What Is Private Fostering? Who Must Tell the Council and When

On this page

1. 1What is private fostering under the Children Act 1989?
2. 2Which arrangements count as private fostering, and which do not?
3. 3Do you have to wait 28 days before telling the council?
4. 4Who must tell the council, and when?
5. 5Why does private fostering matter for safeguarding?
6. 6What should a school, health professional, housing or youth worker do if they suspect an unreported arrangement?
7. 7What do KCSIE 2026 and Working Together 2026 say about private fostering?
8. 8What does the local authority do once it has been told?
9. 9What should parents and carers do?
10. 10What are the most common mistakes about private fostering?
11. 11How do the rules differ in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland?
12. 12What checklists help schools and professionals?
13. 13What training helps staff recognise and respond to private fostering?
14. 14Frequently asked questions

This guide is for school and college staff, health visitors, GPs, housing officers, youth workers, parents and carers. It covers England, checked against primary sources on 31 October 2026, with a table on the other UK nations. All examples are invented. For the wider framework, see our guides to what safeguarding children means and the four types of child abuse. General information, not legal advice.

What is private fostering under the Children Act 1989?

Section 66 of the Children Act 1989 defines a privately fostered child as a child under 16 who is cared for, and provided with accommodation in the carer’s own home, by someone other than a parent, a person with parental responsibility, or a relative. For a disabled child the age limit is 18 (section 66(4)). A child is not privately fostered if the person has looked after them for less than 28 days and does not intend to do so for longer (section 66(2)).

“Private” means the arrangement is made between parent and carer, without the council. A child the council places is “looked after”, not privately fostered (Schedule 8, paragraph 1).

“Relative” has a narrow meaning. Under section 105 it is a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt (full or half blood, or by marriage or civil partnership), or a step-parent. The DfE statutory guidance calls this list “close relative” and says a cousin or a great-aunt can be a private foster carer. So the test is not “is this family?” but “is this person on the list?”.

Two points are often missed. The council does not approve or register private foster carers: its duty is to satisfy itself that the child’s welfare is, or will be, safeguarded and promoted (section 67). And the parent keeps overall responsibility while the carer gives day-to-day care. The guidance accepts that many arrangements are positive, but calls privately fostered children a potentially vulnerable group.

Which arrangements count as private fostering, and which do not?

The table applies the legal tests to invented examples. “Likely” and “can be” mean you should ask the council, which decides how it treats a case.

Some edge cases need care. A child is not privately fostered while living in premises where a parent, a person with parental responsibility, or a relative who has taken on responsibility for the child is living (Schedule 8, paragraph 2(1)(a)). A parent’s unmarried partner is a hard case: Working Together 2026 describes a step-parent here as “a married stepparent, including a civil partner”, so on that reading an unmarried partner caring for the child for 28 days or more while the parent lives elsewhere is not on the relative list. Ask the council rather than assume. An occasional short break does not interrupt the arrangement (DfE guidance).

Do you have to wait 28 days before telling the council?

No. The 28 days is a threshold in the definition, not a grace period. Section 66(2) only excludes a stay that is under 28 days and not intended to last longer. If a child arrives for a term, a school year or “until things settle”, it is an arrangement intended to last 28 days or more (DfE guidance), and the notification should come before it starts.

The proposed carer must notify the council at least six weeks before the arrangement begins, or immediately if it begins sooner (regulation 3(1)). Regulation 5 catches emergencies and stays that turned into private fostering over time, such as a child who came for a short visit and stayed: whoever is fostering without having notified must do so immediately.

Who must tell the council, and when?

The duties sit in regulations 3 to 11 of the Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005, which apply to England only. Notification goes to the council for the area where the child is, or will be, living, which may not be where the parents live.

Notices must be in writing (regulation 11) and include as much as the person can give of the Schedule 1 information: details of the child, the carer and the parents, any minor siblings, who else helped arrange it, the start date and the intended duration. A proposed carer must also disclose convictions, disqualifications and prohibitions affecting the household.

Failing without reasonable excuse to give a required notice in time is an offence (section 70(1)(a)) punishable by a fine of up to level 5, and proceedings must start within six months of the evidence coming to the council’s knowledge (section 70(7)). The DfE guidance tells councils to consider the child’s best interests when deciding how to deal with an unnotified arrangement, so the emphasis is on checking the child. Fostering privately while disqualified under section 68, or in breach of a section 69 prohibition, is more serious, with up to six months in prison, a fine, or both (section 70(5)).

Why does private fostering matter for safeguarding?

Because nobody checks an arrangement they do not know about. A private foster carer is not approved or registered by the council, so the main protection built into the system is notification followed by council visits. Without it, the child’s wishes, health care, school place, contact with parents and the suitability of the household may never be looked at by anyone with the power to act.

The gap is long recognised. The 2003 Victoria Climbié Inquiry report said a large number of privately fostered children do not become known to the authorities (paragraph 17.12) and recommended a review of the law on registering private foster carers (Recommendation 11). The DfE’s 2005 guidance named low and late notification as problems to fix (paragraph 2.1).

The latest official national count we could find is old. The DfE’s statistical release SFR22/2014 (10 July 2014) reported 1,610 children in private fostering arrangements in England at 31 March 2014, and 2,880 new arrangements in the year. It noted that notifications often arrive once an arrangement is well under way. In 2015 the DfE consulted on closing that return and using the children in need census instead, and the 2025 to 2026 census guide counts a privately fostered child only if they have been assessed as in need. We could not find a current official national count, so we have not quoted one.

Paragraph 141 of Working Together 2026 lists “is a privately fostered child” among the circumstances in which practitioners should consider whether a child needs Family Help, alongside children at risk of modern slavery, trafficking, and sexual or criminal exploitation. That does not mean private fostering is exploitation. It means a child out of sight of both family and council deserves a second look. If your concern goes further, see our guides to the four types of abuse, contextual safeguarding and early help.

What should a school, health professional, housing or youth worker do if they suspect an unreported arrangement?

The National Minimum Standards for Private Fostering expect councils to tell teachers, health visitors, nurses, doctors, housing officers and community workers what their role is. The steps below, our suggested sequence rather than a legal form, combine that with the DfE guidance and KCSIE 2026.

1. Check for immediate danger. If a child is at immediate risk, call 999 and follow your safeguarding procedure. A private fostering notification is not a substitute for a safeguarding referral.
2. Ask neutral questions in normal conversation. For example: “Who is Sam living with at the moment?”, “How long has that been?” and “Has the council been told?” Do not interrogate the child or imply wrongdoing.
3. Encourage the family to notify. The DfE guidance expects professionals to encourage carers and parents to tell the council, and notes that failing to notify is an offence.
4. Do not wait for certainty. Notify if you are not satisfied the council has been, or will be, told. You need not prove the arrangement qualifies.
5. Record the facts: who said what, the child’s and carer’s details, the relationship, the start date and your source.
6. Tell your safeguarding lead. That is our suggestion and how most settings will work. See our guides to the designated safeguarding lead and the deputy DSL.
7. Notify children’s social care in writing at the council for the area where the child lives, and keep a copy. Check for an online form or named private fostering contact.
8. Note the outcome, and support the child as normal.

An invented example shows the tone. A receptionist updating records sees that a Year 9 pupil’s emergency contact is now “family friend” at a new address. The DSL asks the contact, kindly, how long the pupil is staying and whether the council knows. The contact has never heard of the process and looks worried, so the DSL explains it is a routine check and offers help with the form. Nobody is accused, and the arrangement is now known.

Schools sometimes arrange stays themselves. Under KCSIE 2026 (paragraphs 411 to 413), where a school arranges for a visiting child to stay with an unrelated UK family and can end the stay, the hosts are in regulated activity and the school should obtain enhanced DBS checks with barred list information (see our guide to safer recruitment). A homestay a parent arranges privately is a private arrangement, and the school is not the regulated activity provider.

What do KCSIE 2026 and Working Together 2026 say about private fostering?

Keeping children safe in education 2026 mentions it in two places. Part one, paragraph 18, lists “is a privately fostered child” among the circumstances in which all staff should be alert to a child’s need for support before statutory intervention. The detail sits in Part three (safer recruitment), in the section on children staying with host families, under “Private fostering: local authority notification when identified” (paragraphs 416 to 420).

Paragraph 416 says some stays with UK families could amount to private fostering, and paragraphs 417 and 418 repeat the definition and the 28-day exemption. Under paragraph 419, a school or college that learns of an arrangement it is not involved in should notify the council so it can check the arrangement is suitable and safe. One that is involved, directly or not, in arranging it must notify as soon as possible after the arrangement is made, in writing, with the Schedule 1 information.

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 does not set a notification duty of its own. We searched the 2026 statutory guidance text and found private fostering only in paragraph 141 (with a footnote giving the definition) and in the glossary entry on kinship care, which repeats the section 105 meaning of “relative”. The duties therefore come from the Act and the 2005 Regulations, supported by the DfE guidance and KCSIE.

Because KCSIE puts the detail in a vetting section, it is easy to miss. Check that your policy and induction mention private fostering (our suggestion; we found no KCSIE requirement to name it). Our guides to safeguarding policies and safeguarding training requirements cover what to include.

What does the local authority do once it has been told?

The council must arrange for an officer to do the following within seven working days of a notification of a proposed arrangement, or of one that has started (regulations 4 and 7):

• visit the premises and speak to the carer and household;
• speak to the child, alone unless that seems inappropriate;
• speak to every parent or person with parental responsibility; and
• establish the relevant welfare matters in Schedules 2 and 3, then write a report.

Those matters include the agreed duration, the child’s wishes and feelings, the accommodation, the carer and household, contact with parents, money, GP registration and education.

After that, the council must visit at intervals of not more than six weeks in the first year and not more than 12 weeks in later years (regulation 8(1)). The “first year” starts when the council learns of the arrangement, not when it began (regulation 8(6)). It must also visit when the child, carer or a parent reasonably asks, and report after each visit.

The council has powers too. It can impose requirements on a carer (Schedule 8, paragraph 6), prohibit a person from fostering privately if the person or premises are unsuitable or the arrangement would harm the child’s welfare (section 69), and inspect premises (section 67(3)). If it is not satisfied, it must take reasonably practicable steps to get the child cared for by a parent or relative, unless that is not in the child’s best interests, and consider its other functions (section 67(5)). The DfE guidance also expects a child in need assessment where there are concerns. Many arrangements continue with support.

What should parents and carers do?

These steps are our practical reading of the rules. The council’s private fostering team can tell you what it wants.

If you are a parent:

• Tell the council for the area where your child will live, in writing, as soon as the arrangement is made and ideally well before it begins.
• Agree and write down what the officer will check: how long the stay is meant to last, contact, money for the child’s care, GP and school registration, and who makes day-to-day decisions.
• Keep your address up to date with the council (regulation 9(4)) and tell it when the stay ends.

If you are the carer:

• Notify at least six weeks ahead or immediately, then confirm within 48 hours of the child arriving (regulation 6(1)).
• Expect a visit within seven working days and questions about everyone in your household, including any convictions.
• Report changes of address or household in advance if you can, otherwise within 48 hours (regulation 9).
• Register the child with a GP and keep education in place; the council checks both.
• Ask for a visit or advice at any time (regulation 8(2)). When the stay ends, notify within 48 hours and say who the child went to (regulation 10(1)).

If you worry how the council will react, remember its duty under section 67(1): to satisfy itself that the child’s welfare is safeguarded and promoted, and to see that advice is given to those concerned.

What are the most common mistakes about private fostering?

• Assuming every relative is exempt. A cousin or great-aunt caring for a child for 28 days or more is private fostering.
• Assuming it is legal because the parent agreed. Agreement is what makes it private; it does not remove the duty to notify.
• Waiting for the 28 days to pass. If the stay is meant to be long, notify before it starts.
• Thinking the council registers or approves the carer. It does not. It checks suitability after notification.
• Thinking only the carer must notify. Parents and anyone who helped arrange the stay also have duties.
• Treating a notification as an accusation. It is a request for a check.
• Using notification as the only step. If you have a safeguarding concern about the child, make a safeguarding referral as well.

How do the rules differ in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland?

The detail above is for England, though Part 9 of the Children Act 1989 also applies to Wales. We checked these sources on 31 October 2026 and say where we could only verify the original text. Check current practice locally.

What checklists help schools and professionals?

These are our suggestions, not a legal form. Adapt them to your procedures.

For a school or college:

• Do our safeguarding policy and induction mention private fostering and give the council’s contact?
• Do we ask who a child lives with when contact details change?
• Who notifies the council, and who records it?
• If we arrange homestays, have we followed KCSIE paragraphs 411 to 419?

For an individual professional:

• Do I know who the child lives with, since when and why?
• Is that person a parent, a person with parental responsibility, or a relative on the section 105 list?
• Has the council been told, and how do I know?
• Have I recorded the facts, told my safeguarding lead and notified the right council?

What training helps staff recognise and respond to private fostering?

Three Nexis CPD courses build the general safeguarding knowledge behind these steps:

Together they cost £18 rather than £27 under the pay-for-2-get-3 offer, and employers training 5 or more staff pay £6 a course place on the team plan. None of the three has a separate private fostering module (we checked the course pages on 31 October 2026), so add it to your own induction. These are awareness-level CPD courses, not regulated qualifications, and do not replace your employer’s policy, the council’s procedures or specialist training. If you take one, start with Safeguarding Children (Advanced) Level 2: 20 questions, 80% to pass, and an instant certificate.

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Frequently asked questions

Is a child living with a cousin or a great-aunt privately fostered?

Usually yes, if the child is under 16 (18 if disabled) and the stay is meant to last 28 days or more. Only a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, aunt or step-parent counts as a relative, and the DfE guidance names a cousin or great-aunt as a possible private foster carer.

Does a parent’s agreement make the arrangement legal, or must we still tell the council?

Agreement is what makes it private, and it does not remove the duty to notify. The carer, the parent and anyone who helped arrange the stay must tell the council where the child lives.

Is a teacher or health professional legally required to report private fostering?

The Regulations put the duty on the carer, the parent and anyone arranging the stay. DfE guidance says professionals should notify the council if they are not satisfied it has been told, and calls this good practice. KCSIE 2026 says schools should notify, and must if they helped arrange the stay.

What happens if nobody tells the council?

Failing without reasonable excuse to give a required notice in time is an offence under section 70 of the Children Act 1989, punishable by a fine. The council must consider the child’s best interests, and its priority is checking the child is safe.

Do language-school host families have to be notified?

They can be. The DfE guidance gives a language school arranging a host family stay as an example of someone who must notify. Whether a stay counts depends on the child’s age, its length and the facts, so ask the council early.

Does an awareness course replace the statutory notification process?

No. Awareness CPD is not a regulated qualification. It helps you recognise a possible arrangement and know what to do, but notification, council visits and your employer’s safeguarding procedures still apply.

General information, not legal advice. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. This guide reflects Part 9 and Schedule 8 of the Children Act 1989, the Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005 (England), the DfE statutory guidance Children Act 1989: private fostering (2005, which predates some later changes in terminology), Keeping children safe in education 2026 and Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, as checked on 31 October 2026. Arrangements differ in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and each local authority sets its own procedures and forms. Nexis CPD courses are CPD-accredited awareness training, not regulated qualifications, and they do not replace the statutory notification process, your employer’s safeguarding policy, local multi-agency procedures or specialist training.