• home
• full contents
• keywords & contacts
• contact us
• search

Contents

1. Decision to Look After Child  
2. The Care Plan 
3. Timescales for Completion 
4. Approval of the Care Plan  
5. Circulation of the Care Plan 
6. Other required Documentation  
7. Permanence Planning 

1. Decision to Look After Child

A decision to Looked After a child will be made by the Designated Manager (Decision to Look After) where an Initial and/or Core Assessment has identified that a placement and a structured package of support is required to meet the child’s needs. Except in the case of an emergency or where the Designated Manager (Decision to Look After) deems it not to be in the child’s interest, the case should have been referred to the Family Support Panel (see Family Support Panel Procedure).

Where the Threshold Criteria is met and Care Proceedings are being considered, the Public Law Outline must be observed, including a letter before proceedings (see Annexe B of Public Law Outline) and the Pre Proceedings checklist (see Annexe 5 of Public Law Outline).

In an emergency outside office hours, the Emergency Duty Officer can make the decision and any such decision will be communicated by fax or email to the relevant team by the beginning of the next working day.

The circumstances will be that:

• All attempts at early intervention to maintain and support the child with his or her family have broken down and there is no other relative or friend who can safely care for the child; or
• The child would be at risk of Significant Harm by remaining with the family and there is no other relative or friend who can safely care for the child; or
• The child is disabled and a series of short break placements is necessary to provide respite for his or her carers and there is no relative or friend who can safely care for the child.

The decision will only be made where the Designated Manager (Decision to Look After) is satisfied that appropriate consultation has taken place on the necessity, purpose and nature of the proposed placement, or where he or she is satisfied that the circumstances constitute an emergency and opportunities for consultation are limited.

Before a decision is made to look after a child, consideration should be given to other extended family members or friends who might be prepared to care for the child without the need for the child to be Looked After.

Any such placement would have to be agreed with the parent, and the social worker and manager must be satisfied that such an arrangement is sufficiently secure to meet the child’s needs and is supported by a Child in Need Plan.

See Children in Need - Relative Carers and Allowances Procedure.

If no such arrangement can be identified, or such an arrangement would not meet the child’s needs, a planning meeting will be held wherever possible to plan or consider:

• The date for the child’s admission to the Looked After Service
• The child’s immediate placement needs, including whether a Looked After placement with a relative or friend may be possible
• The longer term plan
• A date for the child to return home or when the decision will be reviewed
• An action plan of support and work to enable the necessary change for the child to return home
• The obtaining of parental consent to look after the child and Consent to medical care
• The need for Care Proceedings to secure the child’s placement.

The social worker will be responsible for seeking an appropriate placement for the child and making the necessary arrangements in relation to the placement, in accordance with the Placement Procedures contained in Placements Section.

Where a decision is made to pursue a Looked After placement with a relative or friend and the placement is likely to be for longer than 16 weeks, the assessment of the Connected Person as a Kinship Foster Carer must be arranged to commence immediately.

See Placements with Connected Persons (Formerly Regulation 38 Placements with Family and Friends) Procedure.

2. The Care Plan

In all circumstances where a decision is made to look after a child, the child must have a Care Plan, the contents of which include:

• The child's Placement Plan (setting out why the placement was chosen and how the placement will contribute to meeting the child's needs)
• The child's Permanence Plan (setting out the long term plans for the child's upbringing including timescales
• The Pathway Plan (where appropriate, for young people leaving care)
• The child's Health Plan
• The child's Personal Education Plan
• Contingency Plan
• The date of the child's first Looked After Review (within 21 days of placement)
• The name of the child's Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO)

The child’s social worker is responsible for drawing up and updating the Care Plan in consultation with:

1. The child
2. The child's parents or those with Parental Responsibility
3. Anyone who is not a parent but has been caring for or looking after the child
4. Other members of the child’s family network who are significant to the child
5. The child’s school or education authority
6. The relevant health trust
7. The Youth Offending Service, if the child is known to them
8. Any other agency involved with the child’s care

One of the key functions of the Care Plan is to ensure that each child has a Permanence Plan by the time of the second Looked After Review.  See Looked After Reviews Procedure

The care Plan should include the arrangements made to meet the child's needs in relation to his or her:

• Emotional and behavioural development
• The child's identity in relation to religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background
• Family and social relationships; arrangements for contact with sibling(s) accommodated by the authority or another local authority; details of any Section 8 Order, in relation to a Looked After Child; details of any order in relation to contact with a child in care; arrangements for contact with parents/anyone with Parental Responsibility/ any other Connected Person; arrangements for the appointment of an Independent Visitor for a Looked After Child.
• Social presentation
• Self-care skills.

See Care Plan Guidance.

3. Timescales for Completion

A Care Plan must be prepared prior to a child's first placement, or, if it is not practicable to do so, within 10 working days of the child's first placement.

4. Approval of the Plan

Any Care Plan taken before the Court within Care Proceedings must be endorsed and signed by a Designated Manager (Care Plans).

All other Care Plans must be endorsed and signed by the social worker’s manager. 

The Care Plan can be updated by the social worker, with the manager’s approval, at any time. 

The Care Plan is subject to scrutiny at each Looked After Review.

5. Circulation of Care Plan

The Care Plan must be circulated to the following people:

• The child
• The parent(s)
• Providers/Carers - if no Care Plan has been drawn up prior to the child’s placement, the social worker must ensure that the providers/carers understand the key objectives of the plan, and how the placement will help achieve these objectives.
• The child's Independent Reviewing Officer

6. Other Required Documentation

1. Placement Plan (recorded on the Placement Information Record)
   
   The child must have a Placement Plan at the time of the placement (this includes the parent's consent to the placement (if applicable) and the child's medical treatment).  It should be completed as far as possible before the child is placed, or if not reasonably practicable, within five working days of the start of the placement.
   
   The information to be included in the Placement Plan will include:
   1. How on a day-to-day basis the child will be cared for and the child's welfare will be safeguarded and promoted by the appropriate person
   2. Any arrangements for contact between the child and parents/anyone with Parental Responsibility/any other connected person, including, if appropriate, reasons why contact is not reasonably practicable or not consistent with the child's welfare; details of any Contact Order (under Section 8 or 34 of the Children Act 1989); the arrangements for notifying any changes in contact arrangements.
   3. Arrangements for the child's health (physical, emotional and mental) and dental care, including the name and address of registered medical and dental practitioners; arrangements for giving/withholding consent to medical/dental examination/treatment;
   4. Arrangements for the child's education and training, including the name and address of the child's school/other educational institution/provider and designated teacher; the Local Authority maintaining any statement of Special Educational Needs.
   5. The arrangements for and frequency of visits by the child's social worker; and for advice, support and assistance between visits
   6. If an Independent Visitor is appointed, the arrangements for them to visit the child
   7. The circumstances in which the placement may be terminated
   8. The name and contact details of  the Independent Reviewing Officer, the Independent Visitor if one is appointed, the social worker who will be visiting the child, and the Personal Adviser for an  Eligible Young Person.
   The Placement Plan will be recorded on the Placement Information Record on the child's electronic database.
2. Notifications on Form C250 The social worker should notify relevant agencies of the child’s placement using Form C250, ensuring that a copy of the form is sent to the Conference and Reviews Team. This will trigger the appointment of an Independent Reviewing Officer, who will liaise with the social worker to arrange a date for the child’s first Looked After Review.
3. Health Care.  Before or at the time of the placement, the social worker should request the parent to transfer the child’s Personal Child Health Record and should arrange a Health Care Assessment before the placement, or if not reasonably practicable before the first Looked After Review. The social worker should also complete a Health Care Plan in time for the first Looked After Review.  See Health Care Assessments Procedure.
4. Personal Education Plan (PEP).  The social worker should also notify the education department of the child’s placement and take the necessary steps to complete a Personal Education Plan as part of the Care Plan before the child becomes Looked After (or within 10 working days in the case of an emergency placement) and can be available in time for the first Looked After Review.  See Education of Looked After Children Procedure.

7. Permanence Planning

This should be read in conjunction with Looked After Reviews Procedure.

The Care Plan will be regularly reviewed at Looked After Reviews. 

By the time of the second Looked After Review, the Care Plan must contain a plan for achieving permanence for the child within a timescale that is realistic, achievable and meets the child’s needs.

If the placement is going to become permanent or a new, permanent placement is to be sought for the child, the Designated Manager (Permanent Placements) must be notified and a copy of the review minutes should be sent by the child’s social worker,  

See Permanence Planning Guidance

All subsequent Reviews should review the progress and validity of the Permanence Plan.

Depending on the contents of the Permanence Plan, the appropriate steps should be taken to achieve their implementation by reference to the appropriate procedures in this Manual, for example Placement for Adoption Procedure.

This is the case whether the Permanence Plan is the primary plan or the Contingency Plan.

End