Fostering Children

Foster Care.

Most foster carers choose to be approved by their Agency for a range of placement types, such as siblings. It is very important that carers look after children who are well-matched with them and their family.

A recommendation about a new foster carer’s approval is made in the assessment report that is presented to the Fostering Panel.

If necessary, and with the foster parent’s agreement, a carer’s approval and types of care can be changed at any time by their agency.

Fostering in the UK is therefore the choice for most people who wish to have a part or full-time career working from home, and wanting to care for an open-ended number of children throughout their time as foster carers. Read about the criteria for fostering.

Private Fostering Arrangements.

A UK private foster parent is not a child’s parent or close relative who cares for a child under the age of 16, or under 18 if disabled, for 28 days or more in a private arrangement with the child’s parent. The parent remains responsible for any financial support during the child’s stay.

Private foster parents may be a cousin, great aunt, a friend, or someone unknown to the child. Immediate relatives such as grandparents, brothers or sisters, aunts or uncles, and step-parents are not considered as Private Foster Carers.

How to make arrangements
Arrangements are made without the involvement of the Local Authority; they are usually made by the parents of the child or another adult or on some occasions by young people themselves.

If you are a parent and want your child to stay with another adult who is not a close relative or an approved foster carer for more than 28 days (private fostering), you must let your council social services know, at least two weeks before the date of the move, letting them know what you intend to do.

The following are examples of the type of children and young people that might be involved in Private Fostering Arrangements;

• Arrangements made during parental illness or children living with other adults because their parent’s study or work involves long or unsociable hours.
• Children staying with families whilst attending a school away from their home area or children from overseas whose parents are not resident in this country.
• Young people who stay with friends because they have fallen out with their families.

The duty to notify your LA of a Private Fostering Arrangement;
Under the Children Act 1989 (part IX), there are a number of responsibilities designed to safeguard children that may be privately fostered. The key points are:

It is the responsibility of the parent, carer, and anyone else involved in making the arrangement, to notify the local council.

Upon notification, it is up to the LAs to satisfy themselves that the welfare of the children who are privately fostered in their area is safeguarded and promoted. They also have to satisfy themselves that private foster carers are suitable and also ensure that private foster carers receive any information that they may need to help them care for the child.

Why should a LA be made aware of Private UK Foster Care arrangements?

Safeguarding the child
Caring for a child is always a big responsibility, and the LA has a duty to oversee the arrangements to promote the welfare of the child and to ensure they are protected. It is important that the carer has a good understanding of the child’s needs. Safe Care Policy.

Read more about national Private Fostering and Foster Care UK here: Notification of Private Fostering – Gov UK.

Family and Friends/Kinship.

A child who is the responsibility of the local authority goes to live with someone they already know, which usually means a family member, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, or sisters.

Is a legal process by which all parental rights and responsibilities are permanently transferred to the adoptive parents by the court.

The child becomes part of the adoptive family as if they had been born into it and the child usually takes the family’s surname.

Adoption or Foster Care?