Ella Cowan, from Crimond, Aberdeenshire, was found guilty of using cruel and unnatural treatment towards the four victims between 1977 and 1981.
The 69-year-old was found to have failed to protect three of the children from non-sexual abuse inflicted by her ex-husband.
The court heard that Cowan had abused all four children, who were then aged between three and 13, at various addresses in Peterhead.
Her offending included depriving the victims of sufficient food, cruelly punishing the children for wetting the bed and referring to them while using a derogatory name.
Cowan, who was known as Tootie by the victims, also failed bathe the children or clean their clothes, resulting in them having poor hygiene and unkempt appearance.
She was found guilty on 9 July 2025 following a trial at Peterhead Sheriff Court.
On 18 August 2025, at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, Cowan was made subject to probation and ordered to perform 240 hours of unpaid work within 12 months.
Alison McKenzie, Procurator Fiscal for Grampian, Highlands and Islands, said:
“Ella Cowan owed a duty of care towards these vulnerable children as their foster carer. She should have nurtured and protected them.
“Instead, she subjected them to neglect, bullying, humiliation and punishments while failing to intervene when her ex-husband abused three of them.
“While this offending took place over four decades ago, Cowan has now been held accountable following this prosecution, which wouldn’t have been possible without the assistance of the victims reporting their experiences.
“Scotland’s prosecutors are committed to robustly prosecuting non-recent allegations of abuse involving children.
“I would urge anyone who has experienced similar offending to come forward and report it, regardless of how long ago the offences took place.”