Kinship Carers - Supporting Children and Families
Are you caring for a relative’s or friend’s child?
You may be a kinship carer. Please visit our Kinship Care page to find out what this means, why it is helpful for school to know and how we can support your family.
Kinship Care at Norwood
Are you looking after a child who is not your own?
At Norwood Primary School, we want to make sure that we know and understand the circumstances of every child and family in our school community. This helps us to provide the right support, at the right time, where it is needed.
Some children are cared for by a family member, family friend or another person who already knows and cares about them, rather than by their parent. This is often known as kinship care.
Government guidance describes kinship care as an arrangement where a child lives full-time or most of the time with a relative, friend or other connected person, who provides most or all of their care. Kinship arrangements can be formal, for example through a Special Guardianship Order, Child Arrangements Order or kinship fostering arrangement, or informal, where family or friends have agreed between themselves that the child will live with and be cared for by someone else.
A kinship carer might therefore be a:
grandparent;
aunt or uncle;
older brother or sister;
other relative;
family friend or another person already connected to the child.
Why does school need to know?
There are many reasons why a child may live with someone other than their parent, and being cared for within a kinship arrangement does not in itself mean that there is a safeguarding concern.
However, understanding a child's family circumstances helps us to make sure that:
our records accurately reflect who cares for the child and who holds parental responsibility;
we know who should receive information and be contacted about the child;
staff understand anything that may affect the child's wellbeing, learning or attendance;
children and carers can access appropriate pastoral, educational or family support;
we can signpost families towards other services or sources of advice where this would be helpful; and
any additional support a child may be entitled to can be considered.
This reflects national expectations that schools understand children's individual circumstances and identify emerging needs or barriers to learning and wellbeing as early as possible. Keeping Children Safe in Education emphasises that schools have an important role in identifying children who may benefit from additional help and ensuring that children and families receive the right help at the right time.
Could this apply to your family?
It would be helpful for you to let us know if:
a child at Norwood lives with you for all or most of the time, you are not their parent, and you provide most or all of their day-to-day care.
Please tell us even if the arrangement has always existed, everyone in the family is happy with it, social care is not involved, or there is no court order in place. Informal family arrangements can still be kinship care.
Similarly, if your child is living most of the time with another relative or family friend, please let us know so that we can make sure our records are correct.
Kinship care and private fostering
Some arrangements may also meet the legal definition of private fostering.
Private fostering usually applies where a child under 16, or under 18 if they are disabled, is being cared for for 28 days or more by somebody who is not their parent, a person with parental responsibility or a close relative as defined in law. Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 specifically requires schools to notify the local authority when they become aware of a private fostering arrangement so that the local authority can make sure the arrangement is suitable and safe for the child.
If this may apply to your family, please do not worry about speaking to us. Telling school does not mean that anyone has done anything wrong. It simply allows us to follow the correct process and ensure that children and carers have access to any support that may be available.
Please tell us
If you think your child, or a child you care for, may be living in a kinship care arrangement, please contact the School Office or a member of our Safeguarding Team.
We may ask a few straightforward questions about who the child lives with, who has parental responsibility and whether there are any formal arrangements or court orders in place. This information will be treated sensitively and shared only where it is appropriate and lawful to do so.
Our aim is simple: to understand our families properly so that every child at Norwood receives the support they need to be safe, happy and successful.