Support for kinship carers

All kinship carers will receive support through regular home visits from their supervising social worker. The social workers and our family advocates will provide practical help and advice as well as emotional support.

Kinship carers will have access to:

• one to one support
• support groups
• essential and additional training to support caring for the child
• activity days for the whole family

Carers will have the opportunity to take part in consultations regarding our service delivery to ensure it is meeting the needs of kinship care families in Gateshead. Carers can request support when they need it as the child they care for grows up.

Training and support groups

If you remain a connected carer you will be expected to attend a number of core training courses such as first aid and safer caring. Many carers also opt to access our wider suite of training, available online and in person, which includes a range of courses such as understanding trauma and attachment strategies. Your fostering social worker will be on hand to speak with you about relevant training, helpful to your role. All connected carers have access to Gateshead Council's Learning Hub.

In addition to the training offer, we have established support groups to assist with challenges such as positive communication and managing family time with the biological family of the child or young person. Kinship carers are encouraged to come along, share their experiences, and learn from others about successful strategies they have used. If you live in the Gateshead area and would like to access any kinship groups or support, we would love to hear from you.

Family advocates

We have two family advocates who provide a range of bespoke support to carers undergoing assessment or to established carers. This support assists with strengthening relationships and the care being provided, which ultimately helps benefit the child, carer, and family household. Typical areas covered are emotional support, behavioural work, de-escalation techniques, wellbeing, positive relationships and accessing life story work and direct work with the family.

The family advocates also provide an established support programme for all Gateshead kinship carers, including:

• information on all groups and events circulated via a monthly newsletter
• monthly focus groups at the Elgin Centre in Deckham. These are topic based, led by group interests or needs, such as positive communication, child development and family time
• monthly informal support groups
• access to the therapeutic social worker to carry out life story work with the child/young person to help them understand the circumstances that brought them into care
• celebration of kinship and major social events throughout the year
• signposting to other established groups: virtual school, family learning, multiply project, Brighten the Day, independent local kinship support groups, Toy Library older persons assembly, caring for children courses and generic support groups including seasonal events.
• half-term activities for kinship carers and their children. 

We are always looking to enhance our support provision. Future planned developments include establishing children-only groups and establishing further links to independent services such as More Than Grandparents.