Kinship carers are relatives or close family friends who step in and step up to care for children when their parents cannot. Anyone can be a kinship carer: grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings (if over 18) and close family friends. Kinship care provides a stable and familiar environment for vulnerable children, helping to maintain connections to their family and culture and providing the continuity and stability which is so crucial to emotional well-being. It also prevents children from experiencing the well-documented trauma that can result from being placed in foster care.
There are over 140,000 children living in kinship care arrangements in England, which is just over 1% of all children. It is the most common alternative to parental care and a critical, if largely hidden, element of child welfare provision. There are many reasons why a child may require kinship care, including parental Illness or death, parental substance misuse and neglect or abuse.
Schools should be aware when pupils in their care are living in a kinship care arrangement and put in place appropriate support. This includes:
Designated teachers responsible for the educational achievement of children in kinship care (because they qualify as ‘looked after children’)
Virtual schools which provide additional support and resources
SEN support where the child has Special Educational Needs (e.g., due to the trauma experienced which led to the kinship care agreement).
Access to mental health services such as counselling and play therapy to address emotional and psychological needs
Kinship carers themselves also need support to effectively care for the children they did not in. most cases anticipate being the primary carer for. Examples of the support available are:
Financial support to help with the cost of raising a child akin to the payments made to foster carers
Workshops and online resources to provide the skills and knowledge to support the children in their care
Access to counselling and support groups (including peer support) to help manage the emotional challenges of the role.
Kinship carers play a vital and largely unrecognised role in providing stability and care for some of society’s most vulnerable children. They often find themselves advocating on behalf of those children to secure additional support for them. If you are a kinship carer or know someone who is, contact the charity Kinship for further information and advice.
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