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Policy

Looked after children

From
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, +1 more … Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise
Directorate
Children and Families Directorate
Topic
Children and families
Policy actions  4 of 9

Foster care

When a child cannot be cared for by their birth parents, or by kinship carers (extended family or close friends), they can be cared for by an approved foster family.

Any adult can apply to become a foster carer by sending an application to their local authority or to a voluntary or independent provider registered with the Care Inspectorate. The application is subject to a robust assessment prior to any carer being approved as a foster carer.  

Foster care can be a temporary arrangement that can end when a child returns to their birth parents, or is adopted. Other placements can be long term or permanent if this is in the best interests of the child.

An arrangement where a child is cared for by an adult who is not a close relative or an approved foster carer is called private fostering.

Supporting foster carers

We recognise the important role played by foster carers in providing secure, stable and nurturing homes for children who cannot be cared for by birth parents or kinship carers.

We are supporting foster carers by:

  • funding The Fostering Network to help recruit new foster carers and provide support for existing foster carers, including a confidential support service 'Fosterline Scotland' (who can be contacted on 0141 204 1400 or at fosterlinescotland@fostering.net.
  • setting out the Scottish Recommended Allowance for foster and kinship carers, and parameters in the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 for fostering allowances that local authorities provide to cover the needs of children living with foster families.
  • setting out A Good Childhood principles and actions in The Promise Implementation Plan published in March 2022
  • introducing additional paid family leave for Scottish Government employees who are foster carers in January 2025. This recognises the vital role carers play and ensures they have the time and flexibility needed to balance work and care responsibilities. We are encouraging employers to explore how their organisations can adopt Foster Friendly policies. Read more about getting involved.

Foster care and The Promise

We committed to Keeping The Promise by 2030. The Promise is the conclusions to the Independent Care Review which ran from 2017 to 2020. 

Foster care is a key part of The Promise. We set out our response in March 2023 when we published The Promise Implementation Plan which set our approach to A Good Childhood which included support for caregivers including foster carers.

Some of the work we are doing to support foster carers in line with The Promise is:

  • working with a group of key national and local partners, including the third sector, to explore what action can be taken collectively to recruit and retain foster carers
  • working with stakeholders as part of the National Trauma Training Programme to consider what additional resources may be required to support foster carers to provide trauma-informed care for their children and young people
  • committing investment of £500m in Whole Family Wellbeing funding to improve holistic family support so that families get the right support, in the right way and at the right time

Scottish Recommended Allowance for foster and kinship carers

In our Programme for Government we committed and re-stated in the Promise Implementation Plan to work with COSLA to introduce a Scottish Recommended Allowance for foster and kinship carers.

We introduced the Scottish Recommended Allowance for foster and kinship carers in August 2023. Following agreement with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), this marks the first time a set rate, which all local authorities must pay, has been introduced across Scotland.

The introduction of the payment means every eligible foster carer will receive at least a standard, national allowance which recognises the valuable support they provide, no matter where they live.

Private fostering

Private fostering describes any arrangement where a child is cared for by an adult who is not a close relative or an approved foster carer for a period of more than 28 days.

Anyone planning a private fostering arrangement must inform their local authority two weeks before it begins. There is guidance available on how to arrange private fostering. 

In 2013 we published Private Fostering in Scotland – practice guidance for local authority children's services.
 

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