Kinship care: what it is and how it applies

Kinship care is a term used when a child is raised by a family member or friend because their parents aren't able to care for them. That might be a grandparent, an aunt or uncle, an older sibling, a family friend or a neighbour, and the reasons are as varied as the families themselves.

The arrangement we have makes a real difference to the support we can get. Some of us have an informal arrangement within the family, with no court order. Others are kinship foster carers, approved by the council to look after a child in its care. Many have a special guardianship order (SGO) or a "lives with" child arrangements order (CAO), both made by a court, which give us parental responsibility. A smaller number go on to adopt. If we're not sure which applies, the child's social worker, if they have one, or a kinship advice service can help us work it out.

Our recent Mobilise Moment survey revealed that 123 of us in the Mobilise community are raising a relative's or friend's child, 56 hold a special guardianship order and 39 have an informal family arrangement, while 12 are approved kinship foster carers, nine hold a child arrangements order and seven weren't sure which arrangement applies. The child lives with nine in ten of us full time and with the rest of us some of the time.

Mobilise exists to support the 5 million people in the UK who give unpaid help to a family member, partner or friend because of a long-term health condition, disability, mental health need or problems related to old age. Kinship carers usually fall outside this focus. Their situation is defined by the child's living arrangements and legal status, and they tend to deal with children's services, court orders and kinship allowances rather than adult social care. That said, if the child has additional needs, is struggling with their mental health or has a long-term illness or disability, the person raising them is also giving the kind of unpaid care Mobilise does support. In the same survey, we learned 47% of respondents were also looking after an adult with health or care needs and a further 28% were raising a child with additional needs or a disability, so three in four have a caring role of the kind Mobilise supports alongside raising the child.

What our council should tell us about kinship caring

Every council in England is expected to publish a "kinship local offer", which sets out the help available to kinship families in that area. This came in with the Department for Education's kinship care statutory guidance, published in October 2024 and updated in October 2026. 

The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on the 29th of April 2026, now backs this up by law and requires councils to publish their offer. The Act also means councils must offer a family group decision-making meeting before care proceedings begin.

A good offer explains the support and money available under each arrangement, how to ask for it and where to go for advice. The easiest way to find ours is to search online for our council's name and "kinship local offer". If it's hard to follow, it's reasonable to ask the council's children's services team to talk it through with us.

A clear offer would answer something many of us said we were missing. When we were asked what one thing would have made the early days easier, around a fifth of the written answers were about information, advice or signposting. One carer wanted "being told what help was out there instead of having to find out for myself", and another wished for signposting to additional support once the social worker was no longer involved. A kinship foster carer who felt confident about the financial support they were getting still said that proper financial advice and guidance on contact with the child's parents would have helped, because "we were left to get on with it." Another carer was a couple of months into the arrangement and still hadn't met a supervising social worker to explain what was happening.

Money and the kinship allowance pilot

Financial support varies a great deal depending on the arrangement and where we live. Kinship foster carers receive a fostering allowance, while those of us with an SGO or CAO may or may not get an allowance from the council, often means-tested and set locally.

That variation shows in how confident we feel. In the survey, 55% of us disagreed that we feel confident we're getting the financial support we're entitled to, including 39% who strongly disagreed, while 28% agreed. Confidence was lowest among those of us in informal family arrangements, where 72% disagreed (28 of 39), compared with 52% of those with a special guardianship order. Of the 12 approved kinship foster carers, eight agreed and two disagreed, although that group is small.

Financial support was also the most specific thing we asked for when we were asked about the early days, appearing in around a quarter of the written answers. Some of us described the gap in practical terms, such as the carer who needed help with additional food costs and bills, and the one who had cut their working hours because they were the only earner in the household. Another carer explained:

"After you get the SGO you're just left, no support, no advice and any money you do get doesn't go anywhere near covering the costs."

One carer said that what would have helped most was "equality of status with fostering."

In February 2026 the Department for Education announced a £126 million pilot to test paying kinship carers an allowance equal to what foster carers receive. It's running in seven council areas, known as Kinship Zones: Bexley, Bolton, Newcastle, North East Lincolnshire, Medway, Thurrock and Wiltshire. The allowance follows the fostering national minimum allowance, so the amount depends on the child's age and region. It's aimed at carers with an SGO or CAO who are raising children who would otherwise be in care. 

The pilot is expected to reach around 5,000 children over up to three and a half years, and any wider rollout will depend on how it goes. If we live in one of the seven areas, our council should be getting in touch with eligible families, or we can click here to find out more about the Government’s plans.

Wherever we live, there may be national benefits too. Child Benefit can usually be claimed by whoever the child lives with, and Guardian's Allowance may be available on top if one or both parents have died. Taking on a child can also change what we're entitled to through Universal Credit, so it's worth asking a kinship advice service or benefits adviser for a full check, especially as council allowances can affect other entitlements.

Support with school

Children who come to live with us have often been through a lot, and that can show up at school. Every council has a virtual school head, who has long championed the education of children in care, and since September 2024 that role has covered children in kinship care too. The 2026 Act puts this on a legal footing, with a duty on councils to promote the educational achievement of children in formal kinship arrangements, whether or not they've spent time in care.

The virtual school can offer information and advice, and help the child's school understand what they need. It can help to speak to the school's designated teacher first and ask them to link up with the virtual school. Children who left care through an SGO or CAO may also qualify for pupil premium plus, extra school funding that isn't available to every child in kinship care.

Schooling was a worry for some of us in the survey. One grandparent whose grandchild came from another council area described the support they received as "very hit and miss", and the child had very little schooling for over three years.

Juggling work

There's still no legal right to paid leave for kinship carers, as there is for adoptive parents. Research from the Kinship charity found that three in four kinship carers were in paid work just before taking on a child, and only 3% were able to take paid leave.

Some existing rights can help. Most of us can ask for flexible working from our first day in a job, and we can take reasonable unpaid time off for an emergency involving the child. If we have parental responsibility, we may be able to take unpaid parental leave. 

The government has published guidance for employers on supporting kinship carers, which is worth sharing with a manager or HR team. Employers including Tesco, B&Q and Lloyds Banking Group offer paid kinship leave through the Kinship Friendly Employer scheme. Kinship carers are also included in the government's review of parental leave and pay, which began in July 2025.

In the Mobilise Moment survey, some of us said that time away from work would have made the early days easier. One carer asked for leave "like adoption or maternity leave" to spend time bonding with the child and establishing new routines, and another simply wanted employers to be more understanding.

Changes that might be coming

The law is under review, so things could look different in a few years. In July 2026 the Law Commission published provisional proposals for England and Wales, including a new kinship care order to replace SGOs and CAOs in kinship situations, and a "kinship parental responsibility  agreement" to make it easier for carers without a court order to sign school or medical forms. None of this has happened yet, and proposals can shift a lot before they become law, so it's worth keeping an eye on the Kinship charity's news pages.

Where to get advice

Talking to someone who knows kinship care well can save a lot of time and worry. In England and Wales, the charity Kinship runs a free advice line, online guides and peer support groups, including a government-funded offer of training and support. The rules differ across the UK, and much of the above applies to England only. In Scotland, Children 1st runs the Kinship Care Advice Service. Welsh councils follow their own guidance, and in Northern Ireland, Kinship Care NI offers advice and support.

Around one in ten of the written answers in the survey asked for someone to talk to or for contact with other kinship carers. One carer said they felt "alone and isolated", and another wanted "knowing that there were other people going through similar situations." Some asked for respite care, childcare or a nursery place, help with housing and start-up equipment, with one carer describing children who arrived with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. Again, our kinship local authority offer, the Kinship charity's advice line and its peer support groups are the places where several of these requests can be taken up.