Fostering isn’t considered a job, but all of our foster parents receive a generous fostering allowance to help them fulfil the needs of the children in their care and to recognise their incredible work.
As many as 40% of foster parents decide that fostering while working is the right choice for them. Fostering while in employment can be a challenge, but it also offers a range of rewards, both for you and for the children in your care.
Let’s explore some of the great benefits of working and fostering.
5 Benefits of working as a foster parent
Become a role model
Some young people in care may face self-limiting beliefs which could hinder their drive to achieve and succeed in the future; perhaps they have come from a background where there are negative perceptions around work, or where working isn’t the norm. Some young people may have never imagined a future for themselves, or may believe that because of their experiences or where they come from, their opportunities are limited.
This assumption is far from the truth, and with higher education and opportunities for entrepreneurship now more accessible than ever, you can encourage the young people in your care to dream big and achieve great things.
Having a foster parent with a good work ethic promotes strong family values and inspires young people to achieve and shows them what’s possible. By role modelling a healthy work-life balance, you can show your young person what’s possible and teach them the value of commitment, perseverance and dedication.
Pursue your passions
Some people who are passionate about changing lives by becoming a foster parent worry that they would have to give up their work, losing a part of their identity and sense of fulfilment. Continuing your career alongside fostering allows you to embrace different parts of your identity and pursue multiple passions at once.
Having passion and dedication towards both your professional life and your role as a foster parent not only enriches your own life— it can also encourage the children you look after to try new things and explore what motivates and drives them, and can help them to understand that they don’t have to fit into a box; they can pursue multiple things which bring them happiness and fulfilment at once, choosing ‘and’ instead of ‘or’.
Flexible working
Lots of companies are joining the Fostering Friendly scheme and committing to assisting their staff who are foster parents by making reasonable adjustments for them. These adjustments can include offering paid time off to attend training and offering flexible working hours. The training we offer is flexible, too, meaning you’ll be able to choose a style of learning which is best for you, including online training, face to face sessions and evening classes—we’ll make sure our training works for you.
In recent years, it has also become common for companies to offer the choice to work from home, and the online world provides plenty of opportunities for self-employment, such as freelancing or starting an online business. These flexible styles of working are well suited to foster care as it allows for flexibility, meaning you can shape your working hours around caring for a child. We’ll also support you in sharing your care responsibilities with a trusted person such as a partner or family friend, so that you’re supported to continue working while fostering.
Financial benefits
While we offer a generous tax-free fostering allowance to all our foster parents, some foster parents choose to continue working for additional financial security. For fostering couples, one person may choose to stay home and foster while the other person goes out to work.
Working while fostering provides an additional buffer of financial security, allowing you to save for big goals such as a house while you foster, and gives you the tools to provide an even better quality of life for your family and the children you care for.
You can learn more about how much you might be entitled to as a foster parent by trying out our fostering allowance calculator.
Prepare your young person for independence
As someone with current experience of the world of work, you’re well qualified to support young people as they prepare to take their first steps towards adulthood.
You’ll be in a fantastic position to help your young person to prepare for the world of work, whether its support with work experience, interview prep for a summer job or helping them to put together their first CV. You’ll feel the immense pride which comes with being able to steer a young person in the direction of a bright future and will be able to watch on with pride as they go on to achieve.
Get in touch
Does fostering while working sound like the right choice for you? If you’re interested in becoming a foster parent, we’d love for you to get in touch. Complete our online form or give us a call on 0800 369 8513, and a member of our team will be in touch to tell you everything you need to know about fostering.