How schools can support kinship families.
A school can reduce stress quickly by recognizing the child's real caregiver, protecting privacy and making ordinary school systems work for non-parent families.
Part of our For Professionals resource series. See the main For Professionals guide for the wider topic and related resources.
Professional resource reviewed September 2026. PEI laws, programs and service processes can change, so use the linked official source when a current rule matters.
Start by identifying the child's actual caregiver.
A student may be living with a grandparent, aunt, uncle, adult sibling, family friend or another trusted adult. Some caregivers have guardianship or a court order. Others are informal caregivers. Ask what authority the school needs for the specific decision rather than assuming the person has no role because they are not a parent.
Use forms and language that fit real families.
- Use "parent / guardian / caregiver" where possible.
- Do not assume the caregiver and child share a surname.
- Ask who may receive information, sign forms and pick the child up.
- Keep private family history out of reception areas and public conversations.
Family-themed assignments need flexibility.
Family trees, Mother's Day, Father's Day and "bring your parents" activities can unintentionally force a child to disclose private circumstances. Offer options such as "important adult," "people who care for me" or another inclusive format.
Behaviour may be connected to loss or trauma.
Kinship-care research and professional guidance note that children can show school avoidance, concentration problems, friendship difficulty, sensitivity to correction or challenging behaviour after disrupted caregiving. Consider what the behaviour communicates before treating every problem as simple non-compliance.
School handoff for a new kinship placement · PEI Student Well-being Teams
Keep the caregiver informed.
Grandparents may be returning to the school system after decades. Explain portals, attendance systems, learning supports and school procedures without assuming familiarity. A single reliable school contact can reduce repeated retelling of the family story.
PEI Student Well-being Teams can help.
Student Well-being Teams work in all PEI public schools and provide direct support for mental, social and physical health concerns. Current teams include social workers, nurses, outreach workers and family support workers. Families and other groups connected to the student can refer, and the program operates year-round.
Ask privately about financial barriers.
School trips, uniforms, lunches, devices, sport and transportation can become difficult when a child moves suddenly into a relative's household. Tell caregivers what support is available without requiring the child to explain the family's finances publicly.
Do not make the child carry information between adults.
Where consent and authority allow, communicate directly with the caregiver and appropriate professionals rather than asking the student to deliver messages about attendance, parent contact or family conflict.
What a kinship-friendly school can do this month.
- Review enrolment forms for parent-only language.
- Identify one staff contact for kinship caregivers.
- Brief staff on privacy and family-themed assignments.
- Know how to refer to the Student Well-being Team.
- Make school-cost assistance easy to ask about.
When intimate images or AI deepfakes affect a student, avoid repeated viewing and repeated disclosure.
Use one response lead, protect privacy, assess immediate safety, coordinate with the caregiver and use Canadian reporting and removal services where appropriate.
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