What is kinship care?
The definition of kinship care is set out in the government’s Kinship care: statutory guidance for local authorities, published in October 2024.
Kinship care is any arrangement in which a child is being cared for by a friend or family member who is not their parent. The arrangement may be temporary or longer term.
In B&NES we support carers looking after children in any kind of kinship arrangement. These include:
- informal kinship care arrangements
- private fostering arrangements
- where a Child Arrangements Order has been granted
- where a Special Guardianship Order has been granted
- kinship foster carers
- where an Adoption Order has been granted in respect of the child and, prior to the making of the order, the adopter was a friend or family member
Further information about these types of arrangements can be found in the statutory guidance mentioned above.>/p>
Kinship carer support in B&NES and how to access it
Kinship support services in B&NES are delivered by the Alternative Care Team, based within Children’s Services. This team is made up of managers, social workers, family support workers, and administrators. You can contact the team in the following ways:
If you have an emergency or are concerned about the immediate welfare of a child, you can contact the triage team to report this.
Kinship foster carers are supported by our fostering service, which is also delivered by the Alternative Care Team.
Support that is available to kinship carers in B&NES
The range of support available to kinship families in B&NES includes but is not limited to the below services. This menu is designed to prompt social workers to discuss bespoke needs with families, rather than be treated as limited options for support.
Support groups, peer support, and training
Kinship carers have access to:
- all foster carer training, including training related to therapeutic parenting, preparing young people of independence, supporting children who have experience harm such domestic abuse or pre-birth trauma, child exploitation, and first aid
- a monthly kinship carer support group open to all kinship carers, currently held in Radstock and Keynsham
- ‘Adventures with Friends’ trips and events which run in the school holidays for children being cared for in foster or kinship arrangements
- support groups for children of foster and kinship carers
- a kinship carer buddy system
Financial support
Financial support available includes:
- a financial assessment for all Special Guardianship carers and those Child Arrangements Order carers who are identified as being in financial need during the assessment of support needs
- age-related allowances for children in the care of the Local Authority, and foster carer skill fees for kinship foster carers approved following fostering panel
- additional funding for equipment, financial needs that fall outside the remit of the permanence allowance, or specialist services can be sought via agreement with the Alternative Care Team Managers
Supporting kinship carers to stay in work
Support is currently tailored to an individuals’ needs. B&NES Council is a fostering friendly employer and we are working towards the same benefits and support being available to kinship carers.
Accommodation
We work with housing services and other local providers to advocate for the housing needs of our kinship carers.
Education
We work closely with schools to advocate for the education needs of children being cared for in kinship arrangements.
Kinship carers have access to support from the B&NES Virtual School.
Supporting family time
Kinship carers can:
- get Social Worker support to provide risk assessment, assist with family time planning, agreements, and mediation
- get referred to B&NES Council's mediation service
Family Group decision making
Referral to Family Group Conferencing
Legal support
Access to funding for:
- legal advice for carers involved with family court proceedings
- other ad hoc legal advice (such as kinships carers making private court applications) via agreement with the Alternative Care Team Managers
Therapeutic support
Access to:
- therapy for the child via the Adoption & Special Guardianship Support Fund (where eligible) or via agreement with the Alternative Care Team Managers
- therapy for the carer where this is thought beneficial to the care of the child via agreement with the Alternative Care Team Managers
- Video Interaction Guidance
- Theraplay
Other support
Other support available includes:
- Family Support Practitioner support including direct work relating to parenting, attachment, and life story work
- direct work with children
- stayover care
How else council services support kinship carers
We have a range of services aimed at supporting children, young people, and families. These include:
The kinship local offer
Statutory guidance published by the government in October 2024 outlines that all local authorities much publish a kinship local offer which clearly sets out support available to kinship carers and children and young people living in kinship arrangements. Here in BANES, we are developing our kinship local offer, involving other services and developing our understanding of the needs of kinship carers in our area. If you would like to be involved with helping us to do this or have any ideas or feedback you would like to share please do so by contacting us at kinship@bathnes.gov.uk.
Other sources of support
Support for kinship carers is also offered by voluntary organisations/ charities. Some of these include:
How to complain
If you're not happy with the support you're receiving, you can make a complaint relating to children’s services.
