Fostering a disabled child
The role of an independent fostering agency
What support is available for foster carers?
How to choose a foster care agency
Foster Care Fortnight: How to raise awareness about children in foster care
Can I choose who I foster?
How to foster
What are the benefits of fostering with an independent fostering agency?
What happens when a child is taken into care?
Fostering process: what happens on an initial home visit?
Can you foster if you have mental health issues?
Fostering with local authority vs independent agency
Interview: Life as a foster parent during the pandemic
A complete guide to becoming a foster carer
How Are Children in Foster Care Matched with Carers?
Foster Care Budgeting Tips
Becoming A Foster Carer
Benefits of becoming a foster parent
What is a Care Leaver?
What is a Foster Carer?
What is Foster Care?
Do I become a Foster Carer?
Fostering Regulations
How much do Foster Parents get paid?
How to Foster a Child
How long does it take to become a Foster Carer?
How to foster – everything you ever wanted to know
Facts about Foster Care
What are the Foster Care requirements?
Foster Care Handbook
Foster Carer Job Description
Changing IFA - Transferring to Capstone
Fostering Definition
Foster Care Statistics
What does Every Child Matters Mean for Foster Parents?
Fostering Stories
Fostering Children UK
Children needing Fostering
8 reasons why a child may be taken into care
Fostering as a Career
Looked after Children
Can you foster if you smoke or vape?
A guide to fostering assessments
LGBTQ+ Fostering
Equality, Inclusion & Anti-discriminatory Practice in Foster Care
What can disqualify you from foster care?
Can you foster if you’re on benefits?
Top transferable job skills to become a foster carer
Fostering as a same sex couple
Fostering while renting
Is there an age limit for fostering in the UK?
Do foster carers get a pension?
How to foster a child: A step by step guide
How do DBS Checks Work?
Can I foster if...?
Mythbusting the top 10 Foster Care Myths
Can I foster if I am disabled?
LGBT Fostering Mythbusting
Can I foster if I have pets?
Can I Foster A Child?
Can I Foster and Work?
Can you Foster with a Criminal Record
Can Single People Foster?
LGBT Family and Foster Care
Fostering across Cultures
Muslim Fostering
Christian Foster Care
Sikh Fostering
Empty Nest Syndrome and Foster Care
Can I Foster?
Fostering Babies and Young Children
Fostering Babies - Myths
Focusing on Parent & Child Fostering
Fostering Siblings
Fostering Teenagers
Fostering Teenagers - Breaking down the Myths
Fostering Unaccompanied and Asylum Seeking Children
Mother and Baby Foster Placements
Private Fostering
Therapeutic Fostering - Multi-disciplinary Assessment Treatment & Therapy Service (MATTS)
Young Children Fostering Placements
Difference between short and long-term fostering
Reunification and Birth Parents: A Guide for Foster Carers
How to prepare a child for becoming a care leaver
Children who foster: impact of fostering on birth children
Fostering LGBTQ+ Youth
How to prepare your home for a foster child
How to help a lonely child: A Guide for Foster Carers
What are the National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services?
10 tips for foster children's education
How to prepare your foster child for secondary school
Tips for coping when foster placements end
Tips for foster parents during Coronavirus
What happens if foster parents get divorced?
5 ways to manage Mother's Day with foster children
Tips for managing foster children's bedtime routines
How to handle foster child bullying
Fostering allowances and the gender pay gap
What discounts can foster carers get?
How to adopt from Foster Care
5 ways to manage Father's Day for children in foster care
8 most common fostering challenges
FosterTalk Membership with Capstone Foster Care
Supporting foster children's contact with birth families
A guide to independent fostering
Keeping Children Safe Online: A Guide For Foster Carers
Foster Care in TV and Film
Play-based learning strategies for foster carers
A Guide to the Staying Put Program
How to deal with empty nest syndrome
How to recognise signs of depression in foster children
Can you take a foster child on holiday?
Tips and advice on fostering with a disability
10 tips on connecting with your Foster Child
Fostering vs Adoption - What's the difference?
How Fostering can change a future
How to adopt from Foster Care
How to encourage children to read in Foster Care
How to prepare a Foster Child's bedroom
Reading and Storytelling with Babies and Young Children
Supporting Children's Learning
The 20 most recommended books Foster Carers and young people should read
Things you can do when your children leave home
The impact of early childhood traumas on adolescence and adulthood
Anxious Disorders in Foster Children
What is sexual abuse and sexual violence
Foster Child behaviour management strategies
Foster Parent Advice: What to expect in your first year of fostering
Capstone's twelve tips at Christmas
10 celebrities who grew up in Foster Care
Celebrating our Children and Young People
Could Millenials be the solution to the Foster Care crisis?
Do you work in Emergency Services?
Form F Assessor and Assessment Training
Foster Care Fortnight
Improving Children's Welfare - Celebrating Universal Children's Day
It's time to talk about Mental Health and Foster Care
New Year - New Career - Become a Foster Carer
Promoting the rights and wellbeing of persons with Disabilities
Refugee Week
Young people and Mental Health in a changing world
Young People Charities
The gender pay gap has become a hot topic in recent years, with more and more people putting pressure on companies to pay women the same salary as their male counterparts. If you’re considering becoming a foster carer and wondering if you’ll be affected by the gender pay gap, let us put your mind at rest.
The gender pay gap highlights the inequality between men and women’s average pay. Despite the introduction of the Equal Pay Act 2010, which requires men and women in the same workplace to be given equal pay for equal work, men are still paid more than women in many companies and professions.
The gender pay gap reduces women's lifetime earnings, affects their pension contributions, and leads to a higher incidence of relative poverty later in life. Based on PWC’s analysis of available gender pay gap data for the 2020-21 reporting year, the gender pay gap sits at 12.5%, which shows that the gap has slightly closed from an average of 14.3% in 2017-18.
No, the gender pay gap does not affect fostering. Men and women are given equal opportunities regardless of their gender and are paid equally for undertaking the same roles as foster carers.
Fostering is fair and inclusive – in no way does your gender affect your ability to foster a child. The main priority is that you’re able to provide the child with a safe and loving home and meet the foster care requirements that are in place.
In order to foster, you need to:
Alongside the legal requirements of fostering, there are other factors to take into consideration. These include whether or not you have previous experience working with children, if you have a strong support network of friends and family, and if your home life and environment is suitable for a child or young person.
Similarly to gender, your sexual orientation is also not a deciding factor on whether or not you can become a foster carer, or how much you will be paid. If you have any concerns about your eligibility to foster, you may find it helpful to run through our answers to the common ‘can I foster if…?’ questions we get asked.
Foster carers earn a weekly allowance for each child or young person they look after. While being a foster carer is incredibly rewarding, it's also hard work – which is why a fostering allowance is provided to support you.
A foster carer's weekly earnings vary depending on the age and needs of the child. They can also be affected by the geographical area you’re fostering in, as well as whether you choose to foster with an independent agency or local authority.
Capstone Foster Care is an independent fostering agency, which means we’re able to offer competitive rates for our fostering placements:
To find out more about our rates of fostering pay, including how the foster care pay scale is broken down, read our guide 'How much do Foster Carer's get Paid'.
Foster caring is an excellent career for both men and women, allowing you to make a difference to a child or young person’s life. Children in care are there because their parents(s) cannot look after them and 60% of the time, this is due to abuse or neglect.
By providing a child with a safe, secure and loving home, you can show them how a functioning family unit really operates. You’ll give a foster child the chance to enjoy just being a child, while instilling good values and helping them to become a positive and optimistic young person.
Other benefits of becoming a foster carer include the support you will receive. At Capstone Foster Care, you’ll have 24/7 access to a helpful support worker, receive extensive training and be given plenty of opportunities to share your stories and experiences with like-minded foster carers. Like with all jobs, we recognise that fostering has its fair share of challenges, which is why we’re committed to being there for you at every step of your journey.
Now you know that the gender pay gap doesn’t affect fostering and the benefits of working with us at Capstone, all that’s left to do is get in touch. Just call 0800 012 4004 and a member of our friendly office staff will help you get started on your rewarding new career as a foster carer.
If you’ve got any questions or would like to find out more about fostering with Capstone, fill out the form below.
An experienced fostering advisor from your local area will then be in touch.
Start the conversation today. Our team of friendly advisors are on hand to answer any foster care questions you may have. We can offer you honest and practical advice that can help you decide if becoming a foster carer is the right path for you.
