Our kinship care consultants develop a range of practice notes, briefings and other resources to support our members in special guardianship, private fostering, kinship foster care and other care plans involving family members and friends. They also support the exchange of ideas and good practice at our practice forums.
Tell us about private fostering in your area
The Department for Education stopped collection of any data about private fostering in 2015 and therefore the number of children who are privately fostered is not known. CoramBAAF would like to support a better understanding of this often hidden group of children, by asking our members about private fostering in their local authority.
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Take part in the survey
We know from our discussions with private fostering practitioners that numbers vary around the country. An improved understanding will help local authorities target how they raise awareness in their local communities and across other partner agencies. We would like every local authority to complete the survey! We have intentionally kept our questions simple. We hope they are linked to data that local authorities already gather for their own internal recording and reporting purposes and therefore will not be too onerous.
Find out moreIn-person training and conferences
Private fostering practice
10 September | 9.45am - 4pm | London
This course is an opportunity to explore the legal and practice framework of private fostering, including best practice in how to work with this often unseen group of children.
Kinship Care Conference: Learning from policy and practice
*NEW DATE*
Our first kinship conference is now due to take place on the 14 October 2024 in London and provide contemporary insights from researchers, professionals and leadership teams in the children and families sector on the National Kinship Strategy.
Latest blogs and updates
- Kinship care matters – the National Kinship Care Strategy
- Reflections on care planning in the kinship context
- Kinship Care Week 2–8 October 2023 #DoOneThing
- Learning from Windrush: a kinship care context
- New Form K (kinship assessment) in the pipeline
- Does the new implementation strategy go far enough for kinship carers and their families?
Working with Ukrainian children and families
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Top ten tips for social workers working with Ukrainian children
For those wanting a summary about how they can support Ukrainian children in kinship care families read our top ten tips!
This is a condensed version of our 'Frequently Asked Questions' resource,- we have included the headlines and key points from our longer document to offer a shorter and accessible version as an introduction to the topic.
Supporting kinship carers of Ukrainian refugee children
We have produced a set of comprehensive FAQs to help professionals navigate the tricky interface between social care and immigration law.
Read our FAQs
The return of 26 weeks: what this means for the assessment of prospective kinship carers
The re-launch of the Public Law Outline is a timely reminder of the need to allow sufficient time for kinship assessment work. In this CoramBAAF Statement, Ann Horne, Kinship Consultant reminds us of best practice guidance and the need for 12 week timescales, when assessing prospective kinship carers.
Read our statementAdvice
Placing a child abroad?
The Outbound Permanence Service provides specialist information & advice on the legal, assessment and support options available in the overseas country.
Get adviceGet involved
Our multidisciplinary groups and provide a platform to our members so we can advocate on their behalf to Government, and ensure that their voices are heard in the development of legislation, policy and practice.
Kinship Care Practice Forum
Discuss developing areas of policy and share views at our Kinship Care Practice Forum.
Private Fostering Practice Forum
Discuss developing policy and practice dilemmas in Private Fostering arrangements.
Find out more
Our publications
All Books
Kinship care and Special Guardianship: what it is and what it means
This short, colourful booklet is part of CoramBAAF’s series of publications for children and young people, which aim to explain concepts in adoption and fostering that they may find difficult to understand.
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Placing children with relatives overseas
This Practice Note emphasises the initial aspects to consider before seeking to assess a potential kinship carer who lives overseas. It is not intended to cover all aspects of the topic, but to help establish basic eligibility.
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Undertaking a connected person/family and friends assessment
NEW EDITION This guide is designed to help social workers to complete a comprehensive, evidence-based assessment of connected people / family and friends who wish to foster or be special guardians to a known child or children.
Read more
Unlawful placements in kinship care
In many situations, the reality of the placement becoming unlawful speaks more to the limitations of the regulations themselves, than whether the placement is the best place for a child to live. In an effort to help practitioners navigate these challenges, we have published the following a practice note.
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