'We had 10 minutes to decide whether to care for our disabled grandchild'

Despite a heart attack, giving up his business and having to move house, 65-year-old Alan says taking on the full-time care of his disabled grandchild is the best decision he has ever made.

Nine-year-old Ella, who has severe learning and physical disabilities, has been living with Alan and his wife Julie since she was a baby.

Her parents were unable to care for her and Alan says social services gave the couple just 10 minutes to decide whether to become Ella‘s "kinship carers".

He says: “A social worker said to us, ‘this place closes in about 10 minutes, we need to know if you are prepared to take her on’. ”

More than 140,000 children in England and Wales are being raised by kinship carers like Alan and Julie.

It is the term used for family and friends who take on a child because their parents are unable to care for them.

And according to the charity Kinship's annual survey, seven out of 10 kinship carers say they had “no time to prepare” for the child's arrival.

And four out of 10 report that they had less an hour to decide whether they were able to take a child on.

Unlike foster carers, who are paid by the local authority, kinship carers get no paid leave, no financial assistance and no social workers supporting them.

Alan had just returned from holiday when he was contacted by social services and asked to care for his granddaughter, or she would go into local authority care.

Alan and Julie, who is Ella’s step-grandmother, agreed, but because Ella was a baby and needed 24-hour care, it meant they had to give up their property maintenance business and move from Bradford to Leeds, where Ella lived.

He says: “It was a no-brainer for us.

“We would do the same for any of our grandchildren."

Ella was born with Charge Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, which means she has had to have two heart operations and has learning disabilities.

She attends a special school and is fed through a peg in her stomach.

Julie says: “It was harder because Ella was the only one of our grandchildren who had a disability.

“They told us after we took her on what we would have to do and how we would have to do it.

“It was nerve-wracking and it was hard, but I don’t ever regret taking her and I never will.”

Alan and Julie now have a Special Guardianship Order which means they have parental responsibility until Ella is 18.

Alan has had a heart attack and Julie, who is 66, also has some health problems.

Ella’s aunt Claire recently moved into their council house to help the family manage. She is paid a few hours a week as Ella‘s carer.

Claire says: “She can be cheeky and she is demanding too, but she is just a happy child.

“They (Alan and Julie) have done really well.

“I have seen her as a baby and I have watched her grow up and the change in her is noticeable.”

Lisa Watch, director of policy and communications at Kinship, says: “The outcomes are much better for children to stay within secure, loving families.

“But these families have been under the radar for too long and very often make this life-changing decision overnight and then are not entitled to the support.”

She says the charity helps kinship carers navigate what can be a daunting journey.

Kinship offers free services across the country, including an advice line, peer support groups, free training sessions, workshops and roadshows.

“These children, like any other child that has gone into the care system, will have early trauma and need support and that support just doesn’t automatically exist for these families.”

Ella’s grandparents say they were warned by doctors their granddaughter may never walk - but Ella can now walk unsupported.

Julie says: “She makes us proud every time she does something.”

Alan adds: “Taking Ella on is the best thing I have ever done in my life.

“It is amazing”.

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