Ten top tips for the Police Force

Identifying and notifying private fostering arrangements

1. Know the legal definition of private fostering

   Private fostering is when a child under the age of 16 (under 18 if disabled) is cared for by someone who is not their parent or a 'close relative'. This is a private arrangement made between a parent and a carer, for 28 days or more. Close relatives are defined as step-parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles or aunts (whether of full blood, half blood or marriage/affinity).

   There is a duty on the part of parents and prospective carers entering into private fostering arrangements to notify their local authority. This is in order to safeguard and protect the child’s welfare as well as ensuring that the child, carer and parent are receiving appropriate support and help.

   Follow guidance about 'What to do if you are worried a child is being abused' published by the Department for Education.

2. Know what to do if you suspect that a child is privately fostered

   In your daily work you may come across a situation where you suspect that a child is privately fostered. Discuss this with the child’s carer and, if it is a private fostering arrangement, encourage them to notify the local authority. If you believe they are unlikely to follow your advice, request their permission to contact the local authority yourself. If consent is not given (or where you suspect a child is privately fostered when you are being told otherwise) you should notify the local authority children’s services duty team. Where the child is of an appropriate age and understanding, you should consult with them and, if possible, obtain their consent.
   View a case study

   If you believe that urgent action is required because you suspect the child is being harmed/is at risk of significant harm (including suspecting that a child may be a trafficked child):
   • Consider using statutory Child Protection powers;
   • Refer to children’s social care and initiate a strategy discussion (follow your local Child Protection procedures);
   • See the child before deciding on the best way to protect them.

   Follow guidance about 'What to do if you are worried a child is being abused' published by the Department for Education

3. Be clear about confidentiality

   Are you worried about breaching confidentiality? If, after advising the child’s carer to notify the local authority of a private fostering arrangement, you believe that they have not done so or are unlikely to do so, by contacting the local authority you are ensuring that the child’s welfare and safety come first. A child in a private fostering arrangement who is not brought to the attention of the local authority is a child who may be in need or at risk of harm. You will be acting appropriately by informing the local authority. Be aware that some carers or parents may be anxious about having the local authority involved in their private arrangement. Reasons for this include a fear of racism, concern that the local authority may consider the arrangement unsuitable, because they have something to hide or simply because they think that it’s nobody’s business but their own.

4. In your encounters with children and young people, look for signs that a child or young person might be privately fostered

   Consider the following:
   • Is the child under the age of 16 (or 18 if disabled)?
   • Has the child mentioned that they are no longer living at home or living with someone else?
   • Is it clear who the child is living with, and what relation that person is to the child?
   • Has the child come from overseas? If so, do you know the purpose of their visit and their living arrangements? Are they accompanied by their parents? Is the child here for the purposes of education?
   • Could the child or young person be an unaccompanied asylum seeker? (An unaccompanied minor who is not in local authority care may be living in a private fostering arrangement.)
   • Could the child be a trafficked child?
   • Is there anything unclear on existing records about the child’s living arrangements?

5. When you visit the child or young person’s home, consider the following:

   • Are you clear about who the members of the household are and their relationship to the child?
   • Are any household members known to the police and might they constitute a risk to the child?
   • How much does the carer know about the child’s needs, routines and whereabouts? Do they seem vague?
   • Does the physical condition of the home / the number of occupants / the general standard of care give rise to concerns about the child’s welfare?

6. Ascertain who has parental responsibility for the child

   One way of ascertaining the relationship between the child or young person and the person who looks after them is to ask the latter whether they have parental responsibility (PR) for the child. A private foster carer does not have parental responsibility.
   • Who is looking after the child and what is their relationship to the child?
   • Do they have parental responsibility for the child? Can they provide documentary evidence?
   • Ascertain who does have PR, their relationship to the child, their whereabouts and whether they have given their agreement to this arrangement.
   • Do not confuse a privately fostered child with a child who is ‘looked after’ and is in local authority foster care.

7. Be alert to signs that a child may have been trafficked

   Trafficked children are particularly vulnerable and will often be reluctant to disclose details of their living arrangements. Consider the following questions. Does the child:
   • Appear not to have any money but has a mobile phone and/or is expensively dressed?
   • Possess money and goods not accounted for?
   • Exhibit self assurance, maturity and self-confidence not expected in a child that age?
   • Have a prepared story very similar to those that other trafficked children have given?
   • Show signs of physical or sexual abuse, and/or has contracted a sexually transmitted infection, or has an unwanted pregnancy?
   • Have a history which has missing links and unexplained moves?
   • Go missing for periods that are unexplained?
   • Appear to be malnourished?
   • Appear to be misusing alcohol, drugs or other substances?
   • Live with adults who are not their parents and with whom they do not appear to have a good relationship?
   • Appear to have limited freedom of movement?
   • Work very long hours and appear very tired?
   • Live with a number of other unrelated children?
   • Appear not to be registered with a GP or enrolled in a school?
   • Show disengagement with school activities?
   • Appear excessively frightened of being deported?
   • Dress in a manner inappropriate for her age?
   • Have a boyfriend much older than her?
   • Regularly get picked up by adults who wait for them?
   • Self-harm, including cutting self and overdosing?
   • Appear to have an eating disorder;
   • Appear to be sexually promiscuous?
   • Appear to have been brought into the country illegally for the purposes of adoption?
(ref: Safeguarding children you may have been trafficked, DCSF 2008)

8. Identify private fostering arrangements through liaison with children’s social care, education, health, housing and other services

   In liaison with local services, use your knowledge of private fostering to alert other professionals of signs that a child may be privately fostered. Be particularly alert to any signs that a child may be trafficked. Keep private fostering to the fore when liaising with housing, benefits agency, youth offending teams, home office and immigration department. Invite the local authority private fostering officer to meetings in order to help raise awareness about private fostering and forge professional links. Attend multi-agency LSCB training. Ensure that you and your colleagues know how to contact the local authority private fostering officer and duty teams.

9. Consider the child or young person’s needs

   • If the child’s first language is not English, do they need an interpreter?
   • If the child has been trafficked or is an unaccompanied asylum seeking child, does the child need urgent medical / psychological assistance?
   • Could the child’s circumstances make it difficult for them to disclose information about their living arrangements to a Police Officer?

10. Know what happens after you notify the local authority

    When the local authority receives notification about a private fostering arrangement they must arrange for an officer to visit within seven working days. The officer must see the premises, interview the child, carer and all members of their household, and at least speak to the parents. The local authority must carry out an assessment to ensure that the private fostering arrangement is suitable and can meet the welfare needs of the child. If the arrangement is deemed unsuitable, the parents may have to make alternative arrangements. In some cases this can mean the child coming into care. Where the arrangement is deemed suitable, the local authority must continue to visit and monitor the arrangement for as long as it continues.