Teacher Kinship

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Forest1865
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Jan 08, 2022 2:37 pm

Teacher Kinship

Post by Forest1865 » Mon Jan 10, 2022 12:56 pm

Hello,

We have a LAC at our school who was removed from their foster carers over Christmas and been placed with new foster carers now. Whilst they were in emergency foster care I requested via their social worker for myself and my wife to be considered to foster care for this young person. We both work at the school so know the young person well and looking online our best avenue is going down the route of a kinship foster carer for them.

I have been told that they are discussing amongst the social care team to decide whether or not this is a viable option and even if it is it will take a number of months to go through the process.

Is this the best avenue for us to see if we can look after this young person? Would SGO be an option?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Suzie, FRG Adviser
Posts: 950
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 12:25 pm

Re: Teacher Kinship

Post by Suzie, FRG Adviser » Fri Jan 21, 2022 12:33 pm

Dear Forest1865

Welcome to the Kinship Carers’ discussion board and thank you for your post. My name is Suzie and I am FRG’s online adviser. I am sorry that there has been a delay in responding to your post.

You and your wife are enquiring about becoming kinship carers (either as kinship foster carers or Special Guardians) for a Looked After young person who attends the school where you both work. You are wondering which would be the best option.

Do you know if the young person is looked after with the consent of their parent/s via a voluntary section 20 arrangement or if there is either a temporary (interim) Care Order or a full Care Order in place for them? This makes a difference as parents would need to agree to a placement with specific carers if it was a voluntary arrangement. They would need to be consulted in either situation and if there are current care proceedings or you applied for a Special Guardianship Order the court would be involved too.

Do you know if the young person has now been moved to ‘long-term’ foster carers (if there is a full Care Order) or is this a temporary placement?

You would be classed as ‘connected persons’ if you apply to care for this young person as they are already known to you. You have already put yourselves forward as potential carers for the young person as you say the social care team are considering this. I think that the child’s social worker, their manager, the Independent Reviewing Officer and the Fostering/Permanency Team would be involved in any discussions.

Have you had a response yet indicating whether or not they intend to assess you? They would want to do an initial family and friends care assessment to decide whether or not to proceed to a fuller assessment. We have a detailed guide here. It is important to know what children’s services’ response is as this will affect what you will need to do next.

Children’s Services have a duty to consider kinship care for children already in the care system as discussed here.

Both options could be possible if you were successfully approved and the plan agreed to be in the young person’s best interests. Their social worker would also assess their views. You would also have to decide what your preferred option would be. Only a court can make a Special Guardianship Order. Often, children’s services will assess for both kinship foster care and Special Guardianship at the same time.

You may find this information on the different types of kinship care arrangements helpful. And our kinship care advice sheets explain each of the options and supports offered in more detail. The best option for the young person and you as possible carers will depend on the individual circumstances.

When you have heard back from children’s services you might want to call our freephone advice line to speak with an advisor – 0808 8010366 (Mon to Fri, 9.30 am to 3.00 pm) to discuss their response and what happens next. Or please post again on this forum.

Best wishes

Suzie

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