Private fostering

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

If you are planning to or already looking after someone else’s child for 28 days or more, you must notify the council. You must do this even if you do not receive payment from the parent for being a private foster carer.

When a child leaves your care, the council must be told. You will need to tell us why the child has moved and provide the name and address of the person into whose care the child has moved to even if this is the parent.

Contact the council’s children’s services on telephone: 020 8825 8000.