Crossword Genius

Guardians encourage father, terribly stern (6-7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

foster-parents

'guardians' is the definition.
(foster parent is a kind of guardian)

'encourage father terribly stern' is the wordplay.
'encourage' becomes 'foster' (fostering is a kind of encouraging).
'father' becomes 'pa' (pa can mean dad or father).
'terribly' indicates an anagram.
'stern' anagrammed gives 'rents'.
'foster'+'pa'+'rents'='FOSTER-PARENTS'

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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