South Shields Town Hall Lit Blue for Kinship Care Week

Anyone passing along Westoe Road on Tuesday evening may have noticed South Shields Town Hall looking a little different. On the night of 6 October, South Tyneside Council lit the Edwardian building blue to mark Kinship Care Week 2026 and to say thank you to the kinship carers looking after children across the borough.

Kinship Care Week runs from 5 to 11 October this year. The council says it is holding a range of events and activities through the week to recognise the stability and support these families give. A council spokesperson summed up the message simply: "A big thank you to all our kinship carers for the difference you make every single day."

What is kinship care?

A kinship carer (sometimes called a connected carer) is someone who looks after a child who cannot live with their birth parents. They are usually a grandparent, aunt, uncle, older brother or sister, or a family friend, and the arrangement often begins at very short notice, when a family hits a crisis.

The big advantage for the child is continuity. Staying with people they already know helps children keep their links to their family, their identity and their local community, rather than moving in with strangers. That is a lot to take on, though, and many carers are juggling work, their own health and finances alongside a child who may have been through a difficult time.

Where South Tyneside families can get help

South Tyneside Council has a set of pages for kinship carers covering the different types of care arrangement, assessments and the support it can offer.

If the child's family is already working with the council, the first port of call is their allocated social worker. If you are caring for a relative's or friend's child and the council is not involved, you can contact Children and Families Social Care directly.

Best for: Children and Families Social Care: 0191 424 5010 (Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 5pm, Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm). Outside those hours, call 0191 456 2093.

For independent advice, the national charity Kinship, which leads Kinship Care Week, runs a free advice line for kinship carers in England and Wales on 0300 123 7015, open Monday to Friday from 10.30am to 1pm.

The lighting-up was first reported by the Shields Gazette.

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