Kinship’s #ValueOurLove campaign is calling on the Government to value the love of kinship carers and take urgent action to equalise the support available for kinship families with that available to foster and adoptive families. 

Tell the Department for Business and Trade to value kinship carers in the workplace

New Kinship report – Forced Out: delivering equality for kinship carers in the workplace – shows that 8 in 10 kinship carers across England and Wales are forced to leave their jobs or reduce their hours due to lack of support. Nearly 7 in 10 are offered no support from their employer at all. This isn’t good enough.

Since October, Kinship’s #ValueOurLove campaign has been calling on the Government to commit to introducing paid leave for kinship carers – equal to the support available for adoptive families.

At the end of the year, the UK Government are launching their first-ever Kinship Care Strategy. This gives us a short but vital window of opportunity to influence what is included.

Use our easy online tool to email Kevin Hollinrake MP, a Minister at the Department for Business and Trade, to ask that he commit to introducing paid leave for kinship carers in the Kinship Care Strategy.

Ready to take one more action? Email your MP today so they know that it’s time to #ValueOurLove. Send them one email that includes our full range of campaign calls and let them know that now is the time to change the system to support kinship carers.

Use our local campaigns toolkit

This toolkit is designed to support anyone who feels passionately about improving life for kinship families to campaign for change in your own local authority. You can start making a difference today by contacting someone in your local authority – a Councillor, a Council Cabinet member, or even your local Mayor – and asking to speak to them about kinship care.

About the #ValueOurLove campaign

162,000 children in kinship families across England and Wales know the value of love. Love means commitment to children, being there for them and supporting them as long as they need it. And love provides the best value to children, society and the economy – the love and sacrifice of kinship carers saves the public purse millions a year by preventing children from going into the care system.

But Kinship’s Cost of Loving report based on the responses from Kinship’s 2022 annual survey highlights that 8 in 10 carers aren’t getting the support they need.

Unlike children in foster care, most of these families receive no financial or practical support.

By adding your name to Kinship’s #ValueOurLove campaign and emailing your MP we can make our voices louder and ensure kinship carers are no longer overlooked and invisible to politicians.

Four urgent changes needed

We’re pleased the Government has listened to our #ValueOurLove campaign so far and has committed to a new programme of support  and training for kinship carers, and a first ever kinship care strategy by the end of 2023. We are calling for it to include these four urgent changes so that kinship families are entitled to the same support as foster and adoptive families. We need to:

1. Equalise allowances between foster and kinship families.
2. Equalise access to training and support between kinship carers and foster carers.
3. Equalise leave between adoptive and kinship families.
4. Equalise support between children in kinship care and those in care.

#ValueOurLove: shaped by kinship carers

We are incredibly proud that our #ValueOurLove campaign has been developed and shaped by kinship carers with the goal of mobilising kinship carers to have a voice.

As part of Kinship’s #ValueOurLove campaign we’re sharing this poem about the love in kinship families and how this helps children flourish in life, written by journalist, author and poet Kitty Dimbleby, and read by kinship carers and young people who grew up in kinship care. The film also includes Emmerdale actor, Jay Kontzle, who was brought up by his grandparents. 

Join the #ValueOurLove campaign

To bring about that change we need action. Kinship carers need to come together to form a strong, people-powered movement right across the country to transform the future of kinship care. Together we can make our voices louder and our arguments stronger, to make sure we are no longer ignored and unheard by decision makers.

If you or your group want to be a part of our #ValueOurLove campaign, then download the #ValueOurLove campaign toolkit so you can learn how to create effective and impactful change to bring about justice for kinship care!

Or if you are interested in setting up a new group contact charlotte.lawson@kinship.org.uk

See how other kinship carers across the country are coming together to create a change for kinship care.

#ValueOurLove in the media

Our campaign has received significant coverage so far, helping to spread awareness of and support for kinship families across England and Wales. There’s lots more still to come, but here are some of our highlights so far:

• ITV Tonight
• iNews
• OK Magazine
• The House magazine
• The Evening Standard

#ValueOurLove materials

• #ValueOurLove Katie’s kinship care story
• #ValueOurLove Lisa’s kinship care story
• #ValueOurLove John’s kinship care story
• #ValueOurLove Joy’s kinship care story
• #ValueOurLove poem
• Campaign toolkit
• Cost of Loving report
• #ValueOurLove: Emmerdale actor Jay Kontzle backs charity campaign press release
• #ValueOurLove: Campaign press release
• #ValueOurLove: Wales annual survey press release