4.6.2 Holidays and School Trips Inside the UK |
SCOPE OF THIS PROCEDURE
This procedure applies to holidays and school/organisational trips within the UK for all Looked After Children. Procedures for holidays and school/organisational trips outside of the UK are set out in Holidays and School/Organisational Trips Outside the UK
For organisational trips, reference can be made to the Leisure and Activities Procedure in the Bradford Children's Homes manual.
AMENDMENTS
This chapter was amended in December 2008 (new Section 2, Holidays During School Term) and is under review.
There is a dedicated Children’s Homes manual and it contains a chapter on this subject that is intended for the sole use of staff in Residential Children’s homes - see Bradford Children's Homes Procedures Manual, Holidays and School Trips Procedure.
Contents
1. Holidays in the UK
Where there is a proposal for a Looked After Child to go on holiday in the UK, the child’s social worker must obtain full information about the holiday, and seek the views of the child and where appropriate, the parent.
If the parents Consent, their consent must be obtained in writing.
Where the social worker, parent and staff/carer agree to the proposed holiday, the holiday can be approved and should be included in the child’s Placement Plan.
Where parental consent is not given, the social worker should obtain legal advice as to whether the holiday can go ahead.
Where the social worker considers that the holiday should go ahead despite the parents’ opposition and legal advice supports this, the approval of the social
worker’s manager to the holiday should be sought. The request for such approval should include the legal advice given.
Written confirmation of the manager’s decision, together with the reasons, should be provided to the parent.
Where the holiday will involve additional costs, the social worker should obtain approval for the costs from the relevant manager (See delegated financial authority) before the holiday can be agreed.
If approved, the holiday should be included in the child’s Placement Plan.
Where the holiday will interrupt contact arrangements between the child and parents, consideration should also be given to including in the Placement Plan additional contacts before and after the holiday.
2. Holidays During School Term
At no time will any professional, IRO or carer agree or make arrangements for a looked after child to be taken on holiday, within term time. There may some exceptional circumstances:
These were:
- If one of the carers has to take their holidays due to their workplace closing etc.
- If there is a special event in the family such as a wedding
- If there are specific reasons because of a child's disability that would cause problems to the foster family if they used normal holiday periods.
- If children in the household have different school holiday dates
The process for agreeing whether there are exceptional circumstances is that the Foster Carer must notify the child's social worker at least ten weeks before they wish to take the child out of school. The Social Worker would send this request to the Group Services Manager (Care Management) who would respond within 14 days. If the plan is agreed, permission is also needed from the child's school.
The timing of the proposed holiday will be taken into account as well as the child's attendance record and progress at school as well as the view of the school of the impact on that child's education.
It is unlikely that any request for holidays in term time for those children in their GCSE year or about to sit SATs would be agreed to unless essential.
Please note - it is very important that permission is gained from Group Services Manager (Care Management) before any arrangements/bookings are made.
3. School/Organisational Trips of up to 4 days away
The child’s participation in school/organisational trips should be considered at the time of the placement, and the consultation required before they can be agreed should be included in the Placement Plan.
Where a child is placed with the parents, the Placement Plan will usually provide that a school trip can be agreed by the social worker in consultation with the school and the parent.
Where a child is placed in foster care or residential care, the Placement Plan will usually authorise the staff/carer to agree to the child going on school or other organisational trips of without prior consultation with the social worker or the parent. If the staff/carer have not been so authorised, the child’s social worker and parents must be consulted before agreement can be given.
For trips of up to 4 days away that staff/carers can agree, see also Section 2 of Contact with Relatives and Friends Procedure.
Where parental consent is not given, the social worker should consult their manager and obtain legal advice as necessary. Where the manager agrees to the child going on the trip despite parental opposition, the reasons must be recorded and explained to the parent.
End