Details required of private fostering
Tuesday, 23rd February 2010.
If you are fostering a child under a private arrangement, Suffolk County Council want you to tell them about it.
This week sees the launch of the national campaign to get people to tell their council if a child is being cared for under a private fostering arrangement.
The county council says people in Suffolk should have great confidence in the council’s service to support these children, as Suffolk’s services are judged 'outstanding' by national inspectors, Ofsted.
Private fostering applies to children under 16 (or 18 if they have a disability).
The call to action is part of a national campaign called Somebody Else’s Child, which is run by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering, and aims to raise awareness of private fostering.
As many as 10,000 children may be privately fostered in the UK. Private fostering may be chosen for many reasons - parents may study or work in another city or serve with the Forces abroad.
There are also children brought into the UK without their parents, in the hope they will have better life chances, and teenagers estranged from their parents who are sleeping on someone else’s sofa.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are unaccompanied young people under 16 who are attending sporting academies, language schools, boarding schools, or are visiting from overseas, staying with people who are not close relatives for over 28 days.
It is feared that some of these ‘invisible’ children could be at risk of abuse, or victims of trafficking.
From 1 April, 2009, to January 31, 2010, there were 99 notifications of new arrangements, an increase from 57 for the whole previous year.
Of these 99 notifications, 63 have become actual private fostering arrangements and have been assessed under the Private Fostering Regulations 2005. There are 44 current cases open in Suffolk.
Cllr Graham Newman, portfolio holder for children, schools and young people, said: “I hope everybody will be reassured Suffolk’s work with private fostering is excellent.
"So if you or anyone you know is involved in this sort of arrangement, you can contact the council to let us know with great confidence.
"Most private fostering is very beneficial for the child involved, but there are some which may be less so, or even dangerous, and that’s why we need to know.
“Research tells us that it is unlikely that all private fostering arrangements in Suffolk have been notified to Social Care.
"We are therefore concerned that there may be some vulnerable children in this area whose welfare is not being checked or supported by the local authority. None of us can afford to let these children down.”
For further information and advice contact Customer First on: 0808 800 4005, or visit Suffolk County Council’s website at www.suffolk.gov.uk or Suffolk Safeguarding Children Board at www.suffolkscb.org.uk.
This week sees the launch of the national campaign to get people to tell their council if a child is being cared for under a private fostering arrangement.
The county council says people in Suffolk should have great confidence in the council’s service to support these children, as Suffolk’s services are judged 'outstanding' by national inspectors, Ofsted.
Private fostering applies to children under 16 (or 18 if they have a disability).
The call to action is part of a national campaign called Somebody Else’s Child, which is run by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering, and aims to raise awareness of private fostering.
As many as 10,000 children may be privately fostered in the UK. Private fostering may be chosen for many reasons - parents may study or work in another city or serve with the Forces abroad.
There are also children brought into the UK without their parents, in the hope they will have better life chances, and teenagers estranged from their parents who are sleeping on someone else’s sofa.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are unaccompanied young people under 16 who are attending sporting academies, language schools, boarding schools, or are visiting from overseas, staying with people who are not close relatives for over 28 days.
It is feared that some of these ‘invisible’ children could be at risk of abuse, or victims of trafficking.
From 1 April, 2009, to January 31, 2010, there were 99 notifications of new arrangements, an increase from 57 for the whole previous year.
Of these 99 notifications, 63 have become actual private fostering arrangements and have been assessed under the Private Fostering Regulations 2005. There are 44 current cases open in Suffolk.
Cllr Graham Newman, portfolio holder for children, schools and young people, said: “I hope everybody will be reassured Suffolk’s work with private fostering is excellent.
"So if you or anyone you know is involved in this sort of arrangement, you can contact the council to let us know with great confidence.
"Most private fostering is very beneficial for the child involved, but there are some which may be less so, or even dangerous, and that’s why we need to know.
“Research tells us that it is unlikely that all private fostering arrangements in Suffolk have been notified to Social Care.
"We are therefore concerned that there may be some vulnerable children in this area whose welfare is not being checked or supported by the local authority. None of us can afford to let these children down.”
For further information and advice contact Customer First on: 0808 800 4005, or visit Suffolk County Council’s website at www.suffolk.gov.uk or Suffolk Safeguarding Children Board at www.suffolkscb.org.uk.
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