The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Home-school fee for foster carers
A Covid-19 home-schooling fee will be introduced for Angus foster carers who have been looking after children full-time during lockdown.
An Angus Council committee recommended that payments be made to foster carers of school-aged children unable to attend school due to the pandemic.
The additional payment of £10 a day for every child will be paid to carers for each day youngsters would have otherwise have been at school during lockdown.
A report to the committee by Kathryn Lindsay, director of children, families and justice, stated there were 51 school-age children in the care of Angus Council being home schooled by their foster carers.
It is expected the fee will cost Angus
Council £30,600, backdated to March 23 and running to the end of this term.
If children were unable to attend school from August to December, it was projected there would be a further cost of £43,350.
The report highlighted that the Scottish Government had earmarked additional resources for local authorities to help them with costs related to the Covid-19 response.
Praising the work of foster carers over the last few months, Councillor David Fairweather said: “We have to give them a big thank you for all their hard work and I fully support this proposal.”
Conservative councillor Derek Wann, the council’s children and learning convener, said: “Just to reiterate, I fully support the payment and I would urge all of the committee to recommend the report.”
The committee unanimously recommended the proposals set out in the report.