Recognising and Assessing Private Fostering Arrangements

Where a child under 16 years is a pupil at an independent school or sports academy and lives at the school during school holidays for a period of more than 2 weeks, s/he should be regarded as a Privately Fostered child.

The person who proposes to care for one or more children at the school will be treated as a Private Foster Carer. They must give written notice to Bolton Council giving the estimated number of children concerned and not less than 2 weeks before the arrangement commences.

Bolton Council may exempt any person from giving notice - for a specific period or indefinitely. Exemption may be revoked at any time by notice in writing.

Where a child ceases to be Privately Fostered the school shall give written notice to Bolton Council.

Where a Privately Fostered child dies the school must notify the parent, person with Parental Responsibility and Bolton Council immediately.

On other occasions a parent may make arrangements for children from abroad who are being educated in this country, to be cared for by friends or family or 'host' families during weekends and school holidays. These arrangements may constitute Private Fostering if they are to be for more than 27 days during a year and are not with relatives as defined by the Children Act 1989.

Guardianship organisations who arrange placements with host families have a duty to notify the Children's Services in the area in which the host family lives if the placement is intended to last for more than 28 days. Bolton Council key relationship is with the Private Foster Carer in these circumstances and not the organisation.

When an organisation arranges a summer school where children are to stay either at the school or with host families for 28 days or more this constitutes a Private Fostering arrangement and Bolton Council should be notified.

Children attending language schools, that are cared for by 'host families' for a period of 28 days or more, should be regarded as a Privately Fostered and Bolton Council should be notified.

Children often come to this country on cultural exchanges arranged by their schools. In these circumstances children often stay with 'host' families and these arrangements may come under the remit of Private Fostering.

The schools arranging these visits should formally notify the Children's Services in whose area the host family resides prior to the arrangement starting.

Children sometimes come to this country to access medical treatment and are sometimes unaccompanied. Parents or other organisations may have made arrangements for the child's care which constitutes Private Fostering. The parent and organisation have a duty to inform Bolton Council, but it is expected that health professionals will alert Bolton Council in these circumstances.

As a general rule where a notification is received in relation to any of the above circumstances, procedures should be followed as for any other Privately Fostered child.

A Private Foster Carer is liable for their own insurance and should be advised during the assessment period to inform in writing their 'home contents' insurers of the Private Fostering arrangement. The Privately Fostered child should be included under the public liability insurance clause.

Advertising by and for Private Foster Carers is permitted provided the advertisement indicates that the arrangements proposed constitute Private Fostering and state the name and address of any person proposing to arrange or undertake the Private Fostering arrangement.

This guidance should be applied to all children with a defined disability up to the age of 18. Private Fostering arrangements for children with a disability should be assessed using the same processes. Where a child is in receipt of services from the children with disabilities team the assessment should be carried out by workers from that team. Where there is no involvement from Bolton Council, the Private Fostering Arrangement will initially be assessed by the Assessment Team. Depending on the severity of the child's disability it may be that the case is transferred either to the Looked After Children’s team or the Children With Disabilities Team.

A disabled child who has been Privately Fostered after the age of 16 years qualifies (even if he is no longer Privately Fostered) for advice and guidance until the age of 21 years in the area in which he is resident. Children's Services may advise, assist and befriend the young person if they request such support. Assistance may be in exceptional circumstances include financial support. This support will be provided by the Leaving Care Team.

There may be occasions when children become Privately Fostered because a parent has died and the other partner has no legal responsibility for the child or is not a relative as defined by Section 105 (1) Children Act 1989. In these circumstances if the intention of the surviving partner is to continue to provide care for the child, they should be advised to seek legal advice in relation to either a Child Arrangement Order or a Special Guardianship Order.

Bolton Council should make every effort to identify and contact the parent, a close relative as defined by the Children Act 1989 or someone with Parental Responsibility. Bolton Council should consider and assess this as a Private Fostering Arrangement until the conclusion of legal proceedings.

If the surviving partner does not wish to provide care and there are no relatives who can assume the parenting role, then it is likely that Care Proceedings would need to be issued.

In all circumstances, these cases should be discussed in full with the Team Manager, District Manager and where agreed, Legal Services.

See Children and Young People Aged 0-25 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Procedure.

Where an unaccompanied child is identified as living in, or about to enter, a Private Fostering arrangement a notification should be made to Bolton Council.

Bolton Council should make every effort to identify and contact the parent, a close relative as defined by the Children Act 1989 or someone with Parental Responsibility. Where a suitable person cannot be identified it is likely that Care Proceedings will need to be initiated.

Cases such as these, should be discussed in full with the Team Manager, District Manager and where agreed, Legal Services.

See Unaccompanied Migrant Children and Child Victims of Trafficking and Modern Slavery Procedure.

Private Arrangements for Fostering Regulations (2005) Regulation 3 require that:

• Any person who proposes to privately foster a child must notify Bolton Council of the proposal at least 6 weeks before the date on which the Private Fostering arrangement is to begin or immediately if the arrangement is to start inside 6 weeks or has already started;
• Any person, parent or person with Parental Responsibility who is involved in arranging for a child to be Privately Fostered must notify Bolton Council at least six weeks before the arrangement is due to start or as soon as possible after the arrangement is made if this arrangement is to start within six weeks or has already started;
• A parent or person with Parental Responsibility for a child who is not involved in arranging for the child to be Privately Fostered but who knows that it is proposed must notify Bolton Council as soon as possible after they become aware of the arrangement.

Notifications of proposed, perceived or existing Private Fostering arrangements may arrive in writing or a telephone call from a parent, prospective or existing private foster carer or from a worker. The notification must include as much of the following information as possible:

• Name, sex, date and place of birth, religious persuasion, racial origin, cultural and linguistic background of the child;
• Details of the child's school, GP, dentist, health visitor where applicable and any other service provided to the child;
• Details of the child's health needs or any prescribed medication the child requires;
• Name and current address of the child's siblings and details of arrangements for the siblings care;
• Name and current address of any other individual who is currently caring for the child, and addresses over the previous 5 years;
• Name and current address of the proposed or current Private Foster Carer and addresses over the previous 5 years;
• Name and current address of parent(s) of the child and addresses over the previous 5 years;
• Name and current address of any other person with Parental Responsibility for the child and addresses over the previous 5 years;
• Date on which it is intended the Private Fostering arrangement will start or on which date it started if it has already commenced;
• Intended duration of the Private Fostering arrangement;
• Name, address and contact details of the referrer if the notification is made by a worker and the reason for them making the referral at this time;
• Whether any criminal offences committed by the Private Foster Carer or others living in the household;
• Whether the Private Foster Carer has previously had children removed from their care or has been unregistered as a child minder or as a manager of a residential children's home;
• Information about other children Private Foster Carer provides care for (including their own) with particular reference to any child protection involvement.

Notifications that are received from professionals relating to Private Fostering arrangement, the consent of parents or those with Parental Responsibility in respect of making enquiries can be waived. Workers making notifications should be followed up in writing using the Bolton Integrated Front Door referral form. Good practice would be to encourage the worker making the notification to inform the known parties that they have made the notification and the reasons for this.

All notifications of actual or proposed private fostering arrangements meet the threshold for social work intervention. A privately fostered child is a ‘Child in Need’ (s17 C.A. 1989).

At this point electronic records for the child and the private foster carer or carers will be created if this does not already exist.

All children proposed to become or is currently subject of a private fostering arrangement previously unknown to Bolton Children Services, a child and family assessment must be completed.

For a child not already in receipt of services from a Bolton social work team, the notification will be taken by the Integrated Front Door team and the assessment will be completed by a Social Worker in the Assessment Team.

A child already in receipt of services from a social work team the notification will be taken and assessed by the team providing services, this includes those children open to the Children with Disabilities Team.

A child who has a disability but is not in receipt of services from Children with Disabilities Team, the notification will be taken and assessed by the Integrated Front Door Team initially - it may be that the assessment will be completed jointly between the Integrated Front Door Team and the Children with Disabilities Team.

The Local Authority must assure itself that people proposing to or already acting as private foster carers are suitable people to do so. In order to do this the Local Authority will make a number of enquiries and have discussions with a range of agencies.

In accordance with The Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005 on receiving a notification of an actual or potential Private Fostering arrangement a Social Worker must complete the following actions within 7 calendar days:

• Review ICS to establish if any of those identified have been previously known to Bolton Council;
• Undertake an initial visit to the premises where it is intended the child will be Privately Fostered or where the child is already being fostered. This should be recorded as an Initial Visit (Private Fostering) and recorded under the Private fostering tab on the child’s ICS file;
• Speak with the Private Foster Carer and all members of the household making sure to confirm and record details of all members of the household, including children already living at the home;
• Speak with the child whom it is proposed will be Privately Fostered, alone unless the Social Worker considers this inappropriate (an interpreter should always be used where the child's preferred language is not English);
• Speak to and, where possible and practical, visit the parents or person with Parental Responsibility for the child to gather their views about the private fostering arrangement;
• Discuss the need to contact other practitioners or organisations for information to inform the assessment;
• Contact the home authority if the child has moved from another Local Authority area and seek historical information from services in that area.

To assist the Social Worker to complete the necessary information gathering and statutory checks to assess the private fostering arrangement the following documents are to be shared and completed within 7 calendar days of the notification being received.

The following are to the shared and completed with the parent or person with parental responsibility:

• Letter to parent confirming receipt of the notification and their intention to make, or have already made, a Private Foster Carer arrangement (see Appendix 1.1: Confirmation Letter to Parents);
• Parent and Carer Guide to Private Fostering (see Appendix 1.4: Parents and Carers Information About Private Fostering);
• Consent form for parent or person with parental responsibly (see Appendix 1.5: Consent Form to Seek Information from Relevant Agencies).

The following are to be shared and completed with the prospective private foster carers:

• Confirmation letter – Private Foster Carers (see Appendix 1.2: Confirmation Letter to Private Foster Carers);
• Consent Form to seek information from other agencies and references (see Appendix 1.5: Consent Form to Seek Information from Relevant Agencies);
• DBS Application Form (also for any other household members over 16 years of age) (see Appendix 1.6: DBS Application Form);
• Letter to GP (see Appendix 1.7: Letter to GP);
• Medical Reference (see Appendix 1.8: Private Fostering Applicants – Medical Reference);
• Letter to other Local Authority (in the event the child is normally resident or has been resident in another authority) (see Appendix 1.9: Letter to Other Local Authority);
• Letter to Health Authority (see Appendix 1.10: Letter to Health Authority);
• Letter to Probation (see Appendix 1.11: Letter to Probation);
• Pet questionnaire (if needed).

There is a leaflet to be shared with the child or young person during the initial private fostering visit (see Appendix 1.13: Young Person’s Guide).

The Initial Visit to See the Child

On receipt of a notification of an existing private fostering arrangement, the social worker must complete an initial visit to see the child within 7 calendar days. From the enquiries made and the initial visit the social worker is required to establish the following:

• Wishes and feelings of the child, including their understanding of the arrangement, the reasons for it, how long it will last and how they feel about it;
• Intended duration of the arrangement and that the timescales are understood by all parties including the child;
• Immediate ability of the proposed Private Foster Carer to look after and meet the needs of the child;
• Immediate suitability of other members of the proposed Private Foster Carers household;
• Arrangements for family time (contact) between the Privately Fostered child and their parents, siblings or anyone else significant in their life and these are understood by all parties;
• Suitability of the proposed accommodation including the sleeping arrangements for the child, and the health and safety of the property;
• Financial arrangements for the care and maintenance of the child have been discussed and agreed;
• Necessary steps have been taken to ensure the education and health of the child;
• It is clear and agreed by all parties how decisions are made about the day to day care of the child, including where there may be a need to make emergency or urgent decisions;
• Need for additional advice, support or services by the child, Private Foster Carer, parent or person with Parental Responsibility;
• Review any written agreements between the Private Foster Carer and the parents;
• Confirm sight of relevant documents which prove those making the arrangements have Parental Responsibility and authority to do so, in particular the child's birth certificate and Residence Orders / Child Arrangement Order or equivalent;
• Confirm sight of documents that confirm the child's details, particularly where the child is from abroad, in particular seeing the child's passport, travel documents and/or identify papers;
• Any issues in relation to the fostering limit.

Where Private Fostering arrangements have been made and are in place without the prior notification to Bolton Council consideration should be given as to whether the parent or person with Parental Responsibility should resume care whilst further assessment is undertaken.

Clearly this decision will be influenced by a number of factors including how long the child has been living with the Private Foster Carer, the relationship and attachment between the Private Foster Carer and the child, and the child's wishes and feelings.

Whatever decision is taken it should be clearly recorded on the child and Private Foster carers records along with the reasons for reaching the decision. This decision should be endorsed by a Team Manager. If a decision is made for a child to remain with Private Foster Carers during the assessment process, the child's social worker must ensure the child is visited on a weekly basis pending the outcome of the Assessment.

If the initial information indicates that the current Private Fostering arrangement is not safe or the child may be suffering, or at risk of suffering, Significant Harm then child protection processes should be initiated and the immediate safety of the child addressed. If there is a concern that a person with parental responsibility is utilising a private fostering arrangement in response to the local authority’s concerns of the welfare of their child in their care, legal advice must be sought.

Where the initial information gathering and visits identify the proposed arrangement may be unsuitable, consideration should be given as to whether any requirements, prohibitions or disqualification should be urgently implemented without any further assessment being completed. For further information on using these processes refer to Appendix 2: Requirements, Prohibitions and Disqualifications.

Once the child and family assessment and the private fostering assessment have been completed by the social worker, the social worker will make a recommendation about the suitability of the placement and about the need for imposing requirements on a placement or for prohibition of an unsuitable person.

The local authority does not have the power to approve private fostering placements but does have the power to prohibit a person from privately fostering or to impose requirements on the private fostering arrangements. Please refer to Appendix 2: Requirements, Prohibitions and Disqualifications for the circumstance where a private fostering arrangement can be prohibited, or requirements can be imposed on the placement. Legal advice should be sought by a social worker and team manager if this is required.

On completion of the assessment, it will be the responsibility of the relevant Team Manager to consider the assessment of the Private Foster Carer or carers and the proposed Private Fostering arrangements. It will be their responsibility to authorise the assessment decision. Where they may have concerns about the suitability of an arrangement, particularly where there may be existing requirements, they should discuss the matter with their Head of Service. In these cases they should jointly reach a decision about the suitability of the arrangement.

Within 2 days of the assessment authorisation by the Team Manager, the assessment requires ratification by the Head of Service. Within 2 working days of the HOS ratification of the assessment, the Looked After Children Team will be alerted to the case transferring. Within 7 working days of the ratification by the Head of Service the child’s case will transfer to the Looked After Childrens Team for the monitoring of the private fostering arrangement going forward.

If the assessment indicates that the proposed arrangements made for the care and accommodation of a child will be not suitable (or that the arrangement for a child who is already Privately Fostered is not suitable) requirements will be imposed on the Private Foster Carer. If appropriate, steps can be taken to prohibit the arrangement. In both cases the Private Foster Carer, the parents or those with Parental Responsibility for the child should be informed in writing.

If at any point during the assessment or approval stages it becomes evident that an offence has been committed in relation to Private Fostering the police should be notified and a Strategy Meeting convened as soon as possible. Appendix 4: Offences Associated With Private Fostering provides further information about offences related to Private Fostering.

The Private Foster Carer and the parents, or those with Parental Responsibility for the child, should be informed of the outcome of the approval in writing within 5 working days, where necessary advised of their right to appeal and how to do this.

Where a Private Foster Carer does not agree with the outcome of the assessment, the requirement or prohibition they have a right to appeal.

Where a Private Foster Carer may dispute the contents, accuracy or outcome of an assessment they also have a right to make a complaint. This should be made using existing complaints procedures for Bolton Council.

Where there is an appeal about a requirement or prohibition, this should be made by the Private Foster Carers, to the family proceedings court within 14 working days of being advised.

Private Foster Carers must notify the local authority of certain changes of circumstance. Preferably this should be done in advance or within 2 working days of the change happening. These notifications should be made in writing and can either be via email or letter. Text is not acceptable. The information should be recorded on ICS accordingly in the child's and the Private Foster Carer's electronic record.

The following notifications are required:

• Any change of the Private Foster Care address;
• Any person who begins or ceases being a member of the household;
• Any new conviction, disqualification or prohibition of any person living in the household or employed in the household;
• If the Private Fostering arrangement ends, stating the name and address of the person into whose care the child has moved;
• Death of the Privately Fostered child. In this case the carer must also notify the parent or person with Parental Responsibility.

In the event that the Private Foster Carer has moved with the Privately Fostered child to another area, or a Local Authority area in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, the social worker must notify the receiving authority in writing and the following information provided:

• The name and new address of the Private Foster Carer;
• The name of the child who is being Privately Fostered;
• The name and address of the child's parents or person with Parental Responsibility;
• Any particular health or education needs of the child; it may be relevant to share information in relation to the Assessment and any review.

The social worker should ensure that all relevant agencies, including the home authority (where relevant) and individuals are made aware of any changes in circumstances for the child.

Where a Privately Fostered child is identified as being missing with their Private Foster Carer the usual process for alerting agencies locally and nationally of a missing child should be initiated and the District Manager notified.

The parents or person with Parental Responsibility of Privately Fostered children are required to notify the Local Authority if they intend to end of the Private Fostering arrangement. The notification to end the arrangement should include the name and address of the persons into whose care the child has moved and their relationship to the child. These notifications should be made in writing and can either be via email or letter. Text is not acceptable.

The information should be recorded on ICS in the child's and the Private Foster Carer's electronic record and clearly show the ending of the arrangement.

Social workers should advise and assist parents / person with Parental Responsibility in planning the child's return home or to alternative carers. Wherever possible such moves should be planned and the child prepared for the move.

The social worker must inform other statutory agencies including the home Children's Services (where relevant) of the ending of a Private Fostering arrangement, the new address, carer details and their relationship with the child.

If a child dies, the Private Foster Carer must immediately notify the parent and social worker of the death. If this is a sudden death the police will be involved and Sudden Unexpected Death Of Child (SUDC) procedures will be initiated.

The social worker should inform their manager and District Manager of the child's death. Contact should be made with the carer and parents to offer support and advice.

Local Safeguarding Children's Partnership Procedures should be consulted in respect of the required response to unexpected child deaths:

• LSCP 16 Serious Case Reviews;
• LSCP 36 Sudden Unexpected Death of a Child.