Education Adviser, Emma Mudge, discusses what kinship care is, why it matters, and the upcoming policy updates. 

Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) are increasingly likely to encounter children whose primary caregivers are relatives or close family friends.  

Current estimates suggest over 130,000 children in England are being raised in kinship care arrangements, which is more than double the number living with unrelated foster carers (data from Valuing Kinship Care in England , 2025).  

Understanding the legal status, vulnerabilities and protective factors associated with kinship care is therefore an essential component of whole‑school safeguarding practice. 

What Is Kinship Care? 

Definition (Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2023): “Any situation in which a child is being raised in the care of a friend or family member who is not their parent. The arrangement may be temporary or longer term.” 

Kinship arrangements sit on a continuum from informal family agreements through to fully regulated placements.

The type of order in place determines who holds parental responsibility and what statutory support is available.

It is therefore important for a DSL to know exactly what type of arrangement has been agreed. 

Kinship carers are usually blood relatives (such as grandparents, uncles, aunts, brothers or sisters etc) but can be a close family friend (this is private fostering if they are not already approved foster carers, and it exceeds 28 days).

A kinship care arrangement can be informal (in which the kinship carers have not been approved by the local authority) or more formalised where the child is a looked after child by the local authority and they have been placed under the care of a friend or family member. 

A useful website page which explains these in more detail is: Kinship care – Family Rights Group 

Why Kinship Care Matters 

Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023) states that one of the key definitions of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is “promoting the upbringing of children with their birth parents, or otherwise their family network through a kinship care arrangement, whenever possible and where this is in the best interests of the children.”  

So, what are the benefits of a Kinship care arrangement? 

Benefits for Children 

• Continuity of identity and culture – children remain connected to familiar people, places and routines. 

• Stability – it is likely that children in kinship care arrangements will experience fewer living placements than those in unrelated foster care. Children are therefore also less likely to experience multiple school moves. 

• Health and Wellbeing – longitudinal studies (The-lifelong-health-and-wellbeing-trajectories-of-people-who-have-been-in-care.pdf)  highlights consistently better outcomes for those children in a kinship care arrangement, compared with peers in alternative non‑kinship foster placements. 

However, there can also be disadvantages to those children who live under a kinship care arrangement, some of which can be seen below: 

Challenges and Risks 

• Poverty and financial stress – Kinship’s 2024 survey found carers were four times more likely to fall behind on household bills; one in eight feared placement breakdown due to money worries. 

• Unmet therapeutic need – only 43 % of kinship children had accessed any emotional or therapeutic support. 

• Ambiguous boundaries – ongoing contact with parents (including alleged perpetrators) can re‑trigger trauma or expose the child to further risk if not carefully managed. 

Implications for DSLs 

1. Identification and Recording 

a. Understand the differences between the various types of kinship care arrangements. 

b. Ensure that you know which children in your setting are under a kinship care arrangement and capture their legal status (e.g. Special Guardianship Order, informal, LA approved etc).  

c. Alert relevant staff to any specific Parental Responsibility limitations. 

2. Risk Assessment 

a. Treat kinship children as a potentially at greater risk of harm than others due to the possible risks stated in the section above.  

3. Trauma‑Informed Practice 

a. Once increased vulnerability has been recognised, DSLs need to be alert to any signs and symptoms which may result in the child requiring additional support.  

b. Staff should use trauma-informed practice to respond to behavioural, social or emotional responses. 

4. Support Planning 

a. Liaise with the Virtual School Head (VSH); from September 2026 VSH duties will extend to children with a social worker and informal kinship care (subject to commencement of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill). 

b. Utilise Pupil Premium Plus for previously looked‑after children and monitor its targeted spend. 

5. Carer Partnership 

a. Foster clear, respectful, collaborative communication pathways with carers; both for the carers to access support and for DSLs to discuss the child’s needs, necessary support and any concerns which may arise.  

b. Offer flexible meeting times recognising that carers may be older or in employment. 

c. Signpost to the Kinship Local Offer (statutory duty on LAs from April 2026) and to peer‑support groups. 

6. DSL Knowledge 

a. Ensure that you keep up to date with policy requirements from KCSIE and other government documentation – further information on upcoming changes are below. 

Upcoming Policy Changes 

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (2025) 

• The bill places a legal duty on every local authority to publish a Kinship Local Offer – a single online portal outlining advice, financial allowances, respite and training available. 

• It also extends the remit of VSHs to support educational progress of children under kinship arrangements. 

Adoption & Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) 

• From April 2025 the therapy fair‑access limit falls from £5,000 to £3,000 per child per year; the separate £2,500 assessment allowance and match‑funded exceptional cases have been removed. DSLs should: 

• Liaise early with carers and social workers to secure assessments before funding caps are reached. 

• Consider school‑based interventions (e.g., ELSA, counsellors) to bridge gaps in external provision. 

Practical Checklist for DSLs 

• Do we know which pupils are in kinship care and under which order?
• Has the child’s chronology been updated to reflect pre‑placement trauma and current risk factors?
• Are carers informed about pupil premium, SEND support and transport entitlements?
• Have safeguarding and pastoral staff received recent training on kinship vulnerability?
• Is there a named link‑worker or key adult for the child who can triage concerns quickly? 

Summary 

Kinship care delivers powerful protective benefits yet many arrangements remain “hidden in plain sight”. By maintaining robust data, engaging proactively with carers and staying alert to the evolving policy landscape, DSLs can make a significant difference to educational outcomes and long‑term stability for this growing group of children. 

If you need support with this issue, or with anything safeguarding-related at your school, please feel free to get in touch at safeguarding@servicesforeducation.co.uk

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  About the Author

Emma Mudge - Adviser, Services For Education

Emma has more than 20 years' experience in primary education and has worked in a variety of roles including Assistant Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher, and Acting Head Teacher - working at the forefront of school leadership and improvement for the majority of her career.  

Emma now works as the Educational Adviser for English sharing her experience and knowledge to continually promote and improve the standard of teaching and learning in English, and in school improvement overall. Supporting schools with the accuracy of their KS1 and KS2 writing assessments is an important part of her role, using her expertise as a member for the moderation team to inform, train and support teachers and school leaders. 

Emma is also part of the team which delivers the Health For Life programme (improving the healthy opportunities for primary aged children) and the NPQSL, where she proudly supports the development of our aspiring leaders in the city.