse any housing benefit lost as a result of fostering.
- We work closely with CAHMS, child social workers, the health team and virtual school team all in the same building.
- No third-party or middle person - you work directly with us.
- If you live in Islington or a neighbouring borough, we are on your doorstep which provides you with easy access to support and training as well as local schools and meetings for the children you care for.
- We have legal protection insurance and public liability cover.
- You can join an active foster carer’s association with weekly coffee mornings.
- You will be eligible for our Housing and Home adaptation scheme to enable you to care for more than one child by creating room in your own home or help to move to a larger property.
- The opportunity to be a part of our 'circles of support' scheme which has a central carer dedicated to providing peer support, planned and emergency respite care and regular social activities to 6-8 foster families, who live close by around the central carer. The aim is be an extended family with different types of families and age ranges of children that operate within an average extended family.
- If you are interested in doing further training, we will encourage and support you to get additional qualifications.
