Three Circles Foster Agency

What Three Circles Foster Agency does

Three Circles Fostering Limited is a UK-based, family-run fostering agency founded in 2012 and headquartered in Wilmslow, with a regional office in Barnsley serving North West and Yorkshire. The agency recruits, assesses, trains, and supports foster carers who provide family-based placements for children and young people placed by local authorities. Its service offering is anchored on a managed-services model: local authorities pay placement fees, the agency retains a margin, and passes fostering allowances to carers. Surrounding the core placement service, the agency operates a layered ecosystem including Skills to Foster training, 24/7 on-call social work support, Catalyst and Connect youth participation programs, Next Steps care-leaver support, an LGBTQ+ support group in partnership with Proud 2 b Parents, education support via the National Teaching & Advisory Service (NT&AS), and a new Form F Assessment Services line priced at £2,250–£2,500 per assessment. Operationally, the company holds an Outstanding Ofsted rating (registration SC443768) and relies on standard web-based enquiry tools rather than proprietary technology. Revenue derives from local authority placement fees net of carer allowances, with no external funding, no parent company, and no disclosed financials.

Name

Three Circles Foster Agency

Legal name

Three Circles Fostering Limited

Website

https://threecirclesfostering.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Three Circles Fostering is a UK-based, family-run fostering agency that recruits, trains, and supports foster carers delivering family-based placements for local authorities across North West and Yorkshire. The company also operates youth programs, care-leaver support, and education services alongside its core placements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Foster Care Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Child Welfare, Foster Care & Adoption Services (BPAGAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Family & Parenting Support Services (BPAGAEAC)

Keywords

• Foster care services
• Children's social care
• Foster carer recruitment
• Foster placement agency
• Looked-after children support

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilmslow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Fostering Placement Fees: Three Circles receives fees from local authorities for placing children with approved foster carers. The agency then pays fostering allowances to carers, with the difference representing the agency's revenue. Local authorities (government bodies) contract with the agency to provide fostering services.
2. Foster Carer Allowances: Foster carers receive fostering allowances based on the child's age and needs. These allowances are funded through local authority contracts but administered by the agency. Additional benefits include birthday and holiday allowances in line with Fostering Network rates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Three Circles Foster Agency recruits, assesses, trains, and supports foster carers to provide family-based placements for children and young people who cannot remain with their birth families. The agency contracts with local authorities in England's North West and Yorkshire regions to deliver fostering placements, supplemented by training programs, 24/7 support, education services through the National Teaching & Advisory Service, and youth development programs.

Product overview

Three Circles Fostering is a family-run fostering agency operating as a unified service in the North West and Yorkshire regions of England. The core offering is fostering placement services, supported by an ecosystem of modules including the Skills to Foster Training program, 24/7 support services with allocated social workers, education support through the National Teaching & Advisory Service (NT&AS), and youth development programs (Catalyst Youth Group and Connect Youth Group). Additional services include Form F assessments for prospective carers, the Next Steps Care Leavers Group for care leavers aged 16+, the Foster Carer Buddy Programme for peer support, and an LGBTQ+ Support Group. The agency also provides fostering allowances and benefits as part of its comprehensive support package.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Catalyst Youth Group: A youth forum for dynamic young minds who gather to participate in creative activities, share achievements, and shape agency policies. Open to secondary school-age young people who are part of the Three Circles Fostering family.
• Next Steps

Products and services

• Three Circles Fostering Placement Services A fostering placement agency providing matching services between approved foster carers and children in care, contracted through local authorities in North West and Yorkshire regions including Manchester, Cheshire, Yorkshire, Liverpool, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Warrington, Tameside, and Salford.
• Training and Support Programme Comprehensive training and support services for foster carers including Skills to Foster pre-approval training, ongoing professional development, specialist training, and access to formal qualifications through the National Teaching & Advisory Service partnership.
• 24/7 Fostering Support Services Round-the-clock support service for foster carers including a 24-hour on-call line, monthly face-to-face visits from qualified social workers, frequent contact from allocated social workers, and access to an independent allegation support service.
• National Teaching & Advisory Service (NT&AS) Education Support Educational service providing named education practitioners, liaison between home and school, dyslexia screening, intensive literacy and numeracy programmes, booster sessions, and support for school transitions for children in foster care.
• Catalyst Youth Group A youth forum and empowerment group for secondary school-age young people in the Three Circles fostering family, meeting every half term via Google Meet to cultivate creativity, forge identity, share achievements, and shape agency policies.
• Connect Youth Group A face-to-face group for secondary-age young people in foster care providing opportunities to meet others, try new activities, earn AQA Unit Award certificates, and access wellbeing support.
• Next Steps Care Leavers Group A support group for care leavers providing access to the Stepladder Programme (ISA savings scheme), WJEC Eduqas qualifications, housing and budgeting support, CV and work skills guidance, and care leaver entitlements.
• Form F Assessment Services Assessment and evaluation services for prospective foster carers, conducted by HCPC registered Form F assessors in the North West and Yorkshire areas, with fees of £2,250-£2,500 per assessment.
• Foster Carer Allowances and Benefits Package Financial support package including fostering allowances (varying by child age, needs, and placement type), birthday and holiday allowances in line with Fostering Network rates, agreed additional mileage allowance, private medical insurance for qualifying families, and individual membership to the Fostering Network.

Quantifiable outcome

• Transformed lives of over 700 children since 2012
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Proud 2 b ParentscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLGBTQ+ family support organisation run by and for LGBT+ parents/carers and their children. Partnership strengthens Three Circles' commitment to diversity, inclusion, and support for LGBTQ+ families through resources, training, and community connection.
• National Teaching & Advisory Service (NT&AS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation service providing specialist input to children in care. Named education practitioner supports educational transitions, raises attainment levels, provides dyslexia screening, manages school inclusion, delivers intensive literacy/numeracy programs, and offers 'Booster' sessions at key educational points.
• Fostering NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK's leading fostering charity providing membership to foster carers. Offers resources, support, training, and network of fellow carers. Fostering Network rates determine birthday and holiday allowances.
• CoramBAAFminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Practice Note 69 - assessing and supporting transgender foster carers and adopters. Contributed to sector guidance on inclusive assessment practices.
• Manchester LacesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal LGBTQ+ football group sponsored by Three Circles. Supports community engagement and visibility within LGBTQ+ communities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Five Rivers Child Care: UK independent fostering and residential services provider with a similar multi-region operating model and local-authority contracting approach. Comparable in service breadth and target market.
• TACT (The Adolescent and Children's Trust): Charity fostering agency providing foster placements across the UK with comprehensive carer support. Comparable in mission, target population, and local-authority contracting model.
• Compass Fostering: Independent UK fostering agency operating regionally with a comparable model of recruiting, training, and supporting foster carers for local-authority placements. Closely comparable in scale and service offering to Three Circles.
• Orchard Fostering: Independent UK fostering agency recruiting and supporting foster carers across multiple regions. Comparable in scale, GTM approach (community-led carer recruitment), and local-authority contracting model.
• Excel Fostering: UK independent fostering agency providing family-based placements with similar community recruitment and local-authority placement approach. Direct competitor for the same pool of prospective carers.
• Foster Care Associates: One of the UK's largest independent fostering agencies (now part of Action for Children), offering local-authority contracted placements with similar carer support services. Direct competitor for authority contracts.
• Swiis Foster Care: UK-wide independent fostering agency operating in multiple regions with comparable carer recruitment, training, and local-authority contracting model. Direct competitor in the independent fostering segment.

Broad incumbents

• Barnardo's: Largest UK children's charity providing fostering and adoption services nationally. Operates as a broad incumbent with overlapping fostering services and competes with Three Circles for authority contracts in shared geographies.
• Action for Children: Major UK children's charity providing fostering services alongside wider children's services. Significantly larger than Three Circles and competes for authority contracts across the UK, including in NW and Yorkshire.
• National Fostering Group (Polaris Community): Large UK-wide fostering group operating across all regions with substantially greater scale and capital backing. Competes with Three Circles for authority contracts but operates a much broader portfolio beyond fostering alone.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/threecirclesLAC

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Three Circles Foster Agency