Scotland Fostering Approval Guide vs CoramBAAF's UK Fostering Guide: Which Is Right for You?

If you're choosing between a Scotland-specific fostering guide and CoramBAAF's "Thinking About Fostering" booklet, here is the direct answer: the CoramBAAF guide is a well-produced UK-wide introduction, but it cannot prepare you for Scotland's fostering approval process. It was not written for the Children's Hearing System, the PVG scheme, the Scottish Recommended Allowance, or the Care Inspectorate's grading framework. If you're applying to foster in Scotland — to any of the 32 local authorities or to a registered Independent Fostering Provider — you need a resource built around Scottish legislation, Scottish institutions, and Scottish regulatory standards. The CoramBAAF guide is the right starting point for someone in England or Wales. For Scotland, it leaves the most critical questions unanswered.

What CoramBAAF's Guide Covers

CoramBAAF is the leading professional body for adoption and fostering in the UK. Their "Thinking About Fostering" booklet (currently priced at £8.95) is aimed at people who are in the early consideration stage. It covers:

• General eligibility criteria across the UK
• A broad overview of the assessment process (Form F)
• The concept of "Skills to Foster" preparation training
• General information on types of fostering (short-term, long-term, emergency)
• High-level information on allowances and financial support

This is useful orientation material. If you have never thought about fostering before and want a gentle, readable introduction, CoramBAAF's booklet serves that purpose. But it is explicitly a UK-wide publication, and that scope means it systematically skips or glosses over everything that distinguishes Scotland's system from England's.

What CoramBAAF's Guide Does Not Cover

Here is what a prospective Scottish foster carer needs to know that the CoramBAAF guide does not explain:

The Children's Hearing System. Scotland does not use family courts to make decisions about children in care. It uses a welfare-based tribunal — the Children's Hearing System — where three trained volunteer panel members make the decisions. Your role as a foster carer at a Hearing, the jargon (Compulsory Supervision Orders, Relevant Persons, the Reporter, interim orders), and how to prepare for attending a Hearing are not covered in any UK-wide resource, because this system exists only in Scotland.

The PVG Scheme. England and Wales use the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for criminal record checks. Scotland uses the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme, managed by Disclosure Scotland. The PVG is a membership scheme with continuous monitoring — meaning your agency is automatically notified of any new information that appears on your record, throughout the five-year membership period. This is fundamentally different from a point-in-time DBS check, and the anxiety it creates for prospective carers is not addressed in CoramBAAF's UK-wide guide.

The Scottish Recommended Allowance. Scotland introduced the SRA in August 2023 to standardise minimum foster care payments across all 32 local authorities. The 2025/2026 weekly rates are £171.17 for children aged 0-4, £199.14 for children aged 5-15, and £272.97 for teenagers aged 16-17. The distinction between the child's allowance and the carer's professional fee, and the tax treatment under Qualifying Care Relief, are Scotland-specific details that UK-wide guides do not explain accurately.

The Care Inspectorate. Scotland's fostering regulator is not Ofsted. It is the Care Inspectorate, which uses a 1-to-6 grading scale across six quality questions, including wellbeing, leadership, and staff support. Knowing how to read a Care Inspectorate inspection report — and what a grade of 4 ("Good") versus 5 ("Very Good") means in practice — is essential when choosing between providers. CoramBAAF's guide references Ofsted throughout.

The GIRFEC Framework and SHANARRI. Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) is the national approach in Scotland for all decisions about children. The eight wellbeing indicators — Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible, Included — form the language of every Child's Plan, every Looked After Children Review, and every Hearing submission. This framework is Scotland-only and absent from UK-wide resources.

"The Promise." Following the Independent Care Review, Scotland made a national commitment to transform its care system so that every child grows up safe, loved, and respected. "The Promise" is reshaping recruitment practices, Hearing procedures, and carer support models. Prospective carers entering the Scottish system in 2026 are joining a system in active redesign.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Who Should Use the CoramBAAF Guide

• Prospective carers in England or Wales at the very early "Am I eligible?" stage
• Anyone wanting a brief, inexpensive primer before attending an open evening
• Social work students studying UK-wide fostering policy

Who Should Use a Scotland-Specific Guide

• Anyone making a serious enquiry to a Scottish local authority or IFP
• Prospective carers who want to understand what the 8-10 assessment visits will actually involve
• Applicants preparing for their Fostering Panel presentation
• Anyone confused about whether to foster with their local council or an Independent Fostering Provider
• Carers who want to understand Compulsory Supervision Orders before they attend their first Hearing
• Anyone wanting to audit their home against Scotland's specific interlinked alarm and CO detector requirements before the social worker visits

The Core Problem with UK-Wide Resources

Scotland's fostering system is legally and institutionally separate from England's. The Children (Scotland) Act 1995, not the English Children Act 1989, is the governing legislation. The Children's Hearing System has no equivalent in any other UK nation. The PVG scheme's continuous monitoring model is distinct from the DBS. The Care Inspectorate's six-question quality framework differs from Ofsted's inspection approach.

Using a UK-wide guide to prepare for a Scottish approval process is like using a highway code from the wrong country — the general principles overlap, but the specific rules that matter during the assessment are different. A prospective carer who arrives at their Form F interviews expecting the process described in an English-focused guide will face surprises at every turn.

The Scotland Fostering Approval Guide was written specifically for the Scottish system. It covers all nine chapters referenced above — the assessment process, the Children's Hearing System, PVG scheme, LA vs IFP comparison, SRA financial framework, home preparation, legal orders, GIRFEC, and "The Promise" — alongside 8 standalone printable tools you can use at each stage of the process.

Tradeoffs

The case for CoramBAAF's guide: It is an authoritative source from the leading professional body. It is inexpensive. If you are genuinely at the stage of "I have never thought about fostering before and just want to understand whether it exists," the CoramBAAF booklet is a reasonable first step.

The case against relying on it for Scotland: The most important decisions you will face as a Scottish applicant — which provider to choose, how to prepare for a Fostering Panel, what happens at a Children's Hearing, how the PVG scheme works — are not answered by a UK-wide resource. By the time you are seriously considering submitting an enquiry form, you need Scotland-specific preparation.

The honest position: CoramBAAF's guide and the Scotland Fostering Approval Guide are not competing for the same reader. One is a UK introduction. One is a Scotland preparation guide. Most serious applicants will benefit from the latter at the stage where they're actually moving toward an application.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CoramBAAF's "Thinking About Fostering" relevant to Scotland at all?

It provides useful general background on what fostering is and who it involves. But it does not address the Children's Hearing System, PVG scheme, Scottish Recommended Allowance, Care Inspectorate, GIRFEC, or "The Promise." If you are applying in Scotland, these are the things you need to understand before your first meeting with a social worker.

Does Scotland use Form F assessments like England?

Yes — "Form F" is a term used across Scotland to describe the comprehensive assessment report that goes to the Fostering Panel. The assessment structure (8-10 home visits, four primary pillars of personal history, parenting capacity, safe caring, and relationships) is similar to England. The content, however, is shaped by Scottish legislation and the Scottish regulatory framework.

Is there a free alternative to both?

The Scottish Government's mygov.scot page and the Care Inspectorate website publish process information at no cost. These cover the steps to apply but do not explain what the social worker is evaluating at each visit, how to prepare for a Fostering Panel, what to expect at a Children's Hearing, or how to choose between a local authority and an IFP. The Scotland Foster Care Quick-Start Checklist is also available free as a one-page overview of the approval stages.

How current is the CoramBAAF guide?

CoramBAAF updates their publications periodically, but UK-wide guides cannot track the pace of Scotland-specific legislative and policy changes — including the Scottish Recommended Allowance (introduced August 2023), the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024 extending care to 16-17 year olds, and the ongoing "The Promise" redesign of the Children's Hearing System.

Does the Scotland Fostering Approval Guide cover what to do if my application is rejected?

Yes — the Guide explains the review and appeal process under the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009, including how to request a review by the independent panel and what grounds are typically used for appeals. This is covered in the Legal Orders and panel preparation chapters.

I live near the English border — which system applies to me?

It depends on your address. If you live in Scotland — including the Scottish Borders or Dumfries and Galloway — you will be assessed under the Scottish system, including PVG vetting, Care Inspectorate oversight, and the Children's Hearing System. If you live in Northumberland or Cumbria, you fall under the English system. Your postcode determines your jurisdiction.

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