How to spot a privately fostered child - checklist

Do you know of a child being privately fostered?

Sometimes it can be hard to tell. Whether you’re a neighbour, teacher, nurse or anyone else who has contact with children there are some signs to look out for.

Use our checklist to see if you would spot them.

Which of the following could be signs of a privately fostered child?

In the neighbourhood:

A child you don’t know suddenly appears next door

A child you know from the neighbourhood suddenly disappears

Your neighbour has lots of different children staying with them at different periods in time

At school:

One of the parents at your school has turned up with a ‘niece’ or ‘nephew’ who is staying with them for a little while.

A child in your class suddenly disappears without warning

A child in your class mentions that they are staying with a stranger or distant relative

In the doctor's surgery:

A patient turns up with a child you haven’t seen before.

A patient turns up with many different children on a regular basis that they refer to as a ‘nieces’ or ‘nephew’.

A child mentions that the person they are with is not their parent.