Fostering People

What Fostering People does

Fostering People is an independent, not-for-profit fostering agency operating as part of the Polaris Community of fostering agencies. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in West Bridgford, Nottingham, the organization recruits, trains, and supports foster families across seven UK regions — Scotland, North East, North West, Yorkshire, East Midlands, West Midlands, and East of England — using a home-based model in which social workers live and work in the same communities as the foster families they support. The agency has held an Outstanding Ofsted rating across all areas of service in England continuously since 2013 and a 'Very Good' Care Inspectorate rating in Scotland over the same period.

The agency's service portfolio spans the full range of foster placement types — short-term, long-term, emergency, respite, disability, parent-and-child, sibling, teenager, step-down, sanctuary-seeking, and Short Breaks — alongside specialized programs including the Mockingbird Family Model and P.A.C.E. Parenting therapeutic approach. Supplementary services include an eligibility quiz, financial calculator, Kidszone portal for young people, School Through My Eyes educational resources, Form F assessment services, and a Reward Gateway perks platform. The agency operates with approximately 65 employees, including regionally distributed Service Managers and Team Managers supported by a deep bench of Senior Supervising Social Workers.

Fostering People generates revenue through fostering service fees paid by UK local authorities for placement of children in care, with an average annual allowance of approximately £27,599 per child and weekly allowances ranging from £454 to £900 depending on region and child age. The go-to-market motion is direct-to-consumer for foster parent recruitment — via website enquiry, phone (0800 077 8159), eligibility quizzes, social media, content marketing, and podcast sponsorship — paired with channel partnerships to local authorities for placement supply. Notable strategic relationships include membership in the Polaris Community, integration with FosterTalk for tax advisory support, formal commitment to Scotland's The Promise initiative, and prior engagement with the Scottish Government through First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's 2019 visit.

Name

Fostering People

Legal name

Fostering People

Website

https://fosteringpeople.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Fostering People is a UK-wide not-for-profit independent fostering agency, founded in 2000 and part of the Polaris Community, recruiting and supporting foster families across seven UK regions on behalf of local authorities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Fostering Agency Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Child Welfare, Foster Care & Adoption Services (BPAGAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family & Parenting Support Services (BPAGAEAC), Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAO)

Keywords

• Fostering services
• Independent fostering agency
• Foster care placements
• Therapeutic foster care
• Family-based care

Headquarters

HQ city

West Bridgford, England

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Fostering Services to Local Authorities: Fostering People operates as an independent fostering agency providing fostering services to local authorities across the UK. The organization generates revenue through payments from local authorities for fostering placements. As part of the Polaris Community, they are described as a not-for-profit organization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Fostering People is an independent fostering agency in the UK that recruits, trains, and supports foster carers to provide a range of foster care placements, including short-term, long-term, emergency, and other placement types. The agency delivers its services to local authorities and families across multiple UK regions and operates within the Polaris Community network of fostering agencies.

Product overview

Fostering People is an independent fostering agency providing a comprehensive suite of foster care services across the UK. The core offering consists of multiple fostering placement types (short-term, long-term, emergency, respite, disability, parent-and-child, sibling, teenager, step-down, sanctuary-seeking, and Mockingbird family model) supported by therapeutic approaches like P.A.C.E. Parenting. The organization supplements its core fostering services with support tools including an eligibility quiz, financial calculator, a rewards platform with retail discounts, Kidszone for young people, and School Through My Eyes educational resources. The company operates a home-based model where social workers live and work in the same communities as foster families, providing localized support across England and Scotland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 93% foster parent satisfaction rate
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, flagship, core and minor.

• The Promise (Scotland)strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 February 2021Fostering People Scotland is committed to The Promise, Scotland's initiative to improve care for children and young people. This commitment aligns with their mission to ensure children feel loved, valued, and respected.
• Scottish Government / First Minister Nicola SturgeonflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 March 2019First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited Fostering People Scotland's Starfish group to meet with children and young people in care, as part of the 1000 Voices campaign feeding into the Independent Care Review.
• Polaris CommunitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFostering People is part of the Polaris Community, a group of fostering agencies. As part of this community, they share resources, best practices, and a unified approach to quality fostering services. The Polaris Community enables joint recruitment of foster parents and provides shared support infrastructure.
• Local Authorities (UK)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFostering People works closely with every Local Authority in their operating regions across the UK. Local authorities refer children needing foster care to Fostering People, and the agency matches children with appropriate foster families.
• FosterTalkminorOthersFosterTalk provides free tax advice and support to foster parents. Foster parents receive membership as part of their fostering package with Fostering People.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• TACT (The Adolescent and Children's Trust): UK fostering and adoption charity providing fostering placements to local authorities, with overlapping therapeutic and trauma-informed services comparable to Fostering People's P.A.C.E. approach.
• Compass Fostering: UK independent fostering agency operating a similar community-based model with therapeutic fostering approaches and placement services to local authorities, targeting comparable foster parent demographics.
• Capstone Foster Care: Mid-sized UK independent fostering agency offering regional fostering services with comparable local authority contracting model and foster parent recruitment motion.
• Foster Care Associates: Large-scale UK independent fostering agency providing fostering placements and local authority services, directly competing with Fostering People for foster parent recruitment and council contracts across multiple regions.
• Five Rivers Child Care: Independent fostering and residential care provider in the UK offering therapeutic fostering services, with a comparable not-for-profit ethos and direct competition for local authority placement contracts.
• Sunbeam Fostering Agency: UK independent fostering agency providing similar short-term, long-term, and specialist fostering placements to local authorities with a community-focused service model.
• National Fostering Agency: One of the largest independent fostering agencies in the UK, offering a comparable multi-region portfolio of fostering placements (short-term, long-term, parent-and-child, disability) to local authorities with similar revenue model and customer base.
• Excel Fostering: UK independent fostering agency operating with similar therapeutic fostering programmes and local authority partnerships across English regions, competing for the same foster parent pool.

Broad incumbents

• Barnardo's: Large UK children's charity running fostering services alongside broader children's social care, adoption, and family support programmes; a broad incumbent competing for both local authority contracts and foster parent recruitment nationally.
• Action for Children: Major UK children's services charity providing fostering alongside residential care, family support, and disability services; operates as a broad incumbent with overlapping local authority relationships and foster parent recruitment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/fosteringpeople
• Instagraminstagram.com/fostering_people
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fostering-people-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Fostering People