Private Fostering

A private fostering placement is one in which:

• Either a child who under the age of 16, or a disabled child who is under the age of 18;
• Is cared for and accommodated by someone other than a parent or person with Parental Responsibility for them, or a 'relative' in the limited sense defined by the Children Act 1989;
• Or a period of 28 consecutive days or more.

A 'relative' is defined by the Children Act 1989 as a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt (whether of the full blood or the half blood or by marriage or civil partnership) or step-parent'.

N.B. It is important to check legal status in determining whether the carer can be treated as a 'relative' or whether the private fostering provisions apply. The definition excludes some people in the extended family, e.g. cousins, great aunt or great uncle. A 'step parent' means a legal step parent, i.e. someone who has married, or joined in a civil partnership, with the natural parent. Therefore, in the case where the child is cared for by the former cohabited of a parent, or uncle, aunt, grandparent etc. where the child's blood relative has died, or left the household, the arrangement will have to be assessed and monitored as a private fostering arrangement.

However, for the purposes of the Children Act 1989 (in accordance with the Family Law Reform Act 1987) the definition of 'father' includes an unmarried father. Therefore, even if the child's parents were unmarried and they do not have Parental Responsibility, the child's paternal grandparents, uncles and aunts will come within the Children Act definition of 'relatives'.

The Guidance stresses that a private fostering arrangement is one that is made privately, not by the local authority.

Children are not privately fostered if they are:

• Looked After by the local authority;
• Living in the same household as a parent or someone with Parental Responsibility for them;
• In hospital, a children's home or a school where they are receiving full time education (with exceptions for children living at the school during school holidays);
• Living with a carer under a criminal supervision order;
• Detained, or subject to guardianship, under the Mental Health Act 1983;
• In a pre-adoptive placement.

The child's parent/s or other person/s with Parental Responsibility will continue to have 'all the rights, duties, powers, responsibility and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and their property' (as defined by Section 3 of the Children Act 1989). They continue to have overall responsibility to exercise their Parental Responsibility for the benefit of the child's welfare and remain liable for any failure to do so.

The private foster carer does not have Parental Responsibility, but acts on behalf the person with Parental Responsibility for the child. The private foster carer is responsible for the day to day care of the child in a way which will safeguard or promote their welfare, and can (under Section 3 of the Children Act 1989) do what is reasonable in all circumstances for the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the child's welfare. 

Local Authorities have a duty to:

• Publicise and make available advice and information to prospective private foster carers, parents and others on the requirement to notify;
• Ensure relevant local authority staff are sufficiently conversant with the requirements of the regulation;
• Respond appropriately to notifications received, and ensure that proper checks and visits are carried out within required timescales;
• Satisfy themselves that the welfare of privately fostered children in their area is satisfactorily safeguarded and promoted by assessing the suitability of all aspects of a private fostering arrangement in accordance with the Regulations;
• Take steps to ensure that private foster carers and their household and premises provide an environment in which the welfare of the child concerned will be safeguarded and promoted in accordance with the Regulations (Parents also have a specific duty to ensure their child's welfare is promoted);
• Make arrangements for privately fostered children to be visited by an officer of the Authority at prescribed intervals;
• Ensure that privately fostered children are seen at each visit and seen alone unless it is considered inappropriate. A written report of each visit includes the conclusion drawn, whether the child was seen alone and, where appropriate, the reasons why the officer considered it inappropriate to see the child alone; and the child's wishes and feelings about the arrangement. They comment on the child's welfare and whether the placement is satisfactory, and include any comments about these matters made by the child or the carer. Any matter for concern is highlighted and that a written report is made after each visit;
• Investigate any complaints made by privately fostered children;
• Provide private foster carers, parents and all concerned with such advice and information they may need to promote the child's welfare;
• Inform parents (or others with Parental Responsibility) of any concerns that they may have about the welfare of privately fostered children;
• Consider whether the local authority needs to impose specific requirements (e.g. as to the number of children to be privately fostered by the carer, the standard of accommodation and equipment, arrangements for health and safety) and prohibitions which may either be a general prohibition against that persons undertaking private fostering or may be linked to an requirement so that it will not take effect unless the requirement is not fulfilled within a reasonable time limit needs to exercise and wider powers allowed under regulations, e.g. prohibition of arrangements or disqualifications of persons;
• Disqualify the person from acting as a private foster carer in certain circumstances, e.g. if they are a parent of a child who has been made subject of a Care Order, etc., or if they been convicted of offences described in a relevant schedule. The Local Authority also has discretion to permit a person, who would otherwise be disqualified from caring for children under the Disqualification from Caring for Children (England) Regulations 2002, to foster a child privately, if, in the opinion of a senior manager, the welfare of the child would not be prejudiced by this.

For a list of the Offences which present a risk to Children, go to the following link (Home Office Circular 16/2005):

• Where they are not satisfied that the welfare of a privately fostered child is being or would be satisfactorily safeguarded or promoted, take steps to secure that the child is looked after by a parent or relative of them, or someone else with Parental Responsibility and consider the extent to which (if at all) they should exercise any of their functions under the Children Act with respect to the child;
• Inform the private foster carer and parents and others concerned in writing of any requirements, disqualifications or prohibitions that it may impose during the course of fulfilling its duties and provide information about how they may appeal against any decisions made by the local authority in respect of the private fostering arrangement;
• Records are kept and monitored about the numbers of privately fostered children and private foster carers living in the Local Authority's area;
• New notifications are recorded on the statistical data return PFI, and submitted to the relevant Government department, as required;
• There is a system for recording the number and nature of enquiries received in relation to private fostering, the responses given and any action taken;
• Investigates any pattern of concern raised by privately fostered children and takes action to improve practice where necessary;
• Provide annually to the Director of Children's Services an evaluation of the outcomes of their work in relation to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the privately fostered children in their area;
• Report annually to the Safeguarding Partnership on how they safeguard and promote the welfare of privately fostered children, including how they co-operate with other agencies in this connection.

There is a shared and individual responsibility for interested individuals to notify the local authority in relation to private fostering as below:

A person who proposes to privately foster a child and is not yet caring and providing accommodation for that child is required to notify the local authority in writing not less than 6 weeks and not more than 13 weeks before they receive child unless they are to receive them in an emergency (Regulation 3(1)).

A parent of a child or any other person with Parental Responsibility for the child, who propose, or know that it is proposed that the child is to be privately fostered must notify the local authority in writing not less than 6 weeks and not more than 13 weeks before the arrangement is to begin, unless the private fostering arrangement is made in an emergency (Regulation 3(2)).

A person who is involved (whether or not directly) in arranging for a child to be privately fostered shall notify the appropriate local authority in writing not less than 6 weeks and not more than 13 weeks before the arrangements is to begin, unless the arrangement is made in an emergency (Regulation 3(3)).

Any person receiving a child in an emergency or already caring for and providing accommodation for a child, when they became a 'privately fostered child' must notify the local authority for the area in which the child is privately fostered and should do so in writing not more than 48 hours after the private fostering arrangement begins (Regulation 7(1)).

The children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005 require local authorities to satisfy themselves of the suitability of a proposed arrangement or other wise exercise their powers to prohibit, or to impose requirements on, the arrangement before the child is privately fostered, where advance notice of the arrangement is given, thereby providing additional safeguards for privately fostered children.

Notifications may be received by staff in MASH or staff working in any team within Children's Services.

If a verbal notification is received, staff should explain the legal requirement for the notification to be made in writing and provide the person making the notification with a copy of the service standard notification form to use.

At the point of receiving written notification, staff should ensure that the matter is formally recorded on Mosaic and provide written confirmation that the notification has been received. This includes ensuring that the child's legal status is clearly recorded.

If notification is received from another local authority about a private foster placement in the Walsall area, care should be taken to ensure that full written information is received from the previous authority including, where available, details of any previous assessments of suitability, reports on the subsequent progress of the placement and any concerns that may have arisen.

Visits by a social worker must be made to the child and the private foster carer at the foster home within one week of the placement, or the date when notification was received if later, and then once a week for the first month.

Visits will be made every six weeks in the first year by a social worker.

These visits must be recorded on the relevant Mosaic form and must take place as a separate activity to any other visits, including Child in Need Visits. Any Child in Need visits, including the review of a Child in Need plan must be separately recorded on the relevant file.

In subsequent years, visits must be at least three monthly.

The need to visit more frequently will be decided by the social worker and their manager depending on the circumstances and the need to visit unannounced and/or to choose times when all members of the household are likely to be present should also be considered.

Additional visits should be arranged at the request of the child or the private foster carer.

The child must be seen alone by the social worker on each visit unless this is not appropriate having regard to the young age of the child or if the child does not wish to see the social worker alone. The child's bedroom should be seen on some visits.

The overall purpose of all visits is to encourage the maintenance and improvement of child care standards and check that the child's needs are met within the foster placement and in particular:

• To observe the overall standard of care including visiting the child's bedroom;
• To ensure that the child is developing satisfactorily and that their needs arising from religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background are being met;
• To speak to and ascertain the wishes of the child;
• To review the purpose and likely duration of the placement and ensure that arrangements with the parents are working. 
  The parent and the private foster carer should be encouraged to plan the ending of the placement and prepare the child for the change;
• To check that any requirements imposed are being met and check whether they need to be changed or cancelled;
• To ensure that the arrangements for the child's education are satisfactory;
• To advise or arrange advice for the private foster carer as necessary, for example in relation to the maintaining of the child's links with their cultural heritage or in relation to appropriate travel arrangements for the child visiting family abroad;
• To check that the financial arrangements for the care of the child are working;
• To ensure that the child remains registered with a GP and dentist and that any necessary health care has been provided to take account of any special health needs;
• To ensure that the child has access to services as required as a result of any disabilities;
• To enquire as to the contact arrangements for the child with the parents and siblings;
• To encourage the private foster carer to keep a record of the child's development, including accidents, illnesses, immunisations, school reports, achievements and any contact with parents or significant others.

Where there are concerns about the child's care, the social worker should ensure that the private foster carer is aware of these concerns and ensure that the birth parents in made aware of these.

If the quality of care provided to the child does not improve and the parent does not make appropriate alternative arrangements then the social worker and their manager must ensure that the needs of the child are considered via Section 20 or Legal Gateway Panel. See Section 15, Child Protection Matters, Standards of Care Issues and Child Welfare Concerns.

Written references should be taken up from at least 3 referees. Two of the referees should be subject to follow up interviews.

Where prospective private foster carers have previously worked or are working in a childcare related field, checks should be made with the employer as to the applicant's suitability. Medical references should be sought. Copies of these references should be appended to the reports that are submitted to the panel.

Checks should be made as follows:

• Children's Services Client Index for each relevant local authority (where foster carer resides, or have previously resided and where the child currently resides or have previously resided);
• Enhanced level Disclosure and Barring Service checks;
• The Integrated Care Board, child's health records;
• OFSTED;
• Education references should be taken up with schools if private foster carer has school age children, or where the child is already placed, the child's school;
• Foster carer household health and safety check form should be completed and recommendations made to the private foster carer as required under general fostering procedures.

A report on the assessment, including a recommendation, should be presented to the Agency Decision Maker for a decision to be made. Written notice of the decision must then be sent to the private foster carer and the parents, including any requirements, exemptions or prohibitions imposed - see Section 6, Imposing Requirements on Private Foster Carers, Section 7, Limit on Number of Children and Section 8, Prohibition and Disqualification.

In the event of a refusal of any person to cooperate with the making of the necessary checks, the social worker should advise the private foster carers that they cannot be recommended as suitable and advise the parents of the reason why alternative arrangements will have to be made for the child. Any action required by the local authority to secure the child's safety should be considered and legal advice sought as necessary.

If any information comes to light during the course of the private foster carer assessment, for example as a result of the Disclosure and Barring Service checks, which may preclude the person from fostering a child, the social worker should prepare a report to the Designated Manager (Private Fostering). Immediate consideration should also be given to the arrangements for the child and if necessary child protection procedures should be followed.

If, at any stage of the assessment of the private foster carers, information is obtained which suggests that a child already placed with the private foster carer may be a Child in Need, the manager may authorise services under a Child in Need Plan and/or an Assessment to be carried out alongside the assessment of the private foster carer.

Private foster carers may appeal about any decision to impose requirements or prohibitions or disqualify them by making representations in writing to the Agency Decision Maker within 28 days of receiving written notification of a decision.

In most instances the Agency Decision Maker will refer the matter to the Panel for consideration prior to making a final decision. Legal advisers should also be consulted prior to making a formal decision to disqualify an individual from privately fostering a child.

Where the local authority decides to refuse consent to allow a disqualified person to privately foster a child, an appeal may be made to the Family Proceedings Court within 14 days of notification of that decision.

Discussion should also take place with the parent as to the making of alternative arrangements for the child.

Parents have the primary responsibility for the welfare of children in private fostering arrangements. The social worker with case responsibility for the child should ensure that parents are kept fully informed of any concerns that arise.

Where any concerns of a child protection nature arise, they should be investigated under child protection procedures.

Where concerns of a child protection nature arise and the child is unable to return to parental care, consideration should to be given safeguarding the child.

Where lesser concerns arise relating to the standard of care provided, the child's social worker should consider re-referring the matter back to the family placement team for:

• The provision of addition support services including the provision of training;
• The family placement team to conduct a re-evaluation of the carer's suitability.

If concerns remain following re-evaluation of a carer's suitability of the arrangements, a formal meeting should be held with the private foster carers (and the parents and other interested individuals) to discuss any concerns that have arisen. This meeting should be chaired by a Team Manager.

At the conclusion of this meeting the Team Manager should consider whether it is necessary to refer the matter back to the Panel for further consideration.

In some cases, the care being provided by the private foster carers maybe deemed to be satisfactory but concerns may arise that relate to the wider context, for example in relation to the quality of parental contact or lack of contact etc. In these instances, the matter should be dealt with in accordance with wider service Child in Need or Child Protection Procedures. For example if contact stops or reduces to a very low level, formal consideration should be given to whether the child has been abandoned and to what further action may be needed to address this issue. Similar concerns could arise in relation to longer term care planning if concerns arose in relation to the quality of contact. Consideration of such matters should normally take place in a formally constituted child's plan review meeting under relevant procedures. (Please refer to the relevant procedure in Part 2 of the Manual)