About fostering.org.uk

Why we built this

Anyone researching fostering today has to choose between sources that are too official to be a practical decision-making read (GOV.UK, individual council pages), too dense for a first-time visitor (sector bodies like The Fostering Network), or commercially motivated to tell only the flattering half of the story - the many independent fostering agencies (IFAs) competing for carers, and newer lead-generation comparison sites. None of them can credibly say "your local council might genuinely be a better fit for you than an agency," because it isn't in their commercial interest to. We built fostering.org.uk to be the one place that can say that, and to show the true pay range with its caveats attached rather than a single cherry-picked headline figure.

Who's behind fostering.org.uk

fostering.org.uk is operated by Domain Farm Ltd, a private UK company (company number 13544286, VAT GB435224124), registered office Vantage House, Euxton. We are not a charity, a local authority, an independent fostering agency, Ofsted, or any part of government. Read our full independence statement for what that means in practice.

Our editorial standards

Every statistic on this site is sourced and dated, every allowance figure carries the "this is not a salary" caveat prominently rather than in small print, and content is drafted with AI assistance but fact-checked against primary sources by a named author before publishing. We don't guess at figures we can't source - where a number isn't confirmed, we say so openly rather than filling the gap. The full detail of how we research, cite and correct our content is in our methodology.

How we make money, honestly

Right now, fostering.org.uk earns through simple advertising. As the site grows, we plan to introduce a directory of fostering services rated on their published Ofsted inspection outcomes. When that launches, listings will be sold as flat-fee placements, decided in advance and disclosed clearly - never a pay-per-lead arrangement and never a live auction for placement, because either model would give us a direct financial incentive to steer a prospective carer toward whoever pays the most rather than whoever is the best fit for them. We are never paid by prospective foster carers themselves - there is no charge to use this site, ever.

What we are not

We are not a fostering agency and we do not place children. We are not a local authority. We are not Ofsted, and we do not carry out inspections - we report on inspections that Ofsted, the actual regulator, has already published. We are not part of central or local government. Using this site does not affect, influence, or speed up any actual fostering application in any way. See the full independence statement for more detail.

Frequently asked questions