Survation has conducted online polling of British adults to find out the public’s awareness for BAAF Adoption and Fostering. Private fostering is when parents make a private arrangement with someone, other than a close relative, to look after their child for 28 days or more. We found that just 9% of the public select this definition. This lack of awareness of private fostering may contribute to low levels of notification to authorities.

We asked 3,142 British adults:

Which of the following best matches your understanding of the term private fostering?

If you have not heard of the term, please select have not heard of private fostering at the bottom.

1. Where the state re-homes a child in care with a private couple, who are not their close relatives, for a period of 3 months or more
2. Where the state re-homes a child in care with a private couple, who are not their close relatives, on a temporary basis for under 3 months
3. Where parents make a private arrangement with someone, other than a close relative, to look after their child for 28 days or more
4. Where children in care are sent to be looked after by a childrens’ home that is run by a private company or charity outside state control
5. Where a child spends their school terms living at a private boarding school rather than with their family
6. Don’t know / I have not heard of “private fostering”

Less than one in ten (9%) selected the correct option – number three. Most respondents (59%) said they don’t know or have not heard of private fostering. Of the 41% who did select an option, the majority (65%) incorrectly selected one of the first two options, believing private fostering to be where the state re-homes a child in care with a private couple.

Fieldwork was conducted 29th June – 2nd July 2015. Data tables with explanation of methodology are available here. Survation is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

To find out more about Survation’s services, and how you can conduct an online opinion poll for your research needs, please visit our services page.