What private fostering is
Section 66 of the Children Act 1989 defines a privately fostered child as a child under 16 who is cared for and given accommodation, in the carer’s own home, by someone other than:
- a parent
- a person who isn’t a parent but has parental responsibility
- a relative
For a disabled child, the age limit is 18 rather than 16.
The child is not privately fostered if the carer has looked after them for less than 28 days and doesn’t intend to do so for longer (section 66(2)). So the clock starts with intention: a family friend who agrees to take a child “until the end of term” is privately fostering from day one if that will be 28 days or more.
Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) 2026 repeats this definition (paragraphs 417 and 418). Part one lists a privately fostered child among the children staff should be particularly alert to as possibly needing support before statutory intervention, such as Family Help (paragraph 18). Working Together 2026 does the same (paragraph 141).
Who counts as a relative
Section 105 of the Children Act 1989 defines a relative as a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt, of the full blood, half blood or by marriage or civil partnership, or a step-parent.
So a child living with these people is not privately fostered:
- grandparents
- aunts and uncles, including by marriage
- adult brothers and sisters, including half-siblings
- a step-parent
But a child living with these people can be:
- cousins
- great-aunts, great-uncles and great-grandparents
- a friend’s family or a family friend
- a boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s family
- a host family for a language or exchange student
Common situations that schools see
KCSIE says arrangements may come to school staff’s attention through their normal contact with children (paragraph 418). Situations to listen for include:
- a child who has moved in with a friend’s family after falling out with a parent
- a child whose parents work or live abroad, or are in hospital or prison, staying with a family friend
- a child sent to the UK for education and living with someone who isn’t a close relative
- a teenager staying with a boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s family
- an overseas pupil living with a host family
KCSIE also notes that a homestay for an exchange visit can amount to private fostering under the Children Act 1989 (paragraph 416).
Schools themselves are exempt while a child is in their care: a child is not privately fostered while in a school where they get full-time education (Schedule 8, paragraph 2). The exception is a boarding pupil under 16 who stays at school for more than two weeks of the holidays, who is then treated as privately fostered. The person caring for them at the school must give the local authority written notice at least two weeks before, unless the local authority has exempted them (Schedule 8, paragraph 9).
What the school must or should do
There are two different duties, depending on whether the school was involved.
If the school is not involved in the arrangement, KCSIE says it should notify the local authority when it comes to the school’s attention, so the local authority can check the arrangement is suitable and safe (paragraph 419). DfE’s statutory guidance for local authorities says education professionals should notify where they aren’t satisfied the local authority has been, or will be, told.
If the school is involved, directly or not, in arranging for a child to be privately fostered, it must notify the local authority as soon as possible after the arrangement is made. The notification must be in writing and contain the information in Schedule 1 of the Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005 (paragraph 419, and regulation 3(2)). This can apply to schools that organise host families for overseas pupils or exchanges.
The carer and the parents have their own legal duties to notify the local authority. A proposed carer must give at least six weeks’ notice, or notify immediately if the arrangement starts sooner (regulation 3). Failing to give notice without a reasonable excuse is an offence (section 70).
Once notified, the local authority must arrange for an officer to visit the home, speak to the carer and household, and see the child, alone if appropriate, within seven working days (regulations 4 and 7).
A simple process for the DSL
- At admission, ask who the child lives with and their relationship to the child. Ask again when contact details change mid-year.
- Check the relationship against the section 105 list. If the carer isn’t a parent, a person with parental responsibility or a close relative, and the arrangement is for 28 days or more, it’s private fostering.
- Ask whether the local authority knows. Encourage the carer and parents to notify it themselves.
- Notify the local authority if you aren’t satisfied it has been, or will be, told. Use your local authority’s private fostering contact or children’s front door.
- Record it on the child’s safeguarding record, with the date and who you told.
- Keep it under review. A privately fostered child may also need support for other reasons, and the arrangement may change.