Private Fostering is when a child or young person under 16 years old (or under 18 years old if they have a disability) is looked after for 28 days or more by someone who is not a close relative, guardian or person with parental responsibility.
Close relatives include parents, step-parents, cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. It is not a Private Fostering arrangement if the child concerned is 16 years old, or over, (or 18 years old, or over, if they have a disability); if the arrangement was made by Children’s Social Care; or if the person looking after the child is an approved foster carer.
People become private foster carers for all sorts of reasons. Private foster carers can be a friend of the child’s family, or be someone who is willing to care for the child of a family they do not know.
Common situations include:
- Children, adolescents and teenagers living apart from their families
- Children from an ethnic minority with parents working or studying in the UK
- Children with parents overseas
- Children living with host families
- Children on holiday exchanges
Notifying Children’s Services – what the law says
Children’s Services must be informed about all Private Fostering situations. The child’s parent(s), private foster carer and anyone else involved in the arrangement are legally required to inform Children’s Services. This is a crucial step in enabling local authorities to fulfil their legal duties under The Children Act 1989 to safeguard the wellbeing of privately fostered children. Private Fostering arrangements remaining hidden leaves children vulnerable to abuse and neglect.
People involved in private fostering must inform Children’s Services in writing within certain timescales. These timescales are set out, along with further information and contact details, in the Private Fostering: Cornwall and Isles of Scilly leaflet which is attached to our Private Fostering webpage.
What Children’s Services will do when informed
Children’s Services will work in partnership with the child, their parents and the private foster carer to ensure that the best possible arrangements are in place for the child. This includes:
- Visiting the child and private foster carer
- Supporting the carer to make sure the child’s racial, cultural, linguistic and religious needs are being met
- Offering advice and support to the child, their parents and the private foster carer
- Working together with all parties to reunite families where this is in the best interests of the child
Information and support for children and young people
We've produced a quick guide to Private Fostering for children and young people, which can be found on our Private Fostering webpage. This guide applies to children or young people under 16 years old (or under 18 years old if they have a disability) from Scilly and contains information about how to identify whether their situation is categorised as Private Fostering. It also provides answers to some frequently asked questions, and contact numbers for sources of support.
Further Information
If you have any queries about Private Fostering, please contact the Children’s Services team by emailing childrenssocialcare@scilly.gov.uk or calling 0300 1234 105 and selecting the option for Children’s Services.