Kinship Local Offer England 2026: What the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act Means for Carers

What Changed in 2026

The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (Royal Assent 29 April 2026) introduced the first statutory duty on local authorities in England to publish a kinship local offer. Before this, support for kinship carers varied enormously between councils, with some offering dedicated kinship teams and others providing nothing beyond a web page.

The Act places a legal requirement on every local authority to consult upon and publish a local offer setting out the financial, practical and educational support available to kinship carers in their area. This applies to informal carers — grandparents, aunts, uncles and others caring for a child without a court order — not only those with a Special Guardianship Order or Child Arrangements Order.

What the Kinship Local Offer Should Include

The Act requires councils to publish information about local financial support and services for children and carers. Depending on local provision, an offer may include:

• Financial support available locally, such as discretionary kinship allowances, with signposting to national benefits such as Child Benefit and Guardian's Allowance
• Practical support such as housing assistance, respite care and peer support groups
• Educational support such as school admissions guidance, free school meals information and local Virtual School support
• Health and wellbeing services, including emotional or therapeutic support available to the child or carer

Each council's offer will look different depending on local resources and existing services. Some councils were already publishing kinship offers voluntarily before the Act — the legislation ensures every council now has a minimum duty.

How to Find Your Council's Kinship Local Offer

Start with your local authority's website. Search for "kinship local offer" or "kinship care" on the council site. If the council uses a family information service directory, the offer may be listed there.

If you cannot find it online:

1. Call your council's main switchboard and ask for the kinship support team or children's services
2. Ask specifically about the published kinship local offer under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026
3. If the council does not have a clear answer, contact Kinship (0300 123 7015) for help navigating your local authority

Before publishing or updating an offer, councils must consult relevant children, kinship carers, and other people who appear representative of them about services, then publish a report on the consultation. If your council's offer is thin or hard to find, raising that through the consultation process or through your local councillor is one way to push for improvement.

Virtual School Heads: Strategic Education Support

Virtual School Heads (VSHs) have had a non-statutory strategic role supporting children in kinship care since September 2024. Section 6 of the 2026 Act provides for an expanded statutory duty, but it is not yet in force as of 25 October 2026. The current role is strategic and does not require a VSH to take action in an individual child's case.

The strategic role can include raising awareness of kinship children's needs and barriers, promoting practice that supports school attendance and engagement, and promoting practice that improves educational attainment. VSHs are not required to provide direct one-to-one casework, though local arrangements may offer information to carers.

Contact your local authority's main switchboard to ask what strategic information or local support is available from the Virtual School.

School Census Recording

The Department for Education collects a kinship-care indicator in the autumn school census. It is self-declared by the child, parent or guardian and defaults to "not declared". This is a data collection measure; it does not itself determine a child's eligibility for support or guarantee funding for a service.

For carers, this is a background administrative change. A carer may share the information with the school if they wish; the school should respect the wishes and feelings of the child, carer and parent. Recording it does not create a separate entitlement to services or funding.

What the Reforms Do Not Change

The 2026 Act does not change the admissions priority rules. Children in informal kinship care still do not qualify for the top-tier looked-after or previously-looked-after priority under the School Admissions Code. That priority remains limited to children who left care through adoption, an SGO or a CAO.

The Act also does not create a national kinship care allowance. Financial support for informal kinship carers remains a patchwork of discretionary council payments, Child Benefit transfers and, where applicable, Guardian's Allowance. The local offer duty ensures councils are transparent about what exists locally, but it does not guarantee a minimum level of financial support.

For carers navigating the immediate practicalities of school admissions, GP registration and medical consent, the complete England kinship consent guide covers the full process — including how to find the local offer and ask the Virtual School what strategic support is available.

See more England guides →