Kinship care local offer

Family networks in kinship care

When there are concerns about a child’s welfare or safety, we will always explore options within the child’s extended network for short - or long-term care.

Parents can continue to play an important role in their child’s life and remain a vital part of the wider kinship family.

Kinship care often brings significant changes to family relationships, requiring parents, children, and carers to adjust to new roles and responsibilities while learning how to work together in the child’s best interests.

Family Group Decision Making is the umbrella term for ways of working that bring families together to make decisions and plans for children, with support from professionals where needed.

Where children and families in kinship arrangements are supported by Children’s Social Care, they can access Family Network Meetings and/or Family Group Conferences to help families come together, plan support, and make decisions in the child’s best interests.

Family network meeting

A family network meeting is led by the Kinship Team or the child's social worker. It brings together family members and people who are important in the child’s life. The aim is to work together to create immediate support plans that help children be cared for safely within their family network.

These meetings focus on:

  • understanding what the child/family needs to best care for the child
  • identifying how family members can offer support
  • putting early support in place as quickly as possible

Family group conference

A family group conference is a family led meeting. Families are supported to develop and review their family plans, ensuring they meet the ongoing needs of the child, kinship carers, and parents. The meeting is facilitated by an independent Family Group Conference Co-ordinator.

Family Group Conferences aim to:

  • support carers to provide long term, stable care
  • prevent relationship breakdowns within the family
  • involve birth parents in support arrangements where it is safe and appropriate
  • help families work together in the child’s best interests

Families are given time and space to make their own plans, with professionals offering guidance and support when needed.

Where families are experiencing high levels of conflict or would find it difficult to come together in the same space, family mediation may be offered. Mediation can help families communicate more effectively, address concerns safely, and prepare everyone to take part in a family meeting in a way that feels more manageable and constructive.

Navigating complex family relationships

When kinship carers take on the care of someone else’s child, it can have a significant impact on wider family relationships. Carers often step into the role suddenly, balancing loyalty to the child with long standing relationships with the child’s parents and other family members.

Changes in roles and boundaries can create emotional strain, feelings of guilt, divided loyalties, and tension within the family, particularly where there are differing views about parenting decisions. Supporting a child’s time with their parents can be complex and challenging for kinship carers, who are often required to manage family time arrangements while prioritising the child’s safety, emotional wellbeing, and stability. This can place carers in a difficult position, especially where relationships are already fragile or where there are unresolved family issues.

Attending kinship care support groups can be a valuable way to talk through these challenges, share experiences, and hear from others who are in similar situations.
To join the mailing list and hear about upcoming support groups, please get in touch with the Kinship Care Team at SGOsupport@cumbria.gov.uk.

Supporting family time

It can be hard for children to understand why they no longer live with their parent, especially when decisions have been made by a court. Helping children spend time with their family in a way that feels safe, positive, and supportive is really important for their feelings, their sense of who they are, and their understanding that they still belong to their family.

Life story work 

Life story work helps children understand what has happened in their lives and why certain decisions were made, especially when they first come into care. As children grow, it is natural for them to have new questions about their family, their history, or why they live where they do. Kinship carers play an important role in responding to these questions in an open, honest, and age appropriate way, helping children make sense of their experiences and feel secure, understood, and supported.

If kinship carers are worried that a child may be finding it hard to understand their life story, or that this is having a significant impact on their emotional wellbeing, they can seek advice and support from the Westmorland and Furness Kinship Team, sgosupport@cumbria.gov.uk.

Additional help, guidance, and training can also be offered through kinship care support groups or accessed through the national kinship care charity, to support carers in having these important conversations with children.

Facilitating family time

Kinship carers have told us that family time can place a significant strain on the wider family, particularly where arrangements feel difficult to manage or when the frequency of family time does not feel right for the child. Any time a child spends with their parents should always be in the child’s best interests and support them to maintain important relationships in a way that feels safe, supported, and emotionally manageable.

Where a child is being cared for with the involvement of the Local Authority, it is important that kinship carers feel able to be open and honest about any challenges family time may be creating for the child. Sharing these concerns will not jeopardise the outcome of an assessment. Instead, it helps social workers understand what the child needs, offer the right support, and work together with the family to plan safely and positively for the future.

Where a court order is in place that sets out how often a child should spend time with their parent, and a kinship carer is worried about the impact this is having on the child, there are options. If the kinship carer holds parental responsibility, they may review how the arrangements are working and make changes to the frequency or duration to better meet the child’s needs. In these circumstances, carers do not usually need to return to court, but advice can be sought from the Kinship Team or professionals supporting the family.

Where a child has siblings who live with foster carers or adoptive families, the Kinship Care Team can help to signpost carers to adoption support services and advise on who can help with managing and supporting sibling contact.

Kinship carers have also shared practical ideas that they have found helpful when managing family time, including:

  • using a separate phone to communicate with parents, particularly where communication can feel difficult or overwhelming
  • asking another trusted family member or friend to help arrange or support transport and plans
  • agreeing costs for activities with parent/s in advance, or planning free or low cost activities where finances may be a challenge
  • preparing children for contact on social media and supporting safe boundaries if parents reach out directly

Carers are encouraged to seek support if family time is feeling difficult. You do not have to manage this alone, and help is available to support both the child’s wellbeing and the wider family relationships. Some carers find it helpful to attend kinship support groups, where they can hear from others about how they have managed family time. If challenges persist, carers are encouraged to contact the Kinship Team for further support: sgosupport@cumbria.gov.uk.

How best to support family time

There are different levels of supervision for family time. These may be recommended, or put in place if needed, to help keep children safe and support their health and wellbeing. As children grow and situations change, kinship carers may also need to make decisions in the future about what level of support feels right for the child.

Unsupervised family time

Unsupervised family time is when the child spends time with their parent on their own, without a worker present.

Facilitated family time

Facilitated family time is when someone safe and trusted helps organise or support the start or end of the time together but does not stay throughout. This support can include quietly checking that everything feels safe and settled before the child spends time with their parent.

Supervised family time

Supervised family time is when a worker stays with the child and parent during their time together to help keep everyone safe and supported.