Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council – Kinship Support
Redcar and Cleveland’s Kinship Team offers support to all kinship carers including informal kinship carers, kinship foster carers and special guardians.
The Kinship Team is made up of four experienced supervising social workers - Chloe Parkinson, Emma Wilson, Kim Fisher and Lisa Winspear. When you contact the service, you’ll always speak directly to one of them.
The team offers advice, information and tailored support. This includes:
- Guidance for carers considering or holding a Special Guardianship Order (SGO). They offer advice around issues like ‘contact’ or ‘challenging behaviours’. The team can also provide direct support to children and young people outside of the home when needed. They can go into schools or local community settings to work with the child, helping them manage feelings, cope with challenges, and improve their emotional wellbeing.
- Advice and one-to-one support – any kinship carer can call and speak directly to a member of the team for advice and guidance
- Training - open to all kinship carers and includes topics like managing challenging behaviour, understanding attachment, or caring for children with trauma.
- Signposting to other agencies for help with benefits, services, and wider family support.
- Therapeutic parenting programmes for carers parenting children affected by trauma, attachment difficulties or early loss. (for eligible Adoptive and Special Guardian families only).
- Peer support – all kinship carers can take part in free activities throughout the year like, family fun days and day trips, and are invited to the Kinship Carer Support Group.
Peer support group
The Kinship Carer Support Group, is facilitated by the Kinship Team, but very much led by its members. The group meets monthly on a Friday 10am – 12pm at 25K Youth & Community Centre, Ayton Drive, Redcar. It is designed to offer all kinship carers the opportunity to come together and gain information as well as peer support in a safe and friendly environment. There is always a social worker present if you want to talk to them, and guest speakers like therapists and educational specialists are sometimes invited to offer support and advice.
Angela, kinship carer says:
"It's a place where we can let off steam, take a break, get advice and connect with people who've been through the same thing."
Emma Dakin Team Manager says:
"Kinship care can be one of the most rewarding things you can do but it isn’t without its challenges and sacrifices. One of the biggest challenges for carers is shifting from being a grandparent, aunt, or uncle to taking on a parent role, and then also managing the emotional attachment to your own child, the parent of the child in your care.
“Carers don’t need to feel like they’re failing if they contact us as a team for help. We want carers to reach out and access support. It can be very isolating and carers often worry about ‘Am I doing this right?’ especially if the child is still unsettled after several years living with a family member. Peer support can be a real lifeline for many people.”
To speak to a member of the team or find out more about peer support call 07909 906446 or e-mail kinshipduty@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk
Additional useful information about SGOs
What is an SGO?
An SGO is a legal order where the Court appoints a carer as the ‘Special Guardian’ of a child until they turn 18. The Special Guardian then shares parental responsibility for the child with the parents and can make nearly all the major decisions about the child without having to consult the birth parents. It also secures the child or young person’s long-term placement.
Who can apply for an SGO?
A person who is over the age of 18 years old and not the parent of the child that the SGO is for. The application can be made on your own or with another person. The following people can apply to be special guardians:
* Any guardian/carer of the child.
* If you already have a Child Arrangements Order or a Residence Order for the child.
* Anyone with who the child has lived with for at least 3 years out of the last 5 years.
* Anyone with the consent of the Local Authority if the child is in care.
* A Local Authority Foster Carer with who the child has lived with for at least 1 year before the application.
* You are a relative of the child and the child has resided with you for at least 1 year before the application .
* Anyone who has permission of the Court to make the application .
How do I get an SGO?
You are legally required to tell the Local Authority that you intend to apply for an SGO and go through an assessment process to be sure that an SGO is in the best interests of the child. It is similar to a Foster Carer assessment. The Court will decide whether a Special Guardianship Order is the most appropriate Order and in the best interests of the child.
