3.5 Private Fostering

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

This procedure applies to children who are cared for by people other than their parent or close relative for more than 27 days and who are NOT subject to any order or arrangement that would place them in the care of the local authority.

AMENDMENT

This chapter was updated throughout in December 2023 in line with local practice.

Definition
Notifications to the Local Authority
Action to be Taken on Receipt of Notification
Initial Visit to Private Foster Carers
Agency Checks
Assessment of Private Foster Carers
Financial Support for Private Foster Carers
Imposing Requirements on Private Foster Carers
Non-compliance with Requirements
Limit on Number of Children
Disqualification and Prohibition
Offences
Visits to the Carers Home – Frequency, Purpose and Records
Unsatisfactory Care
Advice and Support
Review of Private Foster Carers
Local Authority Foster Carers who Privately Foster
After the Private Fostering Arrangement Ends

1. Definition

A private fostering arrangement is one that is made privately (that is to say without the involvement of a local authority) for the care of a child under the age of 16 (under 18, if disabled) by someone other than a parent or close relative with the intention that it should last for 28 days or more.

Private foster carers may be from the extended family, such as a cousin or great aunt. However, a person who is a relative under the Children Act 1989 i.e. a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt (whether of the full or half blood or by marriage) or step-parent will not be a private foster carer.

Section 17(11) CA 1989: a child is disabled if he is blind, deaf or dumb or suffers from mental disorder of any kind or is substantially and permanently handicapped by illness, injury or congenital deformity or such other disability as may be prescribed.

A child who is residing in any residential home, hospital, or school (where they are receiving full-time education) is excluded from the definition.

However, Children under 16 who spend more than 2 weeks in residence during holiday time in a school, become privately fostered children for the purposes of the legislation during that holiday period. See also Schedule 8 (para 9) Children Act 1989.

2. Notifications to the Local Authority

Where a child is to be placed with private foster carers, the local authority must be notified in writing at least 6 weeks before an arrangement begins. Where no prior notification of a placement is given, private foster carers must notify the local authority of the placement immediately.

The person making the notification should be asked to provide the following information:

The name, gender, date and place of birth and address of the child;
The racial origin, cultural and linguistic background and religion of the child;
The names and address of the person giving the notice and any previous address within the last five years;
The name and addresses of the child's parents and any previous addresses within the last 5 years;
If different, the name and address of the person from whom the child was or is to be received;
The name and address of the private foster carers and any previous addresses within the last 5 years;
The name and address of any other person who is involved in making the arrangement;
The name and address of any siblings of the child who are under 18, and the current arrangements for their care;
The purpose and likely duration of the arrangement;
The intended date when the child is to be placed with the private foster carers or the date when the placement began.

In relation to notifications given by the private foster carer or proposed private foster carer, the following information should also be obtained:

Any offence of which they or any other member of the household has been convicted;
Any disqualification or prohibition (see Section 11, Disqualification and Prohibition) placed on them or any other member of the household;
Any actions taken or orders made in relation to the carer or any child who is or was a member of the same household.

Written notification must also be made to the local authority by the carer within 48 hours of any change in circumstances, e.g. a change of address, a change in the household, a criminal conviction/disqualification or prohibition (see Section 11, Disqualification and Prohibition) in relation to any person in the household or any intention to foster another child privately.

Where notification is that the private foster carers have moved to live in another local authority, the social worker must immediately pass to the new authority the name and address of the private foster carer, the name of the child being privately fostered, the name and address of the child's parents.

Where notification is that the placement has ended, the social worker should ascertain the name and address of the person now caring for the child and their relationship with the child.

Parents also have a duty to notify the local authority in writing of the ending of the placement including the name and address of the person into whose care the child has moved.

Any agency that becomes aware of a private fostering arrangement must immediately notify the local authority in writing of the arrangement and must inform the parent and private foster carer of their intention to do so.

3. Action to be Taken on Receipt of Notification

When notification or information is received from any source that a child is privately fostered, this information must be passed to Children's Services office where the privately fostered child resides.

A social worker will be allocated to carry out the following initial tasks within one week of the notification:

Visit the private foster carers in the home where the child is to live and speak to them and all members of the household; (See Section 4, Initial Visit to Private Foster Carers);
Visit and speak to the child alone to ascertain their wishes and feelings about the arrangement unless the social worker considers it inappropriate to do so in which case the reason should be recorded and brought to the attention of the team manager;
Speak to and if possible, visit the parents.

4. Initial Visit to Private Foster Carers

During the initial visit, the social worker should:

Explain the assessment process to the private foster carers and provide written information to them;
Obtain the written consent of the private foster carer and all members of the household over 16 to checks being made with the Disclosure and Barring Service;
Establish the private foster carer's childcare experience, access to support and views and intentions regarding behaviour management of the child;
Check the suitability of the accommodation;
Establish the plans for contact between the child and their parents;
Establish the private foster carer's understanding of the child's culture and give advice in relation to resources and facilities which could assist in meeting the child's racial, cultural, religious, and linguistic needs, including the use of an interpreter if necessary;
Advise the private foster carer of the need for notification to Children's Services in the event of a change in circumstances and preparation of the child before any further move, and for continuity of information being passed to the next carer;
Check the child's passport to satisfy themselves about the child's immigration status, that the child is lawfully present in the UK;
Ensure that the parents have fully informed the private foster carer of the child's medical history and any current need for ongoing professional monitoring and medication and has handed the child's personal child health records (red book) to the private foster carer if appropriate;
Encourage the private foster carers to draw up a written agreement with the child's parents as to their respective expectations and responsibilities in relation to the fostering arrangement including the financial arrangements and Contact Arrangements/Family Time;
Ensure that the child is registered with a GP, dentist and, if necessary, optician local to the foster home;
Ensure that a school place has been arranged for the child if of school age;
Ensure the parent provides to the private foster carer a written general consent to cover any necessary medical treatment and that a copy of this consent is given to the GP, dentist, optician and retained on the child's file.

Advise the private foster carer in relation to recording the child's development, particularly incorporating the following matters:

Maintaining the child's medical history;
Keeping a file of school reports;
Noting dates of contact with the parents and significant others;
Maintaining a financial record;
Noting dates of contact with Children's Services;
Keeping a photographic record

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 the initial visit takes place after the child's placement, the social worker should ensure that the above actions are completed as soon as possible. Ensure that the standard of care being given to the child is appropriate and check that the financial matters are in order and the contact arrangements are working.

5. Agency Checks

Information from several different agencies is necessary to inform the private fostering arrangement assessment. These include:

DBS – checks should be carried out for someone who is privately fostering or proposing to privately foster a child and all members of his household aged over 16 years. The actual or proposed private foster carer and each member of his household aged over 16 should be asked to provide written consent for such a check to be carried out.

The DBS does not support portable DBS checks (i.e.: checks completed by other organisations) so new DBS applications should always be completed when assessing prospective private foster carers. The assessing social workers should contact the Children in Care admin team by emailing CICAdmin@trafford.gov.uk in order to complete the DBS application.

In line with Trafford’s Fostering Policy, those carers that are caring for children in longer term private fostering arrangements should have new or updating DBS checks every three years.

LCS Checks- checks of LCS are necessary to check whether the proposed or actual private foster carer or any member of his household is/has been known to social services (and liaise with other local authorities if the proposed private foster carer has only been in the present local authority area for a short-time).

It is particularly important that the carers electronic file is checked to ascertain whether they have privately fostered children before and whether they have been prohibited from doing so in the past.

OFSTED - information from Ofsted is necessary to ensure the private foster carer has not had a child-minding registration refused or cancelled.

PROBATION – information from Probation is necessary to ensure they are not disqualified from being private foster carers due to past activities or offences.

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 as the required assessment cannot be completed, they cannot be recommended as suitable. In these circumstances, the social worker must advise the parents of the need to make alternative

6. Assessment of Private Foster Carers

The social worker undertaking the assessment must arrange for checks on the private foster carer, all members of the household and frequent visitors over 16 to be made with the Disclosure and Barring Service and Children's Services records (including for the areas of any previous addresses).

The assessment of the carer will be carried out by the allocated social worker and will comply with The Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005 – Schedules 1, 2, 3 & 4). It must ascertain:

The capacity of the private Foster Carer to look after the child;
The suitability of the accommodation;
The standard of care which the child is being given;
The suitability of members of the private Foster Carer’s household;
How decisions about the child’s care are being taken;
The placement will not have a detrimental impact upon the other children living in the placement, including the carers own children;
Whether the private Foster Carer, the parents of the child, any other person with Parental Responsibility for the child, or any other person concerned with the child are being given such advice as seems to the authority to be needed;
The carer or other adult persons living in the household are related to the child (whether of full blood or by affinity i.e. generally marriage). Claims of a relationship must be supported by written evidence. Failure to provide written evidence will lead to an assumption that a relationship by blood or by affinity does not exist. The burden of proof must remain with the carer not the Local Authority unless the court directs otherwise;
Basic health information on the private Foster Carer.

The written Private Fostering assessment covering the above issues should be undertaken by the allocated Social Worker and passed to the Practice Manager for agreement and countersignature covering any:

Requirements that need to be imposed;
Proposal to exceed the usual fostering limit of three children at any one time;
Grounds for prohibition of placement (must be approved by a Head of Service);
Suggestion that a ‘disqualified person’ (Disqualification from Caring for Children (England) Regulations 2002 should be allowed to privately foster;
Arrangements for Private Fostering support or services to be offered to the carers by the Department and the arrangements for the ongoing monitoring of the child following placement.

The relevant Practice Manager must approve the above report to confirm the Social Worker’s recommendations, unless they have suggested that a disqualified person should be allowed to Privately Foster when the matter must be referred immediately to the Head of Service for a decision.

The relevant Manager must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the assessment and accompanying reports meet the requirements The Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005, before approving.

Under no circumstances should a report be approved, if (for any reason) the necessary DBS checks have not been approved or completed. If the DBS checks are delayed, the receipt of acceptable DBS checks may be a condition of the arrangement being agreed. In the event a DBS check has not be achieved in the required timeframe of the Private Fostering assessment, then the assessment may be finalised on LCS but will be deemed ‘unsatisfactory’. Following this, attempts to complete a DBS will continue. All ‘unsatisfactory'’ Private Fostering Assessments will be discussed and considered by the Practice Manager and Heads of Service in monthly performance meetings and further legal advice will be sought where required.

According to the outcome of the above process, formal notifications must be sent to relevant private Foster Carers who will either:

Confirm unconditional acceptance of the proposed arrangement;
Prohibit the arrangement; or
Impose certain conditions.

If at any time during the assessment there is concern that the child is in need of services in their own right or if they may be in need of protection, then the child(ren) must be assessed following the usual procedures for assessing children in need) or children at risk relevant to the completion of a Children and Family Assessment and/or initiating a s47 enquiry. Legal advice should be sought if necessary.

Any services for the child which are needed will be coordinated via a Child in Need Planning Meeting. This package of support for the child will be provided alongside the private foster parents support to the carers.

If there is concern that the child's right to remain in the UK is not clear, the Social Worker should bring the matter to their manager's attention and obtain advice from Legal.

7. Financial Support for Private Foster Carers

Financial support should be agreed between parents and carers. Private Foster Carers and prospective Private Foster Carers should be supported to obtain information about the entitlement to child and other financial benefits.

In Exceptional circumstances financial support by the local authority to sustain an otherwise satisfactory placement may be considered and where appropriate, the social worker should seek the approval of the relevant manager for such assistance to be given.

Once the approval in principle has been given, the social worker should arrange for the private foster carers to complete a financial assessment. Any financial support should be authorised and agreed by the relevant Head of Service.

8. Imposing Requirements on Private Foster Carers

The local authority has power to impose requirements on private foster carers.

Requirements may include:

The number, age and sex of the children who may be privately fostered;
The standard of accommodation and equipment to be provided for them;
The arrangements to be made with respect to their health and safety;
Particular arrangements which must be made with respect to the provision of care.

Requirements can relate to an individual child or a category of children, such as sibling group or group of students.

A requirement may include a timescale within which the private foster carer must take the necessary action. If the requirement has not been met within the time scale a decision must be made as to further action required, which may include a prohibition.

Any requirement must be imposed by notice in writing setting out:

The reason for imposing the requirement;
The right of appeal;
The time limit for an appeal.

9. Non-compliance with Requirements

Where requirements which have been imposed are not complied with the allocated social worker must consider whether support should be provided to ensure compliance and/or consider whether to report further to the Designated Manager (Private Fostering) and Director of Early Help and Childrens Social Care recommending that the private foster carer be prohibited from caring for the child, in which case the procedure for prohibitions as set out below in Section 11, Disqualification and Prohibition must be followed.

10. Limit on Number of Children

The Children Act prescribes a 'usual fostering limit' of three children. This limit applies to private fostering and local authority fostering. This limit does not apply if all the children are siblings. Placements of three children should not be taken as the norm: the welfare of a child needing a placement may sometimes be best served by being the only privately fostered child in the family.

Only in exceptional circumstances will an exemption to the usual fostering limit be considered.

In cases where a person is privately fostering or proposes to foster privately more than three children who are not siblings at any one time, then that person needs an exemption from the local authority.

The decision to grant an exemption will be made by the Director of Early Help and Childrens Social Care.

11. Disqualification and Prohibition

Disqualification

Certain individuals are automatically disqualified from being private foster carers due to past activities or offences as contained in Disqualification from Caring for Children (England) Regulations 2002.These are anyone who is/has:

Parent of a child who has at any time been subject to a Care Order;
Has had a child removed from his care under a Care Order, deemed Care Order or similar statutory order;
Has been convicted of a specified offence, including any offence involving bodily injury to a child;
Has been refused registration, or had registration cancelled, for provision of nurseries or day care or child minding;
Has been refused registration, or had registration cancelled, in respect of a children's home or voluntary home;
Has been concerned financially or in the management of a children's home or voluntary home where the registration of any person has been cancelled;
Has been prohibited from fostering at any time.

The Regulations require persons who are privately fostering or who notify of their intention to do so to tell the local authority about any disqualifications.

If any information comes to light during the assessment as a result of which the private foster carer is considered unsuitable, for example as a result of the Disclosure and Barring Service checks, which may preclude the person from privately fostering a child, the social worker should advise the parents of the reason for such a conclusion and that alternative arrangements will have to be made for the child. In order to determine the best outcome for the child, a Child and Family Assessment should be undertaken.

If the parents decline to make alternative arrangements or where the parents cannot be found, the social worker should consider whether any action may be required by the local authority to secure the child’s safety under Child Protection Procedures and legal advice should be sought as necessary.

Where the social worker considers that it would be appropriate to approve a private foster carer even though he or she or a person in the household is disqualified, a written report must be discussed with the Head of Service and presented to the Director of Early Help and Childrens Social Care for consideration.

If it appears a person is a Disqualified Person (Private Foster Carer) and should be disqualified, the decision should be made by the Director of Early Help and Childrens Social Care and reasons should be recorded. The decision and reasons should be discussed with Legal Services.

Lifting of Disqualification

The local authority has discretionary powers to lift the disqualification and thus allow the person to privately foster.

These powers should be used only in exceptional circumstances and any consideration given to lifting disqualifications will be subject to the approval of the Director of Early Help and Childrens Social Care having regard to any legal advice having been obtained. In order to make this decision, the Director of Early Help and Childrens Social Care will require the following information:

The date of the offence or Court Order;
The type of offence or Court Order;
The person’s activity and involvement with children since the offence or Court Order;
The background information related to the offence or Court Order.

The Local Authority must be satisfied that the welfare of the child concerned would not be prejudiced by the lifting of the disqualification.

The information required for the decision to be made should be obtained by the allocated social worker and shared with the Head of Service and a report covering the above details should be submitted to the Director of Early Help and Childrens Social Care.

If the Director of Early Help and Childrens Social Care upholds the disqualification, the person should be informed in writing of the reasons, and they should be informed of their right to appeal and the time limits.

Prohibition

The local authority has the power to prohibit individuals from privately fostering children if they are of the opinion that:

The person is not suitable to privately foster a child;
Their premises are not suitable for private fostering;
It would be prejudicial to the welfare of the child for them to be accommodated by that person in those premises.

Local Authorities are encouraged to use the power of prohibition where it is necessary to enforce requirements.

All decisions to issue a Prohibition should be taken by the Director of Early Help and Childrens Social Care in consultation with Legal Services. Legal advice should always be sought when considering imposing a prohibition.

A prohibition must be sent in writing to the person on whom it is being imposed, specifying the reasons and providing information about the right to appeal and the time limit for the appeal. This information should be clearly noted on the proposed/private foster carers electronic file.

The child’s parents should be fully informed and advised to remove the child from the private fostering arrangement. In some circumstances the authority may need to consider taking action to safeguard the child’s welfare e.g., if the parents are not in the country or are in custody.

Persons on whom a prohibition has been imposed are disqualified from private fostering, from carrying on or being employed in a children’s home, voluntary home, day care or child minding. Where it is known a prohibited person is working in one of these settings all reasonable steps should be taken to notify the setting. This may include seeking advice from the Local Authority Designated Officer.

Local authorities may cancel a prohibition if they are satisfied that the prohibition is no longer justified.

In those cases when it is not necessary to prohibit the placement but when a placement has been deemed unsuitable, reasons for the findings should be sent in writing to the proposed/private foster carer and the reasons clearly noted on the proposed/private foster carers electronic file.

The child’s parents should be fully informed and advised to remove the child from the private fostering arrangement.

Cancellation of Prohibition

A prohibition may be cancelled if it is considered that the prohibition is no longer justified. The decision to cancel must be taken by the Director of Early Help and Childrens Social Care in consultation with Legal Services.

In order to make this decision the Director of Early Help and Childrens Social Care will require the following information:

The date of the prohibition;
The reason for prohibition;
The background information related to the prohibition being imposed;
The reasons for considerations being given to the prohibition being cancelled.

Representations Procedure

Representations can be made by carers in relation to requirements, prohibitions, refusal to make an exemption, a condition imposed in an exemption or a variation or cancellation of an exemption. Any challenges will be subject to the same challenge process and timescales.

When a decision is made to impose a requirement, prohibit a private foster carer from caring for a child, refusal of exemption, imposing conditions or variation/cancellation of exemption, written notice of the decision must be sent by the social worker, to the applicant within 7 working days of the decision being made.

The applicant will be advised in the written notice that if he or she wishes to challenge the decision, representations should be submitted to the Director of Early Help and Childrens Social Care in writing via the nominated social worker. The nominated social worker must receive written notification of the carers wish to challenge within 28 days of the date of the written notice of the decision.

If written representations are made within the period, the matter must be referred to the Director of Early Help and Childrens Social Care for further consideration. The nominated social worker will advise the private foster carer within 7 days of the date of this consideration either confirming or amending their previous views.

Written notice of the final decision, together with reasons, must be sent to the private foster carer within 7 working days of the consideration.

Once notice has been given of a final decision to impose a requirement on a foster carer or to prohibit a private foster carer from fostering, the person concerned has 14 days in which to appeal to the Magistrates Court. During this period, the requirement or the prohibition has no effect. The parent must be kept fully informed of this process. This does not apply to a prohibition.

As soon as the social worker receives information that an appeal against a decision is to be made, Legal Services should be notified.

12. Offences

Failure to notify the local authority of private fostering arrangements, breaches of requirements, prohibitions and disqualifications and obstruction of powers of entry may be criminal offences.

If it appears an offence has been committed, legal advice should be taken before any referral to the police is made. Concerns of this nature should be discussed with the relevant Designated Manager (Private Fostering).

13. Visits to the Carers Home – Frequency, Purpose and Records

Frequency

Visits by a social worker must be made to the child and the private foster carer at the home within 7 working days of the placement, or the date when notification was received if later, and then visits will be made at least every six weeks in the first year by a social worker.

In subsequent years, visits must be at least 12 weekly.

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 also 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.

An initial visit to the child must be completed and recorded within 7 days of notification (referral). For those children who are yet to arrive at the proposed private fostering arrangement, an initial visit must be made to the placement within 7 days of the notification and then within 7 days of the child arriving.

Purpose

The purpose of and matters to be discussed at the first visit after the child's placement are set out in Section 4, Initial Visit to Private Foster Carers.

The overall purpose of all visits is to encourage the maintenance and improvement of childcare standards and check that the child's needs are met within the 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 religion, 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;
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 because of any disabilities;
To enquire as to the Contact Arrangements/Family Time 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.

Recording Visits

A record of every visit must be made by the social worker and recorded on LCS. The case must state whether the child was seen and if so, whether the child was seen alone. If the child was not seen, the reasons must be recorded. The record must comment on the child's welfare and how the placement is progressing including any views expressed by the private foster carer and the child. It must also contain a recommendation about the continued suitability of the private fostering arrangement and whether any action should be taken and/or requirements on the private foster carer.

14. Unsatisfactory Care

Where there are concerns about the child's care, the parents should be advised and consideration should be given to invoking the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Children Procedures.

15. Advice and Support

Parents of privately fostered children and private foster carers should receive advice and support from the child's social worker to assist them to meet the needs of children who are privately fostered. Privately fostered children should be able to access advice and support when required so that their welfare is safeguarded and promoted.

Parents may need advice and support to make alternative arrangements for the care of their child if the private foster care arrangements are inappropriate or unsuitable. They may need advice on attachment issues between siblings and between children and themselves and children and their private foster carers.

16. Review of Private Foster Carers

The suitability of the private foster carer should be reviewed annually by the social worker using the Private Fostering Annual Review Form within LCS.

As in all reviews, parents, children and carers should actively be encouraged to participate and contribute to the review and planning process. It is good practice to plan for permanence for all children living away from home.

17. Local Authority Foster Carers who Privately Foster

Where local authority foster carers notify their intention to privately foster a child, the above procedure should be followed.

In these circumstances, a Fostering Social Worker will normally carry out the assessment.

The foster carers should be advised of the differences between their two roles.

Consideration will need to be given to the implications for any Cared for Child already placed with the foster carer and contact should be made by the Fostering Social Worker involved with the social workers for such children.

Consideration should also be given to the future placement of any Cared for Child, particularly having regard to the usual fostering limit of three children.

18. After the Private Fostering Arrangement Ends

Parents have a duty to notify the local authority of the ending of the placement in writing, the following information should be recorded.

Date of Notification;
Name of Person making Notification;
Date Private Fostering Arrangement Ending/Ended;
Reason why the arrangement has ended;
Name, address, and description of new care arrangements for the child or young person.

End