How is privacy managed in staying put foster care?

Privacy in staying put foster care is managed as a balance between the young person’s status as a young adult and the foster carer’s continuing safeguarding duties. The arrangement should set out how privacy will be respected, when information may be shared, and what will happen if a concern about safety arises.

A staying put arrangement is not the same as foster care for a child. The young person normally has greater control over their personal life and decisions, so expectations should be discussed with them rather than imposed without explanation. Their views should be recorded in the staying put agreement and revisited as their circumstances, confidence or support needs change.

Privacy should be considered in practical areas such as:

• access to and use of the young person’s room or other private space;
• how people in the household enter private areas;
• the handling of post, paperwork, medication and personal possessions;
• use of phones, computers, social media and other digital devices;
• who may visit and how visits affect other household members; and
• which household matters are private and which need to be discussed for safety or practical reasons.

The young person should be told clearly who can receive information about them and why. Information may need to be shared with the social worker, leaving-care professional, housing or education professionals, health services, or others involved in providing support. Sharing should be relevant and proportionate, with the young person involved wherever it is appropriate. Personal information should not be discussed casually with neighbours, visitors or people who do not have a legitimate role.

Consent is important, but it does not prevent action where there is a serious safeguarding concern. A foster carer may need to report information about abuse, exploitation, self-harm, missing episodes, serious criminal activity or immediate risk to the appropriate professional or emergency service. The young person should usually be told what has been shared and why, unless doing so could increase risk or obstruct a safeguarding response.

Privacy also applies to records. Notes about the arrangement should be factual, relevant and stored securely. The young person should know what records are being kept, how they contribute to reviews and who may access them. Questions about access to personal information should be directed to the responsible local authority or organisation, as the applicable process can depend on who created and holds the record.

Digital privacy needs specific discussion because household internet connections, shared devices, location settings and social media can create risks that are not obvious. A useful agreement can cover passwords, photographs, online contact, geolocation, visitors found through online platforms and what to do if someone attempts to exploit or threaten the young person. These arrangements should protect safety without treating ordinary adult activity as wrongdoing.

Foster carers should avoid unnecessary monitoring or searches. Any restriction or intervention should have a clear safeguarding reason, be proportionate to the concern and be discussed with the supervising professional. The young person should have a way to question decisions, raise a complaint and speak privately with their social worker, personal adviser, advocate or another trusted professional.

Privacy can become more complicated when other people live in or regularly visit the household. Household members should understand the agreed expectations without being given confidential details that they do not need. The foster carer should also consider the privacy of everyone in the home, including children, while ensuring that this does not unfairly isolate or stigmatise the young person.

The arrangement should be reviewed when there is a significant change, such as a new relationship, a change in employment or education, a health concern, a safeguarding incident, a move within the home or a change in the people using the household. Recording the agreed approach in plain language helps prevent misunderstandings and gives everyone a clear basis for resolving disagreements.

Where privacy and safety appear to conflict, the foster carer should not try to manage the issue alone. They should follow the safeguarding procedure, contact their supervising social worker or the relevant professional, and explain the position to the young person as openly as it is safe to do so. Good privacy practice is therefore not secrecy; it is respectful, limited and accountable information handling that recognises the young person’s adulthood while keeping necessary safeguards in place.