“A Guide for kinship carers, special guardians and their families”
As Executive Director for Children's Services in Dorset, I am delighted to introduce Dorset's Local Kinship Offer.
Kinship carers play a vital role in the lives of children and young people. By stepping forward to care for a child within their family or friendship network, often at short notice and during challenging circumstances, kinship carers provide stability, love, security and a sense of belonging when it is needed most. Their commitment enables children to maintain important relationships, connections to their family history, culture and community, and supports them to achieve positive outcomes throughout their lives.
We recognise that taking on the care of a child can bring significant changes and challenges. Kinship carers frequently assume responsibilities with little preparation, balancing the emotional, practical and financial demands of caring for a child who may have experienced trauma, loss or uncertainty. We are committed to ensuring that kinship families are valued, respected and supported. This Local Kinship Offer sets out the support, advice and services available to all kinship carers and the children they care for across Dorset.
It reflects our commitment to working alongside families, listening to their experiences and ensuring that they can access the help they need at the right time. The offer aims to provide clear information about available support, while recognising that every family's circumstances are unique.
Our ambition is for every child growing up in kinship care in Dorset to feel safe, loved and supported to thrive. We want kinship carers to feel confident in their role, connected to their communities, and able to access practical and emotional support when they need it. This offer forms part of our wider commitment to delivering excellent children's services and ensuring that all children can achieve their full potential.
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the kinship carers, children, young people and professionals whose insights and experiences have helped shape this offer, this has enabled us to continue to strengthen our understanding of what matters most and develop services and support to meet the need. We hope that this Local Kinship Offer demonstrates our commitment to championing kinship families and helps you find the information, guidance and support you need.
At Dorset Council, we recognise the invaluable role that kinship carers play in providing safe, loving and stable homes for children who cannot live with their parents.
We know that every kinship family is different. Our commitment is to work alongside families, ensuring children remain connected to the people, relationships, communities and identities that matter most to them.
While many children in kinship care thrive, some may be vulnerable and require additional support to achieve their full potential. Kinship carers often need guidance and assistance to meet the complex emotional, behavioural, health, and educational needs of the children in their care.
Our local offer aims to help kinship carers understand their rights, access available support, and find services that can help children thrive.
We are committed to making this a living document that continues to evolve with the needs of our kinship families and will regularly review the offer to reflect changes in services, policies and emerging needs.
Dorset are committed to helping a child stay living with someone they know and supporting the people who are providing the care.
The following is a summary of the different types of kinship care arrangements; however, this list is not exhaustive. View full details in kinship care: Statutory Guidance for local authorities October 2024.
Kinship care is a term used to describe multiple forms of care rather than just one.
A family member or friend has chosen to take on the care of the child for a short time (less than 28 days if under 16), in agreement with the parent but does not have parental responsibility for the child. Sometimes children’s services may be involved to help you make plans.
This is when a child under 16 years of age (or under 18 if disabled) lives with someone who isn’t a close relative for more than 28 days. The arrangement is made privately by the family, but the council must be informed. The council have a duty to assess, provide support and training.
This is a legal order that says the child should live with you. It gives you shared responsibility and some shared parental rights.
This is a stronger legal order that gives you shared parental responsibility but allows you to make important decisions and have access to additional support if needed. Parents can still be involved in some decisions.
This is when you are an approved foster carer for the child, where you will receive ongoing support and supervision from the council. You care for the child on behalf of Dorset council, children’s services and the child’s parents. This option is only applicable if the child is in Dorset’s care under a legal care order or they are a child in care voluntarily requested by their parents.
Access to support should not be dependent upon a child coming into care.
Decisions regarding support and intervention will be made by an assessment of the child's individual circumstances, developmental needs, and family situation.
Kinship carers may include:
Dorset’s kinship team works in partnership with schools, colleges, health services, voluntary and community organisations, regulatory bodies and national charities to ensure kinship families receive the support they need.
We will ensure that:
To champion family networks by ensuring that kinship families are identified early, supported effectively, and empowered to provide lifelong love, stability and belonging for children.
We want every kinship child in Dorset to:
We want every Kinship carer to feel:
Our principles and kinship charter:
Equality and inclusion are at the heart of our vision and core values. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity when working with kinship carers to ensure that support is fair, respectful, and responsive to their diverse needs.
We recognise kinship families have different starting points and needs. We ensure support is customised so all families and the children living with them have a fair chance to reach the best outcomes.
Kinship carers come from varied backgrounds in terms of culture, ethnicity, socio-economic status, age, disability, and sexual orientation. Inclusive practice across the services we deliver ensures that these differences are recognised and valued rather than overlooked or stereotyped.
Inclusive practice also strengthens relationships, promotes stability for children, and ensures better outcomes by building on carers’ strengths and respecting their lived experiences.
Practising with equality and inclusion is not only about fairness but is vital to delivering ethical, effective, and empowering practice that genuinely meets the needs of families.
Information from children, young people, kinship carers and families will be treated sensitively and stored confidentially.
The consent of kinship carers will be sought prior to seeking information about them.
Kinship carers will have an allocated professional available to them throughout their assessment, preventing the need to retell your story/history to different people.
We have formally adopted 'care experience' as a recognised protected characteristic. This means we treat individuals who have been in our care, as children or care leavers, similarly to other protected groups when shaping polices, services and employment practices.
We are now a registered fostering friendly employer, which is part of its commitment to supporting families with children in their care. The new policy is for staff who foster or are kinship carers and offers greater flexibility to help them meet the needs of children in their care.
Find out more about:
Kinship carers can expect to receive timely information, advice and support that recognises their vital role in caring for children. We will work with kinship families to assess their needs and provide access to financial, educational, therapeutic, practical and peer support services, helping children to thrive within safe, stable and loving family networks.
We will carefully consider the needs of the child and family and undertake assessments to determine what support is required. This may include practical, emotional and financial support. Support will be based on the child's needs and circumstances, not solely on legal status.
Private or informal family arrangements made between family members or friends.
Decisions about how this works are made by you and the family. We may help you do this by offering you a family group conference (FGC) or a family network meeting (FNM).
There is no assessment of the kinship carer. Children’s services will only become involved if there are ongoing concerns for the safety of the child. You can however refer yourself into our family support and advice line on 01305 225885 to access early support or family help should you require support.
You can access support from universal services for the child such as the child’s GP, school or contact our family hubs.
Our family support and advice line can offer and signpost you to lots of support services, including:
They also provide advice, guidance and signposting around education needs such as school attendance and special educational needs.
Our family help teams can provide targeted support through a family worker, youth work or social worker to bring together your family and professional network to develop a plan. Family help can also coordinate a family network meeting or arrange a family group conference at any time, should pressures arise in your family situation, and a new plan of support for the child is needed. This brings family members together to create a workable plan to help meet the needs of the child and you as their carer.
You can apply for child benefit or universal credit if eligible. Generally, parents will not be able to continue claiming benefits for their child once they are no longer living with them.
You can also seek advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) for financial advice. You are not eligible for ongoing financial support from Dorset Council; however, you may be able to access one-off or short-term financial support for essentials through a family network support package arranged via a family network meeting or family group conference.
Private Fostering is when a child under the age of 16 or under 18 if disabled is cared for by someone who is not a close relative, such as:
It also includes host families who support children attending language schools for 28 days or more.
The law requires us to be notified of a private fostering arrangement at least 6 weeks before the arrangement begins, where this is planned. If the arrangement is made in an emergency or begins within 6 weeks of the decision being made, we must be notified immediately, and no later than 48 hours after the arrangement starts.
Although this arrangement is made privately, it is good practice for there to be a written agreement between the private foster carer and the parent which sets out the care arrangements and how long it is expected to last. It’s important that the carer and the child are aware of the delegated authority arrangements should there be an emergency concerning the child.
We are responsible for assessing the suitability of the arrangement and ensuring the child’s welfare is safeguarded. Regular visits and an assessment are carried out by social workers from the locality team.
The social worker will visit you and the child every 6 weeks for the first year of the arrangements and every 12 weeks in the following years to monitor the arrangement to ensure this remains suitable for the child in your care.
A meeting is held every 6 months, involving the child, yourself, the child’s parents and any other professionals involved. The meeting will review the child’s progress, including plans for the child returning home if this is the plan, and will look at any other areas of support that need to be provided to you, the child and their family. You can access support from universal services for the child such as the child’s GP, and school. Training is also available and offered to kinship families.
You do not have parental responsibility under this arrangement. This means you can’t legally make decisions.
As a private foster carer, you may be eligible to claim child benefit and child tax credit, provided these are not already being paid to the child’s parent.
The child’s parents should notify the benefits department when the child is no longer living with them. The parent also remains responsible for providing financial support to you.
Child Arrangements Order (CAO) is a legal order made by the family court that states where a child will live, who a child can spend time with and for how long.
A CAO can state when a child will spend part of the week living with or having contact with a parent or other family member. This order usually lasts until the child reaches 18 years of age.
You will be able to carry out day to day care of the child without our involvement.
Parental responsibility is often shared between the child’s parents and the holder (you) of the child arrangements order.
We do not have to be involved but have discretion to provide services and support for a child. This may include access to therapeutic interventions and support from the kinship service.
You can access support from universal services for the child such as the child’s GP, school and contact our family support and advice line for additional support and signposting for early support or for family help.
You may be eligible to claim child benefit and child tax credit, provided these are not already being paid to the child’s parent. The child’s parents should notify the benefits department when the child is no longer living with them. The parent also remains responsible for providing financial support to you.
In some situations, we can use our discretion to pay an allowance to help meet the costs of caring, dependent upon the child’s needs. This is means tested through an assessment of your finances. Any allowance will be reviewed annually.
Special Guardianship (SGO) is a legal order which may be granted to a family member or friend, making the named person the legal guardian of the child.
This order lasts until the child turns 18 years of age and allows you to make day-to-day decisions without agreement from the parent or us.
There are no social worker visits, no formal meetings, reviews or assessments and allows families to live independently whilst still accessing support when needed.
There are times when applications to the court can be made for a special guardianship order without our involvement. The person intending to make a private special guardianship order (SGO) application must give the local authority three months' written notice of their intention to apply to the court. This allows the local authority time to undertake an assessment and prepare the report required by the court. In most cases, we will already be involved because there are worries about the safety of a child in their parent’s care.
There are other instances where an SGO can be applied for:
Once an order is granted, parental responsibility is shared between the special guardian, the child’s parents, and anyone else who holds PR for the child.
A social worker will carry out a special guardianship assessment with you to consider if you are able to safely care for the child and meet their needs for the rest of their childhood. This assessment will take around 12 weeks.
It covers:
A Judge will have a copy of your assessment and consider all options to make the final decision about where the child should live.
Support plans will be discussed with you during the assessment. This plan outlines the support needs of both the child and the carer, along with our commitment to meeting those needs.
As a special guardian, you can claim child benefit and child tax credit if eligible.
If a child was in care before the SGO, then a 2-year transitional allowance is made. Financial support after this would be means tested. There are exceptional circumstances where a bespoke package of financial support can be provided and will be explored within any assessment and development of a support plan. Any allowances provided are subject to an annual review. If necessary, to meet the individual needs of the child, one-off grants and financial support may also be available.
Access to:
Children in an SG arrangement can access direct therapeutic support and intervention funded through the adoption, special guardianship support fund (ASGSF).
Access to specialist SGO training, parenting programmes, therapeutic parenting programmes.
Financial support should be payable in accordance with the regulations to help secure a special guardianship arrangement.
Transitional payments will be made for 2 years if a child was in care through a fostering arrangement prior to the making of an SGO. After which any financial support will be means tested.
We know that all situations are unique and there are exceptions where an SG allowance and on-going financial support can be considered.
One-off financial support can be considered.
Any on-going financial support will be reviewed annually.
Children who were previously in care and are now living under a SGO are entitled to additional educational support as previously looked after children. This includes priority in school admissions, pupil premium plus funding and advice and guidance from Dorset virtual school.
Dorset virtual school can work with schools, special guardians and other professionals to help remove barriers to learning, improve attendance and attainment, support school transitions and promote positive educational outcomes. Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) continue to have the same rights to assessment, support and education provision as all other children.
Children who were previously in care and are now living under a SGO are entitled to additional support as previously looked after children.
Where a child has previously met the legal criteria for leaving care support, they may also be entitled to services available through our care leaver local offer, including:
Entitlements will depend on the child's individual care history and legal status.
Additional support can be accessed through community and family support services.
Kinship foster care is when a child has been placed with a family member or friend by us because there are concerns about the child’s safety that cannot be managed in another way without intervention and support.
The child is a ‘Child in Care’ through a care order granted by the family court to us. You will have an initial assessment, called a viability assessment, before the child first comes to live with you.
If it is agreed that this the best place for the child until final decisions are made, you become ‘temporarily approved’ as a kinship foster carer (under Regulation 24 of the Care Planning and Case Review Regulations 2010).
This arrangement lasts for 16 weeks, and should the child need to remain with you longer. This may be extended for another 8 weeks to allow further time to make longer term decisions about where the child lives.
During this period, you will be fully assessed as a foster carer only for the named child you are fostering/wish to foster, and all options will be weighed up for the child. Their best interests central to the final decision made.
If it is in the child’s best interests to remain in foster care with you; either through a care order or voluntary agreement with their parents, then your social worker will support you to attend fostering panel to seek full approval as a foster carer for that child.
Whilst sometimes the aim of kinship foster care is for the child to remain in your care until the age of 18, there are times when a child may return home back to a parent if it is decided this is safe to do so.
We recognise parents can make changes and we always support reunification back home if it is safe and, in the child’s best interests. If you become a kinship foster carer, the child’s regular reviews will re-look at whether special guardianship can be considered to provide the child with permanence within their family, without ongoing Dorset council decision-making and mandatory visits.
Kinship foster carers receive a weekly allowance to help cover the costs of meeting the child’s needs. Child benefit and child tax credits are not available alongside this allowance.
You will have your own supervising social worker from the fostering service kinship team who will visit you and help you access training and practical/emotional support.
You will have access to lots of training which we will help you prioritise depending upon the child’s needs. You will be supported to complete carer diaries for the child, detailing the child’s day to day life in your care.
As the child becomes older, they may also be eligible for leaving care support services as they transition into adulthood. Find out more about our local offer for Dorset care leavers.
Kinship foster carers caring for children in care can expect:
Kinship carers will have access to a range of training opportunities which include:
A weekly fostering fee and allowances for the child (age and skill level related)
Additional support is also available, depending upon the child and carer's individual and assessed need:
We will help families understand what support is available to them, depending on the individual circumstances and needs of the child/ren they are caring for. This could be:
We will offer family network meetings wherever appropriate, to help families identify strengths, develop support plans and explore kinship care arrangements.
These meetings give children and families the opportunity to work together to make plans that promote safety, stability and long-term family support, helping children remain connected to the people who matter most to them.
Where children are at risk of entering care or where long-term plans are being considered, we will seek to involve wider family networks at the earliest point possible. Our aim is to ensure family solutions are explored wherever safe and appropriate.
Family network meetings provide a structured opportunity for families to come together, explore solutions and identify support before difficulties escalate. They can help identify relatives and friends who may be able to provide practical, emotional or caring support to a child and their kinship carer. This can prevent carers from feeling isolated and ensure that caring responsibilities are shared across the wider family network.
Family network meetings are strengths-based and recognise that families often have solutions and resources of their own.
Where formal kinship arrangements are being considered, Dorset council will complete assessments in a respectful and transparent way.
We will:
Children in kinship care should have the same opportunities to thrive in education as their peers. We work closely with schools to promote educational success.
Support may include advice from our locality education leads, Dorset virtual school, or specific support with attendance and engagement, information about Pupil Premium Plus (where eligible), support during transitions between schools, and access to educational advice and advocacy.
It is important that schools are aware of the child’s living arrangements so that they can ensure the child has full entitlements and is given every opportunity to achieve.
If a child has previously been in care, they can get priority preferences for school admissions. Virtual school can also support with any applications and provide advice.
Children in kinship care may have experienced trauma, loss or disruption. They may need additional support, which could include:
As a service we will explore what support is needed and enable you to access health and emotional wellbeing support through our in-house services as well as through the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) for direct therapeutic interventions for children in a kinship arrangement through an SGO.
Helping children understand why they no longer live with a parent, particularly when this decision has been made by the courts, can be challenging. Making family time successful and meaningful is an important part of supporting their emotional wellbeing.
We understand the importance of maintaining family connections when it is safe and appropriate.
Kinship families and birth parents may need additional support in establishing and maintaining consistent and appropriate arrangements. We will help support the safe facilitation of family time.
We will:
We recognise the value of carers supporting one another through shared experiences.
We will enable all kinship carers to access:
We recognise that many kinship carers experience financial pressures. Caring for any child by its very nature will make demands on income and is part of the financial responsibility that an adult with parental responsibility assumes for a child.
We will:
We promise to:
Together, we will help children in kinship care thrive, belong and achieve their full potential.
Ensure the child feels secure, loved, and supported in your home environment. Offer consistent emotional support, especially if the child has experienced trauma or loss.
Help the child maintain relationships with their parents if it’s safe and in line with the agreed plan, if this is relevant to the child’s situation.Promoting the child’s identity and culture. Support the child’s cultural, religious, and linguistic identity. Help maintain connections with their heritage and community.
Make sure the child attends school every day and is supported in their education.
Arrange and attend appointments with the GP, dentist, optician and other health appointments as needed.
If a social worker is involved in your situation, we encourage you to be open and honest with them. Working together can help ensure that the needs of the child you are caring for are fully understood and supported. We also recognise that going through an assessment can be a difficult and sometimes an intrusive experience, and we do our best to approach this process with sensitivity, respect and supporting you throughout.
Use any financial support provided for the benefit of the child. Let us know of any changes in financial circumstances that may affect support eligibility.
Engage with support services offered through our “kinship care offer.” Attend training, support groups, or workshops where available.
We are committed to co-production with kinship families.
We will continue to:
The Dorset Kinship Service provides specialist support, advice and guidance for kinship families across Dorset.
The service brings together assessment and support for:
The kinship team can be contacted through Dorset fostering service on 01305 225360 or email us at [email protected].
If you need independent advice about kinship care, you can also contact Kinship's Advice Team Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 1pm on 0300 123 7015.
Additional resources:
Our Kinship Local Offer has been shaped and developed to ensure it reflects the needs and priorities of kinship carers and the children they care for. We have drawn on the feedback we have received from our kinship carers and partners.
We are committed to making this Kinship Local Offer a living document that continues to evolve with the needs of our kinship families and will regularly review the offer to reflect changes in services, policies and emerging needs.
