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Today, Wednesday 5 November 2025, is National Private Fostering Day.
Private Fostering is often hidden, but it shouldn't be, so National Private Fostering Day gives us an opportunity to shine a spotlight on children who are living away from their families.
We all have a responsibility to spot it, report it and support it, to ensure that every child is seen and supported.
What Is Private Fostering?
Private fostering arrangements often go unnoticed, yet they play a vital role in the lives of many children and young people across Cumberland.
Private fostering occurs when a child under 16 (or under 18 if disabled) is cared for by someone who is not their parent or close relative for 28 days or more. Close relatives include:
- Step-parents
- Grandparents
- Siblings
- Uncles and Aunts (by blood, half-blood, marriage or affinity)
Under the Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2025, key responsibilities include:
- Notification: Carers must inform the Local Authority at least 6 weeks before the arrangement begins, or immediately if made in an emergency
- Assessment: The Local Authority must assess the suitability of the arrangement, including visits to the home, carers, parents, and child
- Monitoring: Once approved, the arrangement is monitored with visits every 6 weeks for the first year, then every 12 weeks thereafter
Examples of children who might be Privately Fostered include:
- Children whose parents are unable to care for them, due to illness or imprisonment
- Children from overseas sent for education or healthcare
- Children living with friends, due to family breakdown
- Teenagers staying with a partner’s family
- Children in long-term school exchanges or boarding school holidays
- Unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors
This list is not exhaustive and reflects the diverse scenarios Private Fostering can cover.
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All professionals working with children, young people and their families should:
- Be familiar with the definition of Private Fostering and the Local Authority’s responsibilities
- Promote Private Fostering in your agency with your staff and the public, through the use of the CSCP posters and leaflets
- Consider private fostering when reviewing family circumstances or living arrangements
- Advise parents and carers of their duty to notify the Local Authority
- Make a referral to the Cumberland Children Advice and Support Service (CCASS), if there is concern that notification has not occurred
CCASS can be contacted via:
- A new adult is regularly collecting a child or young person from school or appointments
- A child talks about staying with someone else long-term
- Family breakdown or absence of parents
- Unclear living arrangements or legal status of the child
Further Support
For further support or more information about Private Fostering, please visit:
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