Teachers need to work more effectively with children who are cared for by extended family or friends. Research commissioned by the Government reveals that those cared for by family or friends function as well as those in traditional foster care. They are reported to integrate more easily into their foster families than those placed with strangers. There is less likely to be tension when the foster children are known to the family. But the report concluded that there needs to be greater support for these families from schools, local authorities and fostering networks.

www.dcsf.gov.uk.