Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to encourage (a) children’s services, (b) educational institutes and (c) health services to direct all new kinship carers to (i) charities dedicated to kinship care, (ii) bereavement services and (iii) other appropriate sources of support.

The department is working across government to improve awareness and access to support for kinship carers. Through the Children’s Wellbeing and School’s Bill, we are enshrining the first definition of kinship care in law and mandating local authorities to publish their kinship local offer, increasing their accountability for ensuring kinship families are getting the information they need.

As set out in statutory guidance in October 2024, local authorities must publish the support and services local authorities should provide to kinship families in a clear, accessible way. The publication should also provide information about charities dedicated to kinship care that practitioners in children’s services, educational institutes and health services can signpost kinship carers to.

The department funds the charity Kinship to deliver over 140 peer support groups and a training package that all kinship carers across England can access. As part of their role, Kinship works with multi-agency partners to ensure that kinship carers are aware of and can access the support they need through these contracts.

Finally, the Children’s Social Care National Framework applies to those who work in and with local authority children’s social care and sets a clear expectation that ‘leaders will know and signpost to the support kinship cares and children in kinship care are eligible for’. Educational institutions and health services therefore share this duty.