Private fostering

Is your child living with someone else? Or are you looking after someone else's child, full-time for more than 28 days?

If so you could be 'private fostering' and you need to let the council know.

What is private fostering?
Private fostering is different from what is usually known as foster care organised by the council. 

It is an arrangement whereby a parent (or guardian) arranges for their child or children to live with someone who is not a close relative such as a step-parent, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt for 28 days or more.

It only applies to children under the age of 16 years, or 18 if the young person is disabled.

Private fostering arrangements are made for a variety of reasons such as:

It is estimated that more than 15,000 children in England and Wales are privately fostered – but many people are unaware that they are involved in a private fostering arrangement, or that the law says they must notify the council.

If you have this type of arrangement you must contact:

Children social services customer contact centre
Tel: (020) 8825 8000
Office hours: 8am-6pm 

What we will do
The council has a legal duty to check that the arrangement is safe and suitable for the child, and that they are well cared for during the time they are being privately fostered.

We will:

We don't want to interfere in what is working well. Our aim is to provide support and advice to ensure that the private arrangement goes as smoothly as possible. However, we cannot help if we are not aware of the arrangements.  If you are in any doubt as to whether the regulations might apply to you, you should seek advice from the children's social services customer contact centre.

If you are aware of someone in your area who privately fosters a child, please advise them to contact the council.

What parents should do
If you are a parent, or anyone else involved in making the private fostering arrangements, you must inform the children's social services department in the area your child will be living. It is a legal offence not to do so.

As the parent (or guardian) you still retain parental responsibility for your child throughout the time they are being privately fostered, even though your child is not living with you.

It is very important that you and the private foster carer agree on how the child will be cared for. You should also provide the private foster carer with as much information about your child as possible, including their:

Any financial arrangements should be agreed between the parent and the carer.  You must also ensure that you are involved in all the major decisions concerning your child.

What you should do if you are looking after someone else's child

If the parent hasn't done so, you must notify the children's social services department that you will be caring for someone else's child.  You must do this even if you do not receive payment for being a private foster carer.

When a child leaves your care, the council must be told, stating why, and giving the name and address of the person into whose care the child has moved to.

Notify us
If you think you are already, or are about to be, making a private fostering arrangement, we need to hear from you. Please telephone (020) 8825 8000 or visit one of the children's social services reception points.