Updated Kinship Care statutory guidance October 2026
Just prior to Kinship Care Week, the government published updated Kinship care statutory guidance for local authorities: October 2026. At a briefing led by Dr Jahnine Davis, National Kinship Ambassador on 5 October, there was a strong emphasises on the need for a stronger whole-system, whole-family and child-centred approach. The updated Statutory Guidance is linked to Families First Partnership, Enduring Relationships Programme, Working together to safeguard children 2026 and Improving the kinship local offer and approach to kinship care.
There are some important key updates for local authorities:
Legal impact: following the Royal Assent of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 the new guidance incorporates new statutory duties placed on local authorities and partner agencies, particularly surrounding multi-agency working, early family network decision making, education support and kinship local offers.
National Kinship Standards: these standards set out expectations for how local authorities, partners and practitioners should approach kinship care:
- Standard 1: Local authorities provide needs-led support and take a whole-family approach, working with kinship carers, parents and the wider family network to understand and support the child or young person’s best interests.
- Standard 2: The voice and experiences of kinship children and young people are at the heart of all decision making.
- Standard 3: Anti-discriminatory and inclusive practice underpin all support provided to kinship families.
- Standard 4: Local authorities prioritise the safeguarding and wellbeing of children in kinship care, providing appropriate support to kinship carers to help them manage complex family dynamics and arrangements.
- Standard 5: Local authorities work with a diverse range of kinship families to develop an approach to kinship care and a clear, accessible, comprehensive kinship local offer that serves the entire local kinship community.
- Standard 6: Integrated, multi-agency support for kinship families is delivered through collaborative practice and system-wide learning, and across local authority boundaries where necessary.
The need for co-production and regular review of the kinship local offer is emphasised in the Guidance and the need for support to be accessible, responsive and tailored to kinship families’ need. The Guidance encourages local authorities to think more broadly about how kinship care is recognised, valued and supported.
The Department for Education will keep the Statutory Guidance under review. Updated Statutory Guidance for Virtual School Heads and Designated Teachers will be available for consultation in early 2027 and the discussion today highlighted the ongoing need for children living in kinship carers to have access to more support within and outside education regardless of their legal status.
CoramBAAF welcomes the updated Statutory Guidance with the recognition of the complexity of kinship care, including safeguarding considerations and changing family relationships with an emphasis on a child-centred and family-led approach. We look forward to discussing implications with our members at CoramBAAF’s Kinship Conference on 12 October and at future Kinship Care Practice Forum meetings.