Kinship care

We offer:

• access to support through our early help services. You can ask the child’s school or health visitor to help with this.
• extra support and services, including financial support, where the child is assessed as being 'in need'
• access to support and help from the Family Rights Group and Kinship
• help finding local support groups for informal carers

You can also ask a doctor, GP or health visitor for help.

If a child arrangements order is in place and the child was previously looked after by the local authority, they are also eligible:

• to apply for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF)
• for a pupil premium, which provides extra funding in education

A package of support for at least three years from Adopt London West (ALW).

Carers may be entitled to some or all of the following support after the Special Guardianship Order is made.

• Monthly special guardianship support coffee morning to enable peer support and a safe space to share and seek advice.
• Special guardianship forum facilitated by a peer special guardian.
• Access to independent, confidential advice and counselling run by an independent charity PAC-UK.
• Referral to Kinship, the UK's leading kinship care charity, offering support and advice.
• An assessment to consider what kind of supports the family might need.
• Six half-termly evening education support seminars facilitated by an educational psychologist.
• Therapeutic support via an Adoption Support Fund funding application (where the child was looked after before the SGO was granted).
• Consultation with ALW’s clinical psychologist or via an adoption & special guardianship support social worker, seeking the most appropriate therapeutic intervention.
• Training on further developing the special guardian's therapeutic parenting skills via support seminars.
• Advice and support around education, employment and training for young people.
• A nine-week 'Foundations for Attachment' virtual training course to develop carers’ understanding of how trauma affects children.  ALW will endeavour to ensure carers are offered a place within a year of the SGO being issued.
• Advice and guidance to carers around life story work with their child.
• Regular newsletters and mailouts, with articles and training events taking place locally, as well as changes in legislation and new initiatives.
• An annual fun event to enable special guardians and their children to get together.

If a child was looked after immediately prior to the SGO, the special guardian has a right to receive an assessment by the local authority for support services, which may include financial support. They may be eligible:

• to apply for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF)
• for a pupil premium, which provides extra funding in education

to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) and pupil premium, which provides extra funding in education.

Even if the child was not looked after immediately prior to the SGO, you can still be eligible for additional support and services (including financial help) under s17 of the Children Act 1989. where a child is assessed as being in need.

Kinship foster carers are entitled to the same support as any other local authority foster carer, including:

• a fostering allowance
• a supervising social worker and social work visits
• foster care training
• annual reviews from an independent fostering board

The child will have a care plan which will be reviewed by an independent reviewing officer.