Do you know your responsibilities around Private Fostering?
Many teams across the Council work with children and families in their service areas and roles, so with Private Fostering Awareness Week on the horizon, we’re highlighting the need to inform Children’s Services if you become aware of any care arrangements for a child which may be classed as private fostering.
Private fostering is when a person cares for a child
- aged 16 or under (or 18 if the child has a disability)
- who is not a close relative
- for 28 days or more
There is a duty to inform the Local Authority of all private fostering arrangements, but many people may not even realise they are private fostering, or be aware of their responsibility to notify Children’s Services.
The Private Fostering & Kinship Team will be running a helpful Teams CPD session on Monday 25th September at 2pm to further highlight private fostering, the steps to take should a member of staff become aware of an arrangement, and how our teams support families who are private fostering. Please click here to join the meeting
If you think you may be private fostering, or know of someone who is, contact the team on 0300 123 2224 or email childrens@somerset.gov.uk.
More information about private fostering can be found here.
