Kinship

It's good to see the UK Government progress with its work to reduce child poverty, particularly given the prevalence of poverty amongst #KinshipFamilies. It's vital their experience and expertise forms part of the Government's engagement plans. 👨👩👦 https://loom.ly/TquEo2g #KinshipCare and poverty are inextricably linked. A lack of support often acts to compound the already precarious financial circumstances for kinship carers, and they will go enormous lengths to insulate their children from the effects of this. 🏠 Kinship households are more likely than parental households to be deprived across all measures and include people who are economically inactive. Kinship care is particularly prevalent in areas of the country with high levels of deprivation and poverty. 📍 https://loom.ly/IvbS2dw Our own research identifies the stark experiences of poverty for #KinshipFamilies. Our #MakeOrBreak report found that kinship carers were four times more likely to have had a bill they weren’t able to pay in the last month, and 8% were using food banks because of the cost of living. 💳 https://loom.ly/NA538cQ Our #ValueOurLove campaign is pushing for policy changes which would help to reduce child poverty amongst those living in #KinshipFamilies, including financial allowances and paid employment leave for #KinshipCarers. 💛 https://loom.ly/HnxgxvM We look forward to supporting the work of the Cabinet Office, Department for Work & Pensions and the Department for Education as they move forward with the development of the Child Poverty Strategy and will seek to ensure it considers the children being raised in #KinshipCare. 🧒

During #KinshipCareWeek, the Department for Education published new #KinshipCare statutory guidance for local authorities in England. 📄 But what's new, and what does it mean? ❓ Read our new post to learn more about the guidance and other recent announcements which aim to improve policy and practice in #KinshipCare. https://loom.ly/Vj7sPjA Remember - you can keep up to date with the current status of #KinshipCare policy in England by visiting our kinship care policy tracker. Learn more about our verdict and what we think should happen next across a range of policy areas: https://loom.ly/eTR2jO0

Today, the UK Government has announced that the forthcoming Budget on Wednesday 30 October will include £44 million funding to support kinship and foster carers in England. This will include "trialling a new kinship allowance in up to 10 local authorities to test whether paying an allowance to cover certain costs – like supporting a child to settle into a new home with relatives – can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends". https://loom.ly/Q172hII Responding to the announcement, Chief Executive of Kinship, Dr Lucy Peake, said: "We are pleased that the Government has made a commitment to trialling a new kinship allowance so that more children can be raised in well-supported kinship care with family and friends who love them, delivering better outcomes for children and for the public purse than the care system. "We look forward to further reforms to children’s social care which should ensure that all kinship families get the financial, practical and emotional support they need and deserve." Please note that we do not have any further details at this point on the kinship allowance trial, including which type of kinship carers will be eligible, which local authorities are involved, or how the allowance will be delivered. We look forward to seeing further details in the Budget and will share these with you as soon as they are known. Today's announcement follows a commitment made by the previous Government in the National Kinship Care Strategy last year to deliver a financial allowances pathfinder in up to 8 local authorities.

A huge thank you to our host of local and national organisations for attending our Kinship Roadshow in Leeds this week!    John Lewis Partnership (Building Happier Futures Programme), BARCA-Leeds, Leeds Libraries, Leeds SENDIASS, Leeds Parent Carer Forum and BookTrust. 🎉   By supporting our Kinship Marketplace, they were able to connect with kinship carers, offer resources, signposting and advice. We look forward to working with you again at our future events!     Our Leeds Kinship Roadshow was delivered to a group of 67 wonderful kinship carers as part of our training and support service. On the day, kinship carers took part in bespoke workshops designed to support them in their caring role, and connected with local organisations offering support by browsing the Kinship Marketplace.    📍 Our Kinship Roadshows are taking place all over England – see what locations are now available for kinship carers to book: kinship.org.uk/events    📧 Would you like to be part of our Kinship Marketplace? Get in touch: networks@kinship.org.uk 

The @NAOorguk's report published today on England's special educational needs (SEN) system highlights the need for urgent reform. ❗ https://loom.ly/ZAa81PA This is crucial for #KinshipFamilies too. Our #Forgotten report, published in August, revealed that nearly half of children in #KinshipCare have a special educational need or disability, with social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH) particularly common. 🧒 Kinship children were over three times more likely to have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan that all pupils. However, this is far fewer children than would be expected given their SEN prevalence is similar to that for children looked after in local authority care. 📈 As such, this gap between need and formalised support means the ongoing crisis in the SEND system is likely to be disproportionately disadvantaging children in kinship care. 👨👩👦 Read more about what we found and our recommendations for change: https://loom.ly/HnFPBOU Additional educational and mental health support for children in #KinshipCare is a key ask for our #ValueOurLove campaign. 💛 Find out more about the campaign and how you can support: https://loom.ly/HnxgxvM

Today, Kinship has published the summary of a report into the experiences of #KinshipCarers from Black and Asian communities, based on findings from a research project with the Rees Centre Department of Education, University of Oxford supported by the KPMG Foundation. The research, led by Priya Tah from the Rees Centre aims to deepen understanding about the experiences of kinship families from Black and Asian Communities. As the focus on #KinshipCare grows, findings will be used to ensure that services (led by Kinship and others), policy and practice are more attuned to the needs of Black and Asian kinship carers. While the full report, Raised by Relatives: the experiences of Black and Asian kinship carers, will be published later in the year, to mark #BlackHistoryMonth Kinship has launched the executive summary of the report and co-hosted a webinar led by Kinship Trustee beverley barnett-jones in which the researchers discussed their key findings. Learn more about the report: https://loom.ly/x6nEcTQ

This is Jahnine Davis. She's the Government’s new National Kinship Care Ambassador. Welcome! 👋 Jahnine started in the role during #KinshipCareWeek and has already been meeting #KinshipCarers at Kinship support groups and in Parliament over the last couple of weeks. She has lived experience of #KinshipCare and has over 20 years professional experience in children’s rights and participation work, in both the charity and statutory sectors - so she knows her stuff. Her job is to advocate for #KinshipFamilies within Government, and help local authorities in England improve their services – something we continue to call for as part of the #ValueOurLove campaign. 💛 The Ambassador role was first announced as part of the last UK Government's first ever Kinship Care Strategy for England, which was a landmark moment - and a big #ValueOurLove campaign win. It’s great to see Jahnine hitting the ground running and we’re keen to work closely with her. Jahnine will be an important advocate for all kinship families so let’s make her feel welcome and help her understand the situation for kinship carers today. You can read more on the role of the National Kinship Care Ambassador here: https://loom.ly/_WEfywM

Bobbie-Jo is a member of Kinship’s Advisory Group and a #KinshipCarer to her nephew aged two in Wales. This Black History Month Bobbie-Jo shares her reflections on the importance of equitable recognition and representation for #KinshipCarers of different and diverse backgrounds. 💛 “The reason I first reached out to Kinship was because I was looking for help in a situation where I felt there wasn't any. My journey to #KinshipCare was challenging and painful with the options for my nephew of African descent being adoption…or me. Despite being visible, present and willing to be assessed as potential kinship carers, my mother and I were not recognised, considered or addressed as a viable option. It was difficult to accept at first, but it became consistently clear that assumptions were being made about who we were perceived to be, rather than who we were. We recognised the treatment because we had experienced similar treatment before. The disrespect was tangible, misplaced and discriminatory. It had no place in the process to secure a safe and loving future for our voiceless family member. Our contributions were dismissed and instead of working with us to develop the best options for my nephew, the process became infected with fear and mistrust. The heritage of a child is intrinsic to their identity, wellbeing and sense of belonging. We simply hoped that we could be part of the solution to help sustain the bonds for my nephew to understand who he is and to become all that he can be. His mum and dad got it. They knew that if they couldn’t bring him up themselves, that they would want him to be safe, secure and loved as part of his family, with them both in his life. Read the rest of Bobbie-Jo's reflections on our website: https://loom.ly/rCsjMjM On Wednesday 23 October at 11.00am, Kinship is hosting a webinar to share findings from our research with the Rees Centre on the experiences of Black and Asian kinship carers. You can register here: https://loom.ly/6R7-1Zs

Apply for a job that makes a difference to the lives of #KinshipFamilies. Join the Kinship team 🌟 We’re on a mission to empower #KinshipCarers across England and Wales through our innovative National Peer Support Service. We are looking for compassionate individuals to help build supportive networks that truly make an impact. 💛 Here are the roles available at Kinship: 🟣 Senior Peer Support Development Officer - North West England, full time 🟠 Senior Peer Support Development Officer - London and the South East England, full time 🟡 Peer Support Development Officer - South East England and the M4 Corridor, part time 🟣 Peer Support Development Officer - Greater London, part time 🟠 Peer Support Development Officer - Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire, part time If you’re passionate about fostering community, organising inclusive events, and ensuring kinship families have access to vital resources, we want to hear from you! Together, we can create lasting change. 💪 Visit our website for more details on current opportunities: https://loom.ly/Y6xe97Q ✅

“I’ll fight everyday for children in kinship care and kinship carers. I’ll be a voice for you. You will not be forgotten by this Government.” “I know how long you’ve been waiting, and I know it’s frustrating. You are valued critical friends to this Government. I want you to push us.” These are the words of Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson who was speaking at our #ValueOurLove campaign reception in the Houses of Parliament yesterday. She ultimately makes the decisions on support for kinship families. She spoke in front of a packed room of over 170 people including #KinshipCarers, those raised in #KinshipCare, MPs and Government Ministers including Children's Minister Janet Daby, Members of the Lords and other important guests. The event was a real success. MPs met with kinship carers who spoke passionately about what needs to be done to improve support for kinship families. There was a positive energy in the room – with many MPs keen to find out how they could help the campaign.💛 Kinship carer Sarah gave a heart-wrenching speech on the struggles her family have gone through on their kinship care journey. Poppy, whose open letter to Bridget Phillipson amassed over 7000 signatures earlier this year, shared her story of growing up in kinship care and what a lack of support meant for her and her grandmother. Sarah and Poppy both challenged the Education Secretary and the new UK Government to do more for #KinshipFamilies. That’s why the Education Secretary’s words are so important. She now has the power to make change happen and we will hold her to her words. We will wait to see what action is to come, but in the meantime, we’ll continue to push and to pressure for change. Children in kinship care and their families desperately need financial and therapeutic support, and kinship carers need paid leave from work. Together we’re raising our voices and saying enough is enough. If you’ve not already, join the #ValueOurLove campaign: https://loom.ly/YeVmGJI