Advice & Support

Social Disadvantages & Being Marginalised from Support Sibling kinship care can keep brothers and sisters together, protect important family relationships and give children the opportunity to remain connected to their family, community, culture and identity. However, the same families who step forward to provide care can also experience significant disadvantage. Sibling kinship carers may give up work or education, experience financial hardship, live in overcrowded housing an

If you are caring for a younger brother or sister, one of the most important things to understand is what type of arrangement you have. Some sibling kinship care arrangements are agreed informally within the family. Others involve social services, fostering arrangements or a court order. The legal arrangement can make a significant difference to who has parental responsibility, who can make important decisions, what support you may receive and what financial help may be avail

What is sibling kinship care? Sibling kinship care is when an older brother or sister takes on the main caring responsibility for a younger sibling because their parent or parents are unable to care for them. It is a form of kinship care, sometimes called family and friends care, where a child lives with someone they already know and trust rather than with an unrelated foster carer (Department for Education, 2024). Sibling relationships are often some of the longest relations

Sibling kinship care is a distinct form of kinship care. While kinship carers can include grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, family friends and other people connected to a child, sibling kinship carers are brothers and sisters who take on the primary responsibility for caring for a younger sibling. Research suggests that sibling kinship carers can have different experiences and circumstances from other kinship carers, particularly grandparents. Sibling carers are often y

Money Matters Taking responsibility for a sibling can change your finances very quickly. You may suddenly need to pay for food, clothing, school costs, transport, furniture, childcare and other everyday expenses. You may also have to reduce your working hours, leave employment or pause your education because of your caring responsibilities. Research has found that many kinship carers experience financial hardship and may give up employment or education to care for children in

Becoming responsible for a younger brother or sister can happen suddenly and in circumstances that are extremely difficult. An older sibling may become a carer following the death of a parent, family breakdown, abuse or neglect, parental substance misuse, imprisonment, serious illness or another crisis. There may be little time to prepare, and the sibling carer may have to make major changes to their own life while also supporting a younger sibling(s). Becoming a Sibling C