What training is available for kinship carers?

Training for kinship carers is usually provided by the local authority or a specialist kinship support organisation, with content matched to the child’s needs and the legal arrangement in place. It may be offered before the child moves in, during an assessment or approval process, and at later points when circumstances change.

The training available can include:

• Understanding the kinship carer role: what responsibility involves, how it differs from being a parent or family member, and how to work constructively with the child’s parents, social worker, school and other professionals.
• Safer caring and household boundaries: practical guidance on privacy, supervision, visitors, sleeping arrangements, online safety and managing contact between children and adults.
• Supporting identity and relationships: helping children maintain appropriate links with relatives, understand their history and develop a secure sense of identity without placing them in the middle of adult disagreements.
• Health, education and development: recognising unmet needs, communicating with schools and health professionals, attending appointments and advocating for the child.
• Contact arrangements: preparing for visits or other communication with parents and relatives, responding to difficult contact and recording concerns to share with the relevant professional.
• Practical care and emergencies: guidance on first aid, medication, household safety, transport, routines and what to do if the child becomes unwell or there is an immediate safeguarding concern.
• Looking after the carer’s capacity: recognising stress, identifying sources of practical help and planning how other family members will be involved in the arrangement.

Some training is delivered as a group course, while other support may be provided through one-to-one discussions, home visits, online learning, written guidance or meetings with the child’s social worker. A group course can help carers learn from other relatives in similar situations, whereas individual sessions allow questions about the child’s history, behaviour and family circumstances to be considered in more detail.

The legal status of the arrangement affects both the training offered and the responsibilities explained. A kinship foster carer may need preparation linked to fostering approval and the fostering service’s procedures. A special guardian or someone caring for a child under a child arrangements order may receive different guidance, particularly about decision-making, parental responsibility, contact and the support available after the order is made. Informal carers should ask the local authority what advice and safeguarding support they can access, even where no formal order has been made.

Training should not be treated as a one-off requirement. Further guidance may be appropriate when a child’s behaviour changes, contact becomes difficult, a new diagnosis is identified, the child moves school, another child joins the household or the arrangement is reviewed. Ask whether refresher sessions, peer support, a named worker or specialist advice are available after the initial course.

Before attending, it is useful to prepare specific questions about the child’s routines, known triggers, important relationships, education, health needs and plans for contact. Keep copies of training materials and record any agreed actions. If the guidance given is unclear or appears inconsistent with the child’s plan, raise this with the social worker or support service so that responsibilities are confirmed in writing.

Kinship carers in Birmingham, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Dudley, Sandwell, Herefordshire, Telford, Wolverhampton, Shropshire, Walsall, Warwickshire, Stoke, Solihull, Coventry and Gloucestershire can ask their local authority or regional support provider what training applies to their particular arrangement. The most suitable programme will depend on whether the carer is being assessed, already approved, caring under a court order or providing informal care.