This informal CPD article ‘Kinship Care: The Hidden Care System’ was provided by Kinship Circles Training, a UK-based organisation that provides specialised training and educational support for kinship carers.
Kinship care is as old as family itself. Across generations, families have stepped in during times of crisis to care for children when parents are unable to do so. This may be due to bereavement, mental health difficulties, addiction, domestic abuse, imprisonment, or other circumstances that leave parents unable to safely care for their children.
Many people do not realise that anyone can become a kinship carer. Family members and trusted adults often make difficult decisions to keep children connected to people, places, and relationships that are familiar to them.
Understanding Kinship Care
Current estimates suggest that more than twice as many children are living in kinship care arrangements as in foster care in England and Wales (1). Yet despite this, many people — including professionals and carers themselves — still do not fully understand what kinship care is.
Part of the challenge is the complexity surrounding the language and legal arrangements linked to kinship care. “Kinship carer” is not always a title that families identify with. Across the country, carers may be described as:
- Connected foster carers
- Kinship foster carers
- Family and friends foster carers
- Special Guardians
- Child Arrangements Order carers
- Informal carers
Many carers are grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, or close family friends simply stepping in to care for children they know and love. Because of this variation in language and arrangements, many carers do not initially recognise themselves as “kinship carers,” and professionals may not always identify families as living within kinship arrangements. This creates what can often feel like a hidden care system.
Challenges of Kinship Care
Once legal arrangements are finalised, many families may have less ongoing involvement from Children’s Services. However, the challenges facing families do not necessarily disappear. Children living in kinship care may continue to experience trauma, grief, instability, and emotional uncertainty. They may have experienced separation from parents, disrupted education, loss of relationships, and sudden changes across multiple areas of their lives (2).
At the same time, carers are often navigating major life changes with little preparation or support. A child arriving in a kinship household can affect the entire family system. Family dynamics can change rapidly. Existing children within the home may also experience emotional and practical changes as routines, relationships, and family roles adjust.
Many carers are required to make significant sacrifices. Some reduce working hours or leave employment in order to care for children who arrive unexpectedly within their family network. Current policy discussions continue regarding support and employment rights for kinship carers (3). Financial hardship, overcrowding, legal processes, assessments, contact arrangements, and changing family relationships can all emerge simultaneously.
These challenges rarely happen gradually. Families are often required to manage multiple emotional, practical, legal, and financial pressures at the same time while supporting children who may be experiencing trauma and instability. There have been increasing discussions regarding improving identification and visibility of kinship children within education systems and wider services (4).
Questions Moving Forward
However, important questions remain moving forward. What about children who are not attending school due to trauma, exclusion, anxiety, or unmet needs? What about children in early years settings, elective home education, or those who move between family arrangements? How are these children identified, understood, and supported?
Recognition cannot begin and end with data collection alone. It requires professionals across education, health, social care, early years, and community services to understand what kinship care is, how it impacts families, and why early recognition and support matter.
Without that understanding, many children may continue to fall between systems — not because services do not care, but because no single system holds the full picture. Kinship care is not rare. It is simply often unseen.
We hope this article was helpful. For more information from Kinship Circles Training, please visit their CPD Member Directory page. Alternatively, you can go to the CPD Industry Hubs for more articles, courses and events relevant to your Continuing Professional Development requirements.
REFERENCES
(1) Department for Education (2023). Stable Homes, Built on Love: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/childrens-social-care-stable-homes-built-on-love
(2) Department for Education (2024). Kinship Care Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf
(3) Family Rights Group (2024). Understanding Family and Friends Care: https://frg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/FFC-The-largest-UK-survey.pdf
(4) Department for Education (2024). Children’s Social Care and Kinship Care Developments: https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Progress%20and%20future%20direction%20of%20Children%E2%80%99s%20Social%20Care%20reform%20%281%29.pdf
