Peer support groups are a great way to meet other kinship carers, share your experiences and exchange advice. Find your nearest group.
Our services in Calderdale
If you’re a kinship carer in Calderdale, we’re here to support you through our Kinship Connected programme. Meet our friendly team, and join a support group.
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What is Kinship Connected in Calderdale?
We’re working with Calderdale Council to support special guardians across Calderdale as part of our Kinship Connected programme.
What’s a special guardian?
A special guardian is someone (or a couple) named on a special guardianship order (SGO). This is a private law order made by the family court. The person or people named on the SGO will become the child’s special guardian.
If you’re a special guardian
This means our Kinship Family Worker will connect with you when we receive a referral from Calderdale Council. We can only give you one-to-one support once we receive a referral.
The support we can give you depends on what you need. We’ll work with you to develop a plan to help you with the things that you feel are most urgent or where you have identified you would like support.
You’ll meet Catherine (Kinship Family Worker) and she’ll work with you over 6 months to support your plan.
This could mean help with things like:
- if you’d like support to talk to your school about what your child needs – this could about a special educational needs and disabilities diagnosis
- accessing support from other organisations – if you or your kinship child has experienced bereavement for example
- getting access to therapeutic support through the adoption and special guardianship fund
These discussions are confidential, we are an independent charity. If a safeguarding concern is raised we will talk you about what that means and our duty of care.
How do I access support?
We’ve been commissioned to support special guardians who are referred from the team at Calderdale Council. You need to contact the Calderdale Connected persons team to discuss what support you can access.
Tel: 01422393336
"My name is Catherine and I have supported families all across West Yorkshire and currently work in Calderdale and Bradford. I feel very privileged to be a part of kinship families’ journeys and do my best to support everyone through the challenging times. I look forward to hearing from you and perhaps meeting you at one of our support groups."
Kinship Family Worker in Calderdale
I’m not a special guardian – can you still help?
Yes, at Kinship we are here to support all kinship carers. We’re building a community in Calderdale and all kinship carers are welcome to join.
This means that we have a support group which you can join where you can share experiences and chat to other kinship carers. This support group is run and facilitated by Catherine.
There are also other local peer support groups which are organised and led by kinship carers, which you can also join and they would love to welcome you.
Throughout the year we also run local events and celebrations.
If you’re a kinship carer in Calderdale, please get in touch with us at programmes@kinship.org.uk to find out more about our support group and events.
Celebrate Kinship Care Week 2024 in Calderdale!
Kinship Care Week is Mon 7 October until Sun 13 October 2024. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the incredible role you do! You can get involved by sharing your experiences.
Are you a kinship carer in Calderdale – do you need more help or support?
Join our Leeds roadshow to connect with other carers, share experiences and get vital information to help you make the right choices for you.
Explore our free online and in-person training and events.
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