Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council are committed to supporting Special Guardians and the children and young people they care for. The Kinship Team are responsible for providing support and advice to Special Guardians, and to carers that are considering making an application for a Special Guardianship Order (SGO). This service can be accessed over the telephone, or can be arranged via a home visit, and is responsive to the individual needs of carers, children and young people.
Information about Special Guardianship is provided to prospective Special Guardians, offering carers further knowledge and insight. Carers who have already obtained an SGO may benefit from advice from the team regarding issues such as contact or challenging behaviours.
The Kinship Team are also available for intervention and outreach for children and young people where required. This service involves an initial assessment alongside carers, followed by an agreed plan for support. Intervention can be accessed within schools or the local community and is designed to promote the emotional wellbeing of children and young people.
Where it is felt that the needs of the child or young person require more specialist involvement, the SGO Team may refer directly to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF). The ASGSF provides funds to Local Authorities and regional Adoption agencies to pay for essential therapeutic services for eligible Adoptive and Special Guardian families.
It is available for children and young people up to and including the age of 21, or 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), who were in the care of the Local Authority immediately before the SGO was granted.
The ASGSF is also utilised by the Kinship Team to obtain funding for therapeutic parenting programmes. The programmes are designed for Special Guardians who experience relationship difficulties with their children and young people. In particular, programmes are aimed towards those who parent children with attachment problems, trauma, loss and/or separation early in their life.
They are designed to address parenting challenges and aim to enable carers to increase their emotional connection with their children and young people.
The Kinship Team can also explore with carers how other forms of support may be made available to them. The team work closely with other agencies who offer a range of services and local initiatives, including advice on benefits and access to support services.
The Kinship Team offer free seasonal activities for all kinship carers, including day trips, and local family days. All kinship carers on the Kinship Team mailing list are made aware of forthcoming events via e-mail. The update e-mails also acts as a way of promoting the Kinship Carer Support Group, which is facilitated by the Kinship Team.
The group takes place from 10am – 12pm monthly on a Friday at 24K, 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.
It may be useful also for carers to consider ways in which the children and young people in their care can access other forms of support through education. Children who have ceased to be cared for by a Local Authority in England and Wales because of Adoption, a Special Guardianship Order, a Child Arrangements Order (CAO) or a Residence Order (RO) are entitled to funding via the Pupil Premium.
Schools can claim £2630 per child by entering information on their January census return. The funding then comes directly to the school and can be spent at the school’s discretion. It is not intended as personal pot for each child, but schools should be able to say how the funding is being used to support the education of eligible children.