Foster Birmingham
Birmingham · Local AuthorityLocally run
Foster Birmingham is the city's own fostering service, run by Birmingham Children's Trust, the not-for-profit trust responsible for children in care in Birmingham.
What sets Foster Birmingham apart
Birmingham Children's Trust is responsible for all children coming into care in Birmingham, and looks first to its own foster carers when finding them a home. Choosing Foster Birmingham means working directly with the people responsible for those children.
The Trust keeps local children with local carers, so you'll only have Birmingham children placed with you.
As a non-profit, every penny of its funding goes towards safeguarding and improving the lives of the most vulnerable children and young people in the city.
fosterbirmingham.co.ukSupport at a glance
One-to-one sessions with your supervising social worker.
Support for foster carers outside office hours.
Support groups across the city, carer-led buddy groups, and a buddying scheme for newly approved carers.
3-day Skills to Foster training before approval, an induction programme in your first year, then online and face-to-face courses.
Therapeutic & Emotional Support Services (TESS), working alongside health staff and the Virtual School.
Advice on income tax and finance, legislation and allegations.
A support group for foster carers' birth children.
BFCA, a registered charity run by carers, for carers, part-funded by the Trust.
Types of fostering offered
Foster Birmingham supports short-term and long-term fostering, alongside specialist schemes including Step Up (helping children move from residential care into a family), emergency, remand and parent and child fostering. They also recruit Support Foster Carers, who provide short breaks, and promote Foster to Adopt for early permanence.
Fostering allowances
Foster Birmingham pays two things together each week for each child: an allowance set by the child's age, to cover food, clothes, travel and hobbies, and a carer fee for you. Allowance per child:
On top of that, you're paid a carer fee for each child:
Also for carers fostering for over 12 months.
Figures checked October 2026, from Foster Birmingham's finance calculator (page last updated October 2025). Allowances are reviewed each year.
Shortlist to confirm what you'd be paid
Areas covered
B: B, B72–76
What Ofsted say
At its most recent full inspection, Ofsted judged the overall experiences and progress of children Good, and leaders and managers Good. How well children are helped and protected was judged requires improvement to be good: the service does not have full access to older records about past allegations against foster carers, and the quality of children's risk assessments varies. The agency has a plan to address the records issue. Inspectors highlighted children's stability, their part in shaping their own care, and extensive therapeutic support for carers.
"Children live with foster carers who provide them with safety and stability."
"Children's participation is a strength in the agency's practice."
"All foster carers have access to extensive multidisciplinary therapeutic support."
"Foster carers feel well supported and speak extremely positively about the support they receive from supervising social workers."
Trusted partner
Foster Birmingham meets our Trusted partner standard: rated Good by Ofsted, with out-of-hours support, therapeutic and emotional support (TESS) and ongoing training.
How we award badges →