Private fostering
Do you know of any children living away from their parents or other close relatives (such as grandparents or siblings) for 28 days or more? This could be private fostering.
What private fostering is
Being a private foster carer means that you're caring for a child under 16 (or under 18 if they're disabled) for 28 days or more, without being a close relative. A close relative could be a parent, grandparent, step-parent, sibling, uncle or aunt.
It's important that we're made aware of any private fostering arrangements. This is so we can ensure the arrangement is meeting the child's needs and that they're safe and well.
Here's examples of private fostering arrangements:
- a teenager living with the family of their boyfriend or girlfriend
- children sent to this country for education or healthcare purposes with parents staying overseas
- a child living with a friend or extended family as a result of parental illness, separation, divorce or arguments at home
- a parent is working long hours, preventing the child from living at home
Responsibilities of a private foster carer
If you wish to become a private foster carer, or you're already fostering a child, you have a legal obligation to let us know. This should be done 6 weeks before the arrangement begins, or as soon as possible.
As a private foster carer, you don’t have a parental responsibility for the child or children in your care, meaning you have to ask the parents about:
- medical or dental treatment
- school trips
- taking the child on holiday (in this country or overseas)
- any changes of name or school
I had a wonderful experience with our social worker, who was incredibly supportive throughout the process. Everything went smoothly, making the journey as a private foster carer both positive and reassuring! I can do it again!”
Telling us about a private fostering arrangement
You can reach out to our friendly team, who is here to help and support you on your private fostering journey.
You can make contact with us to:
- inform us of a private fostering arrangement
- request support with a private fostering arrangement
- report that the carer is not giving you enough information about your child or that you are unhappy with the standard of care
- report a change in circumstances (for example the child has moved back with their parent or to another carer)
Informing us of a private fostering arrangement is not breaking confidentiality. It allows us to protect the child and support you as the carer.
Your questions answered
If a child needs to be "looked after" by foster carers, the local authority will make the arrangements.
However, with private fostering, the parents and caregiver make this arrangement between themselves.
As a private foster carer, you are also not given an allowance to look after children by the local authority and cannot access the perks or benefits packages. All financial arrangements are made between you and the child's parents.
However, you can access our accessible learning and development programme that can help you build skills and confidence on your fostering journey.
Once we are informed of a private fostering arrangement, we will:
- carry out a home visit to assess the suitability of the arrangement
- ensure that you and any other carers are meeting the child's needs
- provide support and advice to you to ensure you are getting the help you need
We'll also do background checks to ensure the child's safety and wellbeing within the private fostering arrangement.
Many professionals including teachers, doctors, health visitors, religious leaders and nursery staff have regular contact with children and may find out about private fostering arrangements before the council has been informed. In some cases, parents and private foster carers aren’t aware of needing to notify their local authority of any arrangements made. This makes it difficult for us to check if the children are being looked after properly.
We are asking you to inform us of any arrangements you become aware of as soon as you can, preferably in advance of arrangements being made, and to remind parents and carers of their legal responsibility to inform us.
Letting the local authority know about a private fostering arrangement is not breaking confidentiality and is a requirement, so we can work together to safeguard our children.
Anyone can help us raise awareness of private fostering by:
- emailing us to request a private fostering poster you can display on your staff noticeboards
- mentioning private fostering in your staff meetings
- sharing our social media posts regarding private fostering on your own or company sites
- handing out leaflets (email us to request hard copies of our private fostering leaflets)