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Private Fostering Practice Guidance (Nov 2025)

Introduction

There are occasions where a child or young person may need to live with people other than their parent(s) or direct members of their family.  Private fostering is when a child under 16 (or 18 if disabled) is cared for by someone who is not a parent or close relative for 28 days or more, by private arrangement. 

The current arrangements for the regulation of private fostering arise from concerns following the death of Victoria Climbie in 2000, Victoria was privately fostered by her great aunt.

Arrangements were initially laid out in Section 66 of the Children Act 1989 and the Children (Private Arrangement) Fostering Regulations 2005 set out the duties of local authorities in their arrangements for private fostering.

Many private fostering arrangements go unreported, often due to lack of awareness among parents, carers and professionals. This guidance has been developed to provide an overview of the legal duty and professional responsibility to notify Darlington Borough Council if you become aware of an arrangement.

Legal Duty

Section 44 of the Children Act 2004 updated previous legislation regarding private fostering and came into force on 1 July 2005. At the same time the Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 1991 were replaced by the Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005. The 2005 regulations are made under the Children Act 1989.

The Department for Education also published National Minimum Standards for Private Fostering which came into force on 18th July 2005. There are 7 standards applying to private fostering which are minimum standards not “best possible” practice.

Local Authorities have a statutory duty to be notified of all private fostering arrangements. This is to ensure the child’s welfare and safety are monitored and allows the Local Authority to assess the suitability of the arrangement and provide support.

Definition

A private fostering arrangement is essentially one that is made privately (i.e. 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 it should last for 28 days or more.

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

A private foster carer may be a friend of the family, the parent of a friend of the child, or someone previously unknown to the child’s family who is willing to privately foster a child.

Examples that ARE private fostering:

  • A 15-year-old girl goes to live with her mother’s friend for 3 months while her mother works abroad
  • A 14-year-old boy is living with his football coach (who is not a relative) for the school term (over 28 days) because his parents have moved overseas
  • A 16-year-old with disabilities is living with a family friend for 2 months while their parents are in hospital
  • A 15-year-old living with the family of a boyfriend or girlfriend
  • A 14-year-old staying with another family because their parents have divorced or separated or their parents study or work which involves unsociable hours or there has been an argument at home

Examples that are NOT private fostering:

  • A child is living with their aunt or grandmother for several months (close relatives—grandparents, siblings, aunts/uncles, step-parents - are excluded)
  •  A child is placed with foster carers by the local authority (this is an official foster placement, not a private arrangement)
  • A 15-year-old stays with a friend’s family for 2 weeks during school holidays (the arrangement is less than 28 days)
  • A child is boarding at a school and returns home during holidays (boarding schools are regulated separately)

Local Authority Duty

Local Authorities have a duty to make sure that children who are, or will be, privately fostered have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. It must have an effective monitoring system in place to track all privately fostered children in their area.

Darlington Borough Council must promote public awareness of private fostering and the requirement for the birth parents or relatives of the child, the prospective private foster carer and any member of the public or professionals to notify the local authority of private fostering arrangements.

All organisations and professionals working with children (health, education, police, voluntary sector etc.) have a responsibility to:

  • Be alert to possible private fostering situations.
  • Inform and advise parents/carers of their legal duty to notify the Local Authority.
  • Notify the Local Authority themselves if they become aware of an arrangement
  • Raise awareness within their own organisation to ensure:
    • Staff are confident in identifying private fostering
    •  Have clear referral pathways and guidance

Further information on Private Fostering Arrangements are available on Darlington Borough Council website [external link]

Notification of a Proposal to Privately Foster a Child

There is a legal duty under The Children Act 1989 stating parents and carers must notify the local authority if their child will be in a private fostering arrangement. This notification should be no less than 6 weeks before the arrangement starts or in the case of an emergency within 48 hours.

Notification of a private fostering arrangement must be made to Darlington’s Children's Initial Advice Team (CIAT) using either of the following methods:

·       Telephone: 01325 406252 or

·       Email: childrensfrontdoor@darlington.gov.uk

 

As a professional, if you are made aware a child is being privately fostered, you must encourage the parent / carer to notify CIAT. If you are not satisfied the parent / carer would notify CIAT about the arrangement, it would become your professional duty to make a referral to CIAT.   

The Role of the Social Worker

Darlington Borough Council will have its own procedures for social workers undertaking private fostering work. Information which may be helpful for other organisations is outlined below.

The social worker will request initial information regarding the private foster carer upon notification. This will include addresses over the last 5 years, the intended duration and purpose of this private fostering arrangement, and the cultural and linguistic background of the child.

There must also be DBS checks undertaken on every member of the private foster carer’s household who are aged over 16. If safeguarding issues are raised the private carer may be disqualified from caring for this child.

If the private foster carer’s own child is cared for by the local authority this would immediately disqualify them from being private foster carers.

The social worker must speak to and, where possible, visit the parents or anyone else with parental responsibility to confirm they have agreed to the private fostering arrangements. They will visit the private foster carer and check they are suitable to be carers for the child. This covers areas such as having the finances to care for the child, meeting their health and education needs, and arranging contact with birth family members.

An assessment will be undertaken of the private foster carer’s ability to meet the needs of the child appropriately. The child will have a separate single (child and family) assessment with an outcome of private fostering which will activate the private fostering pathway on LiquidLogic (Children Social Care’s electronic system).

The private foster carer must inform the social worker if they move house or if there is any other significant change in their circumstances. If they move to another local authority that authority must be informed and will then be responsible for the monitoring of the private fostering arrangement.

The parents will always retain parental responsibility for the child and this cannot be delegated to the private foster carer.

Additional Information - Research and Guidance

·       Darlington Borough Council - Private Fostering [external link]

·       Department for Education – Children Act 1989: Private Fostering [external link]

·       GOV.UK - The Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) regulations 2005 [external link]

·       For more information about private fostering - Somebody Else’s Child website by Coram BAAF [external link]

·       Department for Education - National Minimum Standards - Private Fostering [external link]

·       Child Law Advice – Private Fostering [external link]