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I'm sorry for making Nadhim feel unsafe but honestly my toddler doesn't sleep very well.

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Thanks Steve - we really appreciated you (and the Rt Hon Jennie!) taking the time to join us, and for your support for paid kinship care leave when the Employment Rights Bill was in the Commons.

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Thanks a lot for joining us on Wednesday Bambos and for writing to the Minister too. Wendy is such a skilled and dedicated campaigner - I'm really glad you had the chance to speak with her.

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Emily Darlington MP @emily4mk.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Thanks very much for joining us Emily.

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This week in Parliament, I met with Kinship UK to discuss the contributions of kinship carers and what more that needs to be done to ensure that kinship families get the support that they deserve.

Emily with a board that points out that there is no difference between the work of parents and adoptive parents in comparison to that of kinship carers.

Emily stood in front of the Kinship background raising awareness of the #ValueOurLove campaign.

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The Author, Séamas O'Reilly @seamas.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

After seven and a half years of weekly parenting columns for the Observer, today's will be my last. I started writing the column a few weeks before becoming a dad, so I've never parented without it. I'll miss it more than I express in words, but I had a go anyway. observer.co.uk/news/columni...

observer.co.uk

A fond fatherly farewell | The Observer

What a privilege it has been to trace each wobbling step along the parental path. I’m going to miss it

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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Sorry, no, Motability was not about 'helping the most vulnerable' - it was about providing people who need modified vehicles modified vehicles!

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Stuart Hoddinott @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

The balance between acute and preventative services has shifted dramatically. E.g. children's services Spending on services like children's centres is down 79% in real terms, while acute services (e.g. looked after children) is up 71% That contributes to rising acute demand in the long-term

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Munira Wilson MP @munirawilson.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

Lovely to join the Kinship carers event at Whitton Community Centre for #KinshipCareWeek. With thanks to Anna from the Kinship London group – an absolute force of nature & tremendous advocate for kinship carers.

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Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Happy #KinshipCareWeek! 🥳 There's loads going on this week across England and Wales, but I'd suggest you start by checking out this incredible new short film which celebrates the power of peer support and community for #KinshipCarers.

youtube.com

In The Same Boat | Kinship Care Week 2025

YouTube video by Kinship

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Emma Lewell MP @emmalewellmp.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

The new #Kinship report is clear that much more needs to be done to ensure that all #KinshipFamilies get the support they need and deserve. I’ll continue to advocate for #KinshipCarers and their children in South Shields. #KinshipCareWeek kinship.org.uk/our-work-and...

Handle With Care: Annual survey of kinship carers 2025

Explore key findings from our 2025 annual survey of more than 1,900 kinship carers and learn more about kinship families and the policy context in 2025.

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In the new post-Strategy landscape, and with the lead architect of the Independent Review of Children's Social Care now at the helm of children and families policy in government, it's time to deliver that whole-system view of support for #KinshipFamilies and family networks.

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We identify real opportunities for the government to deliver better outcomes - for families and the public purse - by accelerating plans to improve support, as well as considerable risks associated with the incorrect sequencing of reform which moves too fast in some places and too slow in others.

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The rest explores key findings of relevance to the current policy context for #KinshipCare in England - particularly the forthcoming Kinship Allowance Pilot and provisions included within the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill (e.g. kinship local offer, duty to offer FGDM etc).

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Martin Robbins @mjrobbins.com · 11/08/2025

In the report, we examine year-on-year trends around measures of health, loneliness, financial security, family stability and more for #KinshipFamilies in England and Wales. It's a real mixed picture - some positive signals but elsewhere significant continued challenges. Here's one example...

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My latest: On the AI aesthetic, techno-millenarianism, and why the new right doesn’t understand genius.

open.substack.com

Plato vs Grok

The revenge of the nerds is upon us and it's incredibly naff.

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Jon Loveridge @jonloveridge.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

Incredible that this is all the same article. How utterly pathetic

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

'Too often, government is looking for one answer to a problem that it can scale; the perfect pilot that can make a difference everywhere. It still sees change as an industrial process.' Electric blog from Vidhya Alakeson, Deputy Chief of Staff to the PM www.powertochange.org.uk/evidence-and...

powertochange.org.uk

The leaders who make things happen: lessons in governing from community business - Power to Change

Community businesses drive change where it matters most—locally. From leading Power to Change to advising Number 10, Vidhya Alakeson knows more than most th ...

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Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 24/07/2025

The Independent Group For Change (UK) is up for grabs again, for what it's worth

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Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Really lovely shout out from former children's minister David Johnston MP highlighting @kinshipcharity.bsky.social's #ValueOurLove campaigning tactics and the impact this had on MPs and colleagues in government. From this week's Policy Unstuck: policyunstuck.castfromclay.co.uk.

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Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

I am shocked, shocked I tell you.

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Sam Tims @sam-tims.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Great to see two images of the Minister meeting with kinship carers and @kinshipcharity.bsky.social in this roundup of the last year!

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Over 1.6m children are now impacted by the Two-Child Limit - 11.6% of all children This is a cruel policy that unnecessarily drags children into deeper levels of hardship It needs to go, and the longer it is kept, the greater the scarring effects on children's health and education will be

A graph showing the increase in the number of children impacted by the Two-Child Limit since April 2018

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Foundations – What Works Centre for Children & Families @foundationsww.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Minoritised ethnic #kinship families face heightened challenges, shaped by inequalities & experiences of racism. To understand how to support these children, we need to understand their views & needs. Our new funding call aims to fill this evidence gap 👉 foundations.org.uk/launch-of-ca...

A Foundations branded quote card from Director of Evidence, Dr Aoife O'Higgins: "There’s an urgent need to address the evidence gap about the experiences of minoritised ethnic children and young people in kinship care. We know the carers of these children face barriers when they try to access support, and that they can have negative experiences of the system. Despite this, there simply isn’t enough research on the perspectives of minoritised ethnic children. Our call aims to fill this gap, to help inform more equitable, culturally responsive services.”

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Very grateful to @helenhayes.bsky.social and all other Committee members present and past for inviting me and @lucypeake.bsky.social along to give evidence to support the inquiry, and for the report's extensive use of our @kinshipcharity.bsky.social wider evidence and key arguments.

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Particularly pleased to see this clear conclusion which is crucial in the context of the govt's current reforms. The focus is welcome but they must get the *sequencing* right - that means enhancing support for all kinship families and arrangements *before* incentivising greater use of kinship care.

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We've delivered an annual survey of kinship carers since 2016 and they're the largest of their kind, securing vital evidence which has helped us improve our services and make the case for greater investment and policy change.

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Earlier this week we @kinshipcharity.bsky.social launched our 2025 annual survey. Really grateful to all those individuals and organisations who can help to promote with kinship carers and via your networks. kinship.org.uk/our-work-and...

Kinship launches 2025 annual survey for kinship carers

Take part in Kinship's 2025 annual survey for kinship carers. Help us fight for the changes that kinship families need in England and Wales.

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Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Thanks to @appgkinshipcare.bsky.social for inviting us @kinshipcharity.bsky.social along to join this spotlight session. Our research shows that children in kinship care have a prevalence of SEND comparable to other social care groups, but are less likely to be receiving formalised support. 👇

Forgotten: Support for kinship children’s education and mental health

Forgotten reveals insights from Kinship's 2023 survey, highlighting the urgent need for better support for kinship children's education and mental health across England and Wales.

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Munira Wilson MP @munirawilson.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Kinship carers make huge sacrifices to take on the care of a child, with 45% having to stop work. Whilst I am glad that the Government's review will look at statutory paid leave for kinship carers, we cannot afford to have yet more dither and delay.

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Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

You can also check out the paper we published at the end of May this year which articulated our renewed case for kinship care leave and called on the government to ensure its review extended to consider paid leave entitlements for this group in support of its missions. 📄

Making work pay for kinship carers

Our new research strengthens the case for paid kinship care leave ahead of the government’s review of the parental leave system.

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Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Still a long way to go before we get the entitlement to statutory pay and leave which kinship carers deserve, but this is a really important milestone in recognising the unfair gap in the law which denies kinship families this crucial period of stability. More, as ever, at our policy tracker. 👇

Our kinship care policy tracker is the best place to understand more about the current state of play for kinship care policy in England.

Kinship care leave

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There's still lots more to do and to say on the pilot, and it's vital it doesn't paralyse progress towards a wider rollout nor prevents local authorities who aren't selected from improving their support (updated SGO guidance would really help here...), but it's good to see things moving forward.

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There's also nothing here around diversion from care or encouraging more kinship arrangements to begin - this earlier language didn't reflect how kinship care situations typically happen, nor the mechanics of how the system works or supports different groups. More on this at our policy tracker.

Our kinship care policy tracker is the best place to understand more about the current state of play for kinship care policy in England.

Financial allowances

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... despite the greater stability and permanence they feel this might bring. Financial support isn't the only factor here, but the pilot will help to illustrate what happens when local authorities equalise financial support to support the most effective care and permanence planning for children.

Out of Order: The case for boosting financial support for kinship arrangements outside the care system

Out of Order shares new analysis of data on children in and leaving kinship foster care and insights from our 2023 annual survey to make the case for boosting financial support for kinship arrangement...

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... reduces pressure on local authority budgets. b) is the central argument made in our Out of Order paper published last year, which identifies how poor and inconsistent financial support for kinship carers beyond kinship foster care is preventing some families moving other arrangements...

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