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Demographics: Gender | Age | Ethnicity

Kinship family structures: Carer’s relationship to the child | Type of kinship arrangement | Other caring responsibilities

Kinship’s 2023 annual survey received responses from 1,657 kinship carers across England and Wales who were caring for at least 2,416 kinship children. Around two-thirds (65%) of respondents were caring for one kinship child, and around a quarter (26%) for two.

The vast majority of survey respondents were from England (94%) with a smaller number from Wales (6%), mirroring the estimated relative populations of children growing up in kinship care in each nation.[1] [2] This report explores responses from the entire survey cohort across both England and Wales together, noting any questions or findings specific to one nation’s cohort where relevant. To understand more about the Welsh survey cohort specifically, you can view our Spotlight on Wales summary [coming soon].

Demographics

Gender

Consistent with previous Kinship surveys, respondents were predominantly female (89%). However, in this year’s survey we also requested information about the age, gender and ethnicity of the partner or spouse of the respondent if they were caring for their kinship child alongside them. Whilst the age and ethnicity profile of this group closely matched that of survey respondents, this new question revealed a number of men acting as kinship carers who would otherwise be hidden.

However, even when considering both survey respondents and their partners or spouses together, the majority (62%) of kinship carers continued to be women. This suggests that, in households where a mixed gender couple are acting as kinship carers, the female kinship carer is more likely to engage with Kinship and our services and in turn receive support and connect with other kinship carers. This could also indicate that women more commonly act as ‘lead’ for the kinship household in terms of providing care for children as well as navigating the systems and structures which support the kinship arrangement, such as dialogue with the local authority and family court.

38%

of kinship carers, including partners to survey respondents, were male.

It also reflects what we know about how grandmothers more than any other connected person most commonly find themselves in a kinship caring role, and how gendered norms and stereotypes are compounded by inequalities in economic and wider policy to dictate and shape kinship care options for children – and too the experiences of their carers.[3] As highlighted in our Forced Out report, the lack of employment support for kinship carers and their resultant – often permanent – exit from the labour market is likely to be exacerbating gendered dynamics and inequalities in terms of employment and earnings. In particular, many older women find themselves plunged into poverty due to the multiple and cumulative ‘economic penalties’ they face as a result of their gender and in taking on a kinship caring role.

Age

The median age of kinship carers who responded to the survey was 55-59, with nearly half (44%) of respondents aged 60 or over. The older age profile of respondents is reflected in grandparents making up the majority of respondents (see ‘Carer’s relationship to the child’) and matches closely to previous annual survey reports. Evidence from both analysis of Census data and surveys of fostering services indicate that kinship carers are older than other groups of carers raising children; a recent survey from The Fostering Network found that 57% of new households recruited by fostering services in the year ending March 2021 were aged 45 or over compared to 90% of our survey cohort.[4]

44%

of respondents were aged 60 or over.

We know that the older age of kinship carers contributes to the prevalence of health issues which can make caring for children much more difficult, and the additional age gap between children and their carers compared to other families can create challenges for both carers and their children. It also has significant financial implications, with many carers drawing down pensions early and – knowingly or otherwise – putting themselves at serious financial risk in the future in order to care for their kinship child (or children) today.

“We have now contacted Kinship support and are beginning to receive help. We worry that because of our ages and because our savings have dwindled that we won’t be able to manage, certainly not if this behaviour becomes worse.”

Great grandparent with a child arrangements or residence order

“Because SG [special guardianship] allowances are means-tested we get no financial support to help us bring up our kinship child. We are using funds we would otherwise have used to help fund our retirement to bring up our little boy. Wouldn’t change it for the world, but it isn’t fair.”

Family friend kinship carer and special guardian

“We are getting older and [child’s name] has shown signs of aggression over the last few years. Whilst it is subsiding a bit, not sure if we can both cope with the trials of a teenager.”

Step grandparent with a child arrangements or residence order

The table below notes the age of the children cared for by survey respondents at the time of the survey, as well as the age of the children when they came to live with them.

The age profile of children in kinship care represented in our survey is somewhat similar to that in the cohort identified by analyses of the 2011[5] Census and Census 2021[6] in that around 5 or 6 in 10 children in kinship care are aged 10 or over, although our survey cohort features fewer very young children (i.e. aged under 1 year) and older teenagers (i.e. aged 16 years and over) but includes more children aged 5 to 9 years.

However, the age profile of children in kinship care represented in our survey is generally younger than that of children currently in local authority care in England and Wales. Whilst the proportion of 10 to 15 year olds is the largest group across both cohorts at around 2 in 5 children, only 12% of children represented in our survey were aged 16 years and over compared to a quarter (25%) in England[7] and 17% in Wales[8]. Of those starting to be looked after in local authority care in England last year, 27% were aged 10 to 15 years old and 25% were aged 16 years and over compared to just 10% and 1% of children represented in our survey respectively.

This likely reflects a number of complex factors acting together, including the influence of unaccompanied asylum seeking children as a cohort on the age profile of those starting to be looked after in local authority care, as well as the prevailing use of formalised kinship care arrangements such as special guardianship as a route to permanence for younger children more comparable to that of adoption rather than as a care option for older children who cannot live with their parents; the Commission on Young Lives recently called for additional investment to establish a national support programme which promotes kinship care for teenagers at risk.[9]

Ethnicity

The vast majority of survey respondents (93%), and their partners or spouses caring for their kinship child or children alongside them, were white. Only 4% were Black or Black British, with the majority of these respondents having a Caribbean background.

However, the kinship children represented in the survey had a different ethnicity profile to their carers as the survey respondents. Fewer children (84%) were white, and more were of Mixed Heritage (11%) compared to responding kinship carers (2%). Relative proportions of those of Asian or Asian British or Black or Black British ethnicity were broadly similar. This in some ways likely reflects broader demographic shifts over time and patterns in ethnicity and age across the overall population of England and Wales. For example, nearly half of those who identified as ‘White and Asian’ or ‘White and Black African’ (within the ‘Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups’ category) in Census 2021 were aged 0 to 15 years, substantially higher than 18.5% of the overall population of this age.[10]

11%

of kinship children were in the Mixed Heritage ethnic group (compared to 2% of kinship carers)

Existing evidence suggests quite complex patterns of ethnicity for children in kinship care. Analysis of the 2011 Census found that nearly one third (32%) of children in relative kinship care in England were from a non-White background, with the prevalence of kinship care being highest amongst Black children (2.7% in England and 3.0% in Wales).[11] Different analysis of the Census 2021 found that three quarters of children in kinship care were in the ‘White English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British’ ethnic group (higher than for those living with at least one parent), and that kinship children were also more likely to identity within ‘Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African’ ethnic group and within the ‘Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups’ categories, but less likely to be identified within any ‘Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh’ ethnic group.[12]

We also know that children from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds are underrepresented in formalised kinship arrangements and overrepresented in informal arrangements.[13] However, even when considering this alongside geographic patterns in respondents, the ethnicity profile of children represented in our survey was still significantly misaligned with what we understand to be the likely profile of kinship children. Consequently, we recognise the limitations of the survey findings in representing the full diversity of kinship families’ views and experiences.

In an effort to boost engagement and reach with kinship carers from ethnic backgrounds historically underrepresented in our surveys, we contacted more than 100 organisations across England and Wales supporting children and families, particularly those operating in areas with higher Black and minority ethnic populations, as well as relevant community and faith organisations. However, we recognise that discrete outreach activity is no replacement for the development of longstanding relationships and understanding of kinship care and of Kinship with kinship families; trust and connection is what supports kinship carers to feel comfortable sharing their views and experiences with us through our surveys.

We are determined to ensure our information and services reach kinship families who we have struggled to engage with previously. Over the course of the next year, our new research study ‘Raising someone else’s child’ will explore the experiences of kinship carers from Black and Asian communities, providing insight that should influence our work as well as the wider sector.

We’re also building on learning from programmes including the Peer Support Service which is engaging with a more diverse group of kinship carers and has pioneered ways of engaging with specific groups less well served previously, including by hosting special interest forums for male kinship carers, LGBTQ+ kinship carers, single kinship carers and younger kinship carers aged 18-35 year old, amongst other groups.

Kinship family structures

Carer’s relationship to the child

More than 7 in 10 (71%) kinship children represented in the survey were being cared for by a grandparent, consistent with previous Kinship surveys and which members of the family network we understand to be most likely to become kinship carers; analysis of Census data suggests more than half of children in kinship care live with at least one grandparent.[14] Aunt or uncle (13%) and step grandparent (6%) were the other two most common relationships selected by respondents for their kinship children.

Although not directly comparable, our survey cohort features fewer children who are cared for by an older sibling than would be expected given the proportion of children growing up in relative kinship care in households headed by a sibling as identified in analysis of the 2011 Census (at 23% and 19% in England and Wales respectively).[15] However, other analysis of the Census 2021 suggests that far fewer children in kinship care live with one (5.3%) or two (1%) siblings as a kinship carer.[16]

Type of kinship arrangement

The majority (61%) of children represented in our survey were being cared for under a special guardianship order made following care proceedings involving the local authority. The other most common type of kinship arrangement found between respondents and their kinship children were family and friends foster care where the child is placed under a full or interim care order (9%), a child arrangements or residence order made following care proceedings involving the local authority (7%), a special guardianship order made in private law proceedings (6%), and informal arrangements (6%).

As noted in the Introduction, the majority of survey respondents are existing members of our Kinship Community, many of whom having been supported by or referred to Kinship for our advice and support services by a local authority. Given that much local authority support is restricted to kinship families in formalised kinship arrangements, and particularly those where the child is currently or was previously ‘looked after’ in local authority care, this is reflected too in the type of kinship arrangements represented by our survey cohort.

Future reports from our 2023 annual survey series will explore in more detail kinship children’s journeys into kinship care, including the factors which led to them entering kinship care, the support received by the kinship carer and child, and how this is all modulated by and experienced through the type of kinship arrangement. Understanding this complexity in kinship arrangements is crucial to ensuring a holistic approach to kinship care support which recognises the unique needs and strengths of all kinship families, regardless of legal order or lack thereof. Evidence from private family law cases involving kinship carers has demonstrated the overlap which exists with comparable public law cases following child protection concerns, and highlights the implications in terms of differential support entitlements for each route, risking many kinship families going on without support despite their similar needs.[17]

Other caring responsibilities

Alongside caring for their kinship child (or children), nearly 3 in 10 respondents (28%) were caring for other adult family members including elderly relatives and others due to illness, disability or a mental health problem; this is significantly higher than the general population where around 9% of people are providing unpaid care.[18]

“I care for a disabled partner as well as kinship caring. This presents additional challenges.”

Grandparent with a child arrangements or residence order

14% of respondents were caring for their own biological or step children in addition to their kinship child (or children), and others noted they were also acting as foster carers or adopters or had fairly significant ongoing childcare responsibilities too. This former group told us they were caring for at least 445 biological or step children in addition to their kinship children. Assuming the pattern for our survey cohort held across England and Wales, this suggests that an additional 30,000 children would likely benefit too from improved support targeted at kinship families, such as the provision of a financial allowance to kinship carers which could act to lift these children out of poverty alongside those children in kinship care.

Three quarters (75%) of those caring for their own biological or step children said they worried about the impact that becoming a kinship carer has had on them. Taking on a kinship caring role often impacts significantly on the whole family unit and we hear consistently from kinship carers who struggle to manage the complex family dynamics which result from introducing other children into the household. In our 2022 annual survey report – The Cost of Loving – only 3% of respondents who were also caring for their own biological children said their children had ever been offered professional support because of their kinship caring role.[19]

[1] Wijedasa (2017)

[2] Office for National Statistics (2023a)

[3] Birchall & Holt (2022)

[4] The Fostering Network (2021)

[5] Wijedasa (2017)

[6] Office for National Statistics (2023a)

[7] Department for Education (2023)

[8] Welsh Government

[9] Commission on Young Lives (2022)

[10] Office for National Statistics (2023b)

[11] Wijedasa (2015)

[12] Office for National Statistics (2023a)

[13] What Works for Children’s Social Care (2022)

[14] Office for National Statistics (2023a)

[15] Wijedasa (2017)

[16] Office for National Statistics (2023a)

[17] Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (2023)

[18] Carers UK (2023)

[19] Kinship (2022a)