Private fostering is when a child under the age of 16 (under 18 if the young person is disabled) is cared for by someone who is not their parent or a close relative. For this purpose, 'close relatives' are defined as grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles or aunts.
People can be private fostering for many different reasons, such as:
- a young person has fallen out with their own family, and lives with a family friend.
- they are a host family for an overseas student at a nearby private school.
- a person's partner has gone away for some reason, and left their birth child with you.
If you - or someone you know - are in a similar situation, and have a young person living with you who is not a close relative, by law, you need to make your local authority aware.
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