Kinship Local Offer

Informal kinship care

If you are caring for a kinship child with their parents’ agreement and you are a close relative, you do not need to inform us. This does not mean you can’t come to us for advice and support. 

If you contact us, we can help to signpost you to any of the services in this Local Offer.

Private fostering

Private fostering happens when a parent makes arrangements for their child to be cared for by someone else for more than 28 days. This includes a family friend or extended family member, such as a:

• cousin
• great aunt
• great uncle
• great grandparent

It does not include close blood relatives, such as a:

• grandparent
• brother
• sister
• uncle or aunt (whether full or half blood, or by marriage or civil partnership)
• a step-parent

A child is considered to be anyone under the age of 16, or a disabled young person under 18.

We would complete a private fostering assessment through our MASH (Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub).  To start this process, contact us on:

• 0207 525 1921 during the day
• 020 7525 5000 during evenings and weekends
• email MASH@southwark.gov.uk

Kinship foster care

If you wish to care for a child who is a Child in Care, you will likely need to be approved and assessed as a temporary foster carer. The child’s social worker would do a viability assessment.

You can read the Kinship guide to kinship foster care. 

In Southwark, our special guardianship and connected carer team will do assessments of kinship carers. You will have a dedicated social worker allocated to you from our team.

Child arrangements order

To care for a kinship child through a child arrangements order, an application must be made to court.

Only a court can make a child arrangements order, and it may require a report explaining more about you and your kinship child before it does so.

You can read the Kinship guide to child arrangements orders.

Special guardianship order

To become a special guardian, you must first be assessed by a social worker from Southwark Council, if the child currently lives in Southwark. Only a court can make special guardianship orders and it can only make them once it has a copy of the assessment.

You may:

• in some circumstances be approached by us for assessment
• contact us, through the child's social worker, to ask to be assessed
• contact us through the MASH (Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub) if you think the child does not have a social worker

You can read the Kinship guide to special guardianship orders.

There can be differences in the statutory support for special guardians depending on whether your kinship child was a Child in Care previously.