This Kinship Care Week we’re celebrating the amazing role that kinship carers across England and Wales play in children’s lives and our society.

Together with members of the Kinship Care Alliance, including Kinship Carers Liverpool, local authorities, and other partners, the national charity Kinship has helped coordinate fun ways to celebrate kinship carers during this year's #KinshipCareWeek.

This year, the theme for Kinship Care Week will be ‘Kinship Memory of the Year’. Kinship carers are being encouraged to share their best memory of being a kinship carer from the last year, whether that’s a family day at the beach, a birthday, a picnic or helping a child to ride a bike, read a book, or any other memorable activity or milestone on their social channels. 

It’s been a momentous year for kinship care, with unprecedented attention from decision-makers, as the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care made investing in kinship care and better supporting kinship families a key focus of its recommendations.

But many kinship families still feel unrecognised, undervalued, and unsupported, so raising awareness of their important role and challenges they face is crucial to building understanding and getting them the support, they so desperately need.

Kinship’s CEO Dr Lucy Peake said:

“Kinship carers make huge sacrifices to keep children within loving, secure, and stable families and the week is an opportunity to recognise the crucial roles they play in children’s lives and our society.

Pauline Thornley from Kinship Carers Liverpool said:

"Kinship carers will often go through many challenges and sacrifices to keep children safe and out of local authority care.  Kinship Care Week is a great opportunity to raise awareness and celebrate these often-hidden families and highlight the changes needed to meet their diverse needs, which bring about better outcomes for the children.”

Dr John Simmonds OBE, chair of The Kinship Care Alliance and Director of Policy, Research and Development at CoramBAAF said:

"Kinship Care Week marks the devotion, determination and resilience of kinship carers, whatever their circumstances.  There cannot be a more important acknowledgement and one that needs to be responded to with improved services and resources."

Kinship Care Week was conceived by Kinship Carers Liverpool, with national charity Kinship joining forces with them in 2018 to lead the week nationally.

Find out more