Our history
With the shared belief that the role of the wider family should be better recognised, valued and supported by social workers, policy makers and other professionals, Jean Stogdon OBE and Lord Michael Young co-founded Grandparents Plus in 2001. We changed our name to Kinship in 2021.
Our foundations
Jean’s interest in the role of the wider family in raising children began in 1969 when she was a trainee social worker. Later in her career she helped design London Borough of Camden’s child-protection services. After she retired in 1988, Jean was appointed by the courts to represent the child’s best interests in court cases. It was during this time that she became troubled by how readily local authorities placed children in care homes or put them up for adoption instead of looking to family members first.
In 1998 Jean joined the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) where she met SSE founder Lord Michael Young, who shared her interest in family. Their partnership led to the foundation of Grandparents Plus – a charity providing support, information and advice to kinship carers.
Our previous name, Grandparents Plus, represented the grandparents who stepped up to look after their grandchildren when their parents weren’t able to. The ‘plus’ represented other family members, such as aunts, brothers or cousins who stepped up to care for a child – often in a time of crisis.
"You look first at the extended family. You must exhaust the extended family before you move on to make other plans for a child. It’s what children ask us to do."
Jean Stogdon, OBE
Becoming Kinship
Over the years, kinship carers told us that ‘Grandparents Plus’ didn’t feel inclusive. Over 40% of kinship carers are not grandparents, so we were excluding a large proportion of kinship carers from seeking our support. In 2021 we changed our name to ‘Kinship’ so that the aunts, uncles, siblings, friends and grandparents would know that we are here for them.
Kinship today
Today we are the leading kinship care charity in England and Wales. We are made by, and for, our community of kinship carers.
By supporting, advising and informing kinship carers – and campaigning for fairer services – we are changing lives and changing the system.
Related content
Each year, we support more than 15,000 kinship carers at every stage of their kinship journey providing advice, information and support.
Learn about Kinship’s research, informed by the experiences of kinship carers, and see how we use this evidence to call for change in law, policy, and practice.
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