PST

About post-18 living arrangements

Changes in the law across the UK have led to the development of arrangements known as Staying Put in England, When I am Ready in Wales and Continuing Care in Scotland (which is accessible from age 16). Northern Ireland has its own arrangement for caring for a young person aged 18-plus called Going the Extra Mile. 

Key points to consider

• Foster carers should have access to a variety of support provided by their fostering service, such as formal supervision, peer support, out-of-hours support, respite care services and access to independent support.

This brief guidance outlines some key issues for fostering services and foster carers to consider when accessing support networks.

This information page provides an overview of work with kinship carers in England, and outlines the five main ways in which arrangements are made and monitored:

Assessment, approval and support 

Family and friends foster carers are approved local authority foster carers who have been assessed in relation to their suitability to care for a named child or named children only, and this should be reflected in the terms of their approval. However the fostering assessment should follow the two stage process outlined in the fostering regulations and statutory guidance Assessment and Approval of foster carers.

Principles 

The following principles apply in terms of kinship care throughout the UK:

In England and Wales permanence has been defined in legislation as 

“The long-term plan for the child’s upbringing and provides an underpinning framework for all social work with children and their families from family support through to adoption. The objective of planning for permanence is therefore to ensure that children have a secure, stable and loving family to support them through childhood and beyond and to give them a sense of security.”
Children Act 1989, Guidance and Regulations Vol. II: care planning, placement, and case review (June 2015).

About annual reviews

In England and Wales a review of foster carers’ approval must take place not more than a year after approval, and thereafter whenever the fostering service provider considers it necessary, but at intervals of not more than a year. In England and Wales fostering regulations make it clear that the first review must go back to the fostering panel. After that, there is no legal requirement for a review to go back to panel, although the fostering service can choose to do so.