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3.1.3 Decision to Look After, Care and Placement Planning

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

This procedure applies to all decisions to look after children.

For children who may be the subject of Care Proceedings, it should also be read in conjunction with the Care Proceedings/ Legal Planning Procedure and Flowchart for Panel Processes for Children and Families.

See also Public Law Outline - What does it Mean for Local Authorities?

AMENDMENTS

This chapter was amended in September 2011 to reflect the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations, 2010 and Associated Guidance. In particular Sections 2, The Care Plan, Section 3, Timescales for Completion of the Care Plan and Section 6.1 in relation to the contents of the Placement Plan have been amended.


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 Plans, Documentation and Actions  


1. Decision to Look After Child

1.1

The Decision

A child may not come into care without the express permission of a Service Manager on the recommendation of a team manager/assistant team manager.
1.2

Considerations before a Decision to Look After is made

The decision to look after a child will only be made where those making the decision are satisfied that appropriate consultation has taken place and appropriate consideration has been given to the necessity, purpose and nature of the proposed placement or, where the circumstances constitute an emergency, opportunities for consultation are limited.

Before a decision is made to look after a child, consideration should be given to facilitating arrangements between the parents and other extended family members or friends who might be prepared to care for the child without the need for the child to become Looked After. In these circumstances, care must be taken as, where the local authority has been involved in the arrangements for the child to be cared for by relatives, the child may be viewed as within the definition of Looked After and a legal view may be helpful to clarify the status of the child and the placement.

Alternatively, the child may come within the definition of Privately Fostered after 27 days, in which case the Private Fostering Procedure will apply.

In any event, any such arrangements would have to be agreed with the parent or a person with Parental Responsibility, and the social worker must be satisfied that such an arrangement is sufficiently secure to meet the child’s needs and is supported by a Child's Plan. 

If no such arrangement can be identified or such an arrangement would not meet the child’s needs, the child's social worker, with his or her team manager, should consider:

  • The child’s immediate placement needs - including the child’s views, the views of the parents, those with Parental Responsibility and any other person whose wishes and feelings the authority consider to be relevant - and whether a placement with a Connected Person may be possible
  • The timescales for the child’s placement
  • A planned date for the child to return home or when the decision will be reviewed
  • The actions of support and work to be included in the Care Plan to enable the necessary change for the child to return home wherever possible
  • The obtaining of parental consent to look after the child and consent to medical care
  • The contact arrangements with birth parents, siblings, extended family and friends.

Where it is considered that Care Proceedings should be initiated to secure the child’s placement, a Legal Planning Meeting should be requested by the child's social worker - see Care Proceedings/ Legal Planning Procedure.

Any decision that a child should be the subject of Care Proceedings should have regard to the requirements of the Public Law Outline, and in particular the Pre-Proceedings Checklist - see Public Law Outline - What does it Mean for Local Authorities?

All decisions made should be recorded; they should be signed, dated and placed on file, including the reasons for reaching the decision.
1.3

Actions required after a Decision to Look After is made

In relation to children where Care Proceedings are being considered to secure the child's placement, a Legal Planning Meeting should be convened. 

In all cases, if it is agreed that the child should become Looked After, the child’s social worker will draw up a draft Care Plan (see Section 2, The Care Plan) with clear timescales and a statement as to whether the child’s needs would best be met in a family placement or residential care. 

If a foster or residential placement is required, the social worker will then request a placement from the Placement Team. The relevant procedure to be followed, including the need to hold a Placement Planning Meeting, will be found in the Placements in Foster Care Procedure or the Placements in Residential Care Procedure.

Where a decision is made to pursue a Looked After placement with a Connected Person (or the child’s placement with a relative or friend is judged to be a Looked After placement), an immediate assessment of the relative/friend must be undertaken by the social worker. See Immediate Placements with Family and Friends (under Regulation 24 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010) and their Approval as Foster Carers Procedure.

For secure placements, see Placements in Secure Accommodation 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 completed by the social worker and signed by the relevant team manager, 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
  • The contingency plan;
  • The date of the child's first Looked After Review (within 20 working days)
  • The name of the Independent Reviewing Officer.

Where there is no recent Core Assessment in relation to the child, the Care Plan must provide for a Core Assessment to be completed.

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 and 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 the education service
  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.

The social worker should ensure that the child, those with Parental Responsibility and the carer understand the Care Plan and their role in contributing to its implementation.

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

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.


3. Timescales for Completion

The Care Plan must be drawn up as soon as the need for the child to come into care has been identified or, if it is not practicable to do so, within 10 working days of the child’s first placement.


4. Approval of the Care Plan

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

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


5. Circulation of the 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 Fostering Team, where the child is in an in-house foster placement. N.B. The Care Plan should be filed in the confidential section of the foster carer’s file and returned to the child’s social worker when the placement ends.
  • The Residential Service, where the child is in an in-house residential placement.
  • The child’s Independent Reviewing Officer.


6. Other Required Plans, Documentation and Actions

6.1

Placement Plan/Placement Information Record

The child must have a Placement Plan/Placement Information Record at the time of the placement or, if not reasonably practicable, within 5 working days of the start of the placement. (This includes the parent’s consent to the placement (if applicable) and the child’s medical treatment). 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/witholding 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 Plan/Placement Information Record on the child’s electronic database.

Copies of the Placement Plan/Placement Information Record must be provided to the child (if of sufficient age and understanding), the parents and must be handed to the residential staff/carers before the child is placed.  One copy should also be placed on the child’s file and, in the case of a child placed with an in-house foster carer, one copy sent to the Fostering Team – to be kept in the confidential section of the foster carer's file and returned at the end of the placement.

At the time of the placement, the residential staff/carers should also be given any additional information about details of the child’s day to day needs which are not covered by the Placement Plan but are important to ensure that the staff/carers are in the best possible position to help the child settle in the new placement, for example any particular fears at night-time or the child’s favourite toys.

In an out of hours placement, a copy of the Placement Plan/Placement Information Record (completed as far as possible) should be handed to the child’s carer when the child is placed and the Emergency Duty Team social worker should fax a copy to the relevant social work team by the beginning of the next working day. The Emergency Duty Team social worker must also inform the Placement Team of the placement on the next working day - see Emergency Placements Procedure.
6.2 The child's social worker must notify the Review Coordinator at the Safeguarding and Quality Assurance Service of the placement, so that the necessary arrangements for the allocation of an Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) and the child’s first Looked After Review can be made - see the Looked After Reviews Procedure.
6.3

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. Where this is lost or not available, the social worker should ask for a replacement to be issued and ask the LAC Health Coordinator to assist with providing any information to complete the record.

The social worker should also contact the LAC Health Coordinator to arrange a Health Assessment and the completion of a Health Action Plan before the placement or, if not reasonably practicable, in time for the child’s first Looked After Review - see Health Assessments and Health Action Plans Procedure. 

In addition, the social worker should inform the carer of any medication the child is taking, and ensure that a supply of medication is provided in a clearly labelled bottle with the child’s name, required dosage and the time the medication is to be given - see Administration of Medication for All Looked After Children Procedure.
6.5

Personal Education Plan (PEP)

The social worker should also liaise with the child's school and the LACE Team as appropriate so that a Personal Education Plan (PEP) can be completed as part of the Care Plan – before the placement or if not practicable, within 10 working days of the placement and in time for the first Looked After Review - see Education of Children in Care Procedure.
6.6

Provision of information

The child’s social worker must provide the child and parents with written information about the placement, the complaints process and the availability of advocates.
6.7

Changes in Legal Status

Any changes in a child’s legal status as a result of court proceedings must be recorded on the child's electronic case record.

End