Improving the kinship local offer and approach to kinship care
Key themes and considerations that stakeholders have identified as relevant when designing a kinship local offer.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
Report by the National Kinship Care Ambassador summarising learning from September 2024 onwards to inform the development of kinship local offers. This was generated through engagement with:
- children and young people
- kinship carers
- parents
- 12 local authorities
- 10 voluntary and community sector organisations
- the ADCS and the National Association of Virtual School Heads
Engagement activity highlighted several recurring themes across local areas:
- awareness and accessibility
- variation in scope and eligibility
- visibility and identification of informal kinship care arrangements
- clarity of responsibility across agencies
- safeguarding expectations
- early help integration
- co-production with families
The report concludes with insights for implementation, setting out the elements stakeholders consistently described as important to kinship local offer development and delivery. These insights are intended to support local authorities to design kinship local offers that are transparent, equitable and responsive to the needs of kinship families.
Kinship care is when a child is being raised in the care of a friend or family member who is not their parent.