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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 and Documentation
7. Permanence Planning

1. Decision to Look After Child

This guidance supports the new ‘Public Law Protocol’, which expects more extensive assessment and support activity to have been completed by Local Authorities before instigating proceedings. It is expected, therefore, that proceedings are not instigated before needs are properly assessed and alternatives to proceedings explored rigorously. The overarching principles of the Children Act 1989 which include a welfare checklist and significant harm threshold need to be addressed.

1. Background

1.1	Decisions to instigate Care Proceedings and to admit children into the Looked After system are significant, and have a lasting impact on the life-chances of a child or young person, and on her/his family.
1.2	Section 1(5) of the Children Act specifies that no order should be made in respect of a child unless the Court is satisfied that doing so would be better for the child than making no order at all.
1.3	Section 17(1) specifies the Local Authority’s general duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in their area and to promote their upbringing by their families.
1.4	Care Proceedings and more particularly a care episode, are initiated by a local authority under Section 31.
1.5	Section 23(1)(6) specifies that any local authority looking after a child shall make arrangements to enable that child to live with a member of his family, relative, friend or other person connected with him, unless to do so would be impractical or inconsistent with the child’s welfare.
1.6	Section 20 allows the local authority to look after a child on the basis of there being parental agreement to such an arrangement – in these circumstances the local authority does not gain parental responsibility and no notice by the parent is required for removal.
1.7	These duties are entirely consistent with The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea’s commitment to maximise the care of children within their immediate family and wider kinship networks, and to avoid public care where alternatives exist and can be supported.

2. Decision-making

2.1

Acknowledging the magnitude and impact of decisions to apply for Parental Responsibility through the Courts, or indeed to bring a young person into the care system on a voluntary basis, the following procedure must be followed for: Cases where proceedings are being considered Having consulted with the Family Support and Child Protection Adviser and a Head of Service the Social Worker and Team Manager/Senior Social Worker, will make a decision to call a Legal Planning Meeting; Prior to the meeting taking place the Social Worker and Team Manager should consider what order they think is required and why, how any future assessments could be undertaken and what their preferred Care Plan is; A Legal Planning Meeting must be chaired by the Head of Service and should include: Social Worker, Team Manager or SSW, legal representative, and FSCPA. Other professionals (for example health, Family Placement unit staff) should be invited as necessary.; The social worker must bring a summary of the case and risks, an up to date chronology and the basic information sheet and Core Assessment; A detailed record of this meeting will be kept. The record will evidence the discussion of the relative risks and likely outcomes of taking and of not taking the proposed course of action; The Head of Service is the accountable decision-maker. S20 Accommodation In order to make a decision to accommodate a young person on a voluntary basis a S20 Planning Meeting must take place. The procedure for setting up and running such a meeting is identical to that outlined above for Legal Planning Meetings accept that a legal representative need not be invited.

3. Requirements

3.1

In all cases, the Legal Planning Meeting or S20 Planning Meeting, will examine whether the following requirements have been met, or whether there are reasons for their not being met: All reasonable efforts have been made, and services commissioned, to support the child and their family effectively thereby avoiding the need to become Looked After or subject to legal proceedings; A Family Group Conference has been considered to enable the child, family and extended family to be fully involved in decision-making about the child’s future safety and wellbeing; A full and thorough search of the child’s kinship and friendship network, on both maternal and paternal side of the family, has been conducted to explore the possibility of kinship placement for the child; A wider group of professionals involved with the family have contributed to the social worker’s assessment and analysis of strengths and risks; The implications of being in the Care system have been considered, alongside the risks faced in the family, a judgement having been made that the child’s outcomes will improve by being Looked After; The plan for intervention addresses short and longer-term outcomes and considers routes out of Care for the child; The Children’s Placement Planning Group has considered the case if it involves children over the age of 10. All of the above is entirely commensurate with the principles of the Children Act 1989.

3.2

The extent to which the above requirements have been addressed or met should ensure that proceedings are not instigated unnecessarily. There will be times when all the above requirements have not been met when: The decision can be made not to instigate proceedings; The risk of further significant harm to a child will mean that any further assessments or support should be undertaken within the context of court proceedings.

4. Emergency Situations

4.1	Emergency situations are rare, and only apply where there is an immediate care crisis (i.e. that night) for the child/young person, when an Emergency Protection Order is needed.
4.2	Even in emergency situations there is usually time to convene a Legal Planning Meeting. If this is not the case the Team Manager will weigh up the relative risks and likely outcomes of taking and of not taking legal action. The Team Manager, Emergency Duty Team Manager if the matter is being dealt with out of office hours, will then seek a decision from a Head of Service or Head of Service as to whether or not to instigate proceedings.
4.3	Emergency legal proceedings should not preclude consideration of the requirements above.

5. Subsequent Legal Planning Meetings

5.1	When a case is in proceedings it is accepted that Head of Service attendance at Legal Planning Meeting is not required unless there are major resource implications to be discussed. In such cases the Team Manager or FSCPA will chair.

6. Conflict Resolution

6.1	Where agreement cannot be reached in a planning meeting, the Head of Service is the accountable decision-maker, and should, at the earliest opportunity, bring the fact of the contested decision to the attention of the Head of Service.

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 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 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.

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 Plans Guidance.

3. Timescales for Completion

The Care Plan must be drawn up as soon as the need for the child to be looked after has been identified.  It should be completed prior to the child’s first placement in accordance with the outcome of the planning meeting referred to in Section 1, Decision to Looked After Child, Paragraph 1, Background.

 If there are exceptional reasons that prevent the Care Plan from being drawn up prior to the child’s placement, the key objectives of the child’s proposed placement must still be identified and recorded.

If satisfied, the manager can then approve that the Care Plan is drawn up within a maximum of 7 days of the placement. 

There should be a clear permanence plan by the second review, and a clear contingency plan should be in place by the third review.

4. Approval of the Care Plan

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

All other 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 Plans and Documentation

The child must have a Placement Plan.  Placement Plan Part 1 must be completed and circulated before or on the day the placement starts; Placement Plan Part 2 should be completed and circulated before or on the day the placement starts; if this is not possible and the manager authorises it, this plan can be completed within 7 days of the placement starting.

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 VisitorS 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 PersonS.

The Placement Plan will be recorded on the Placement Information Record on the child's electronic database.

In addition the social worker should request the parent to transfer the child’s Personal Child Health Record and arrange a Health Care Assessment.

A Personal Education Plan (PEP) should be completed before the placement starts or within 20 days.

In an Emergency Placement, the information will usually be incomplete but will be completed with the information available at the time.  A copy of the Record will be handed to the child’s carer and a copy will also be faxed to the relevant social work team.

It is the social worker’s responsibility to co-ordinate the process of completing these records.  The most appropriate person to gather and/or document some of this information may, however, be the parent, foster carer or the fostering social worker.

If a section is not applicable at this stage e.g. the education section in relation to a preschool child, it should be left blank and completed at a later stage if the child remains looked after.

The records should be updated as necessary before every Looked After Review, using supplementary sheets if necessary.

7. Permanence Planning

Permanence for a Looked After child means achieving, within a timescale which meets the child’s needs, a permanent outcome which provides security and stability to the child throughout his or her childhood.  It is therefore the best preparation for adulthood. 

Wherever possible, permanence will be achieved through a return to the parents’ care or a placement within the wider family but where this cannot be achieved within a time-scale appropriate to the child’s needs, plans will be made for a permanent alternative family placement, which may include adoption, or, for older children, a stable placement which prepares the child for adulthood.

Where Adoption is the plan for Permanence, see Placement for Adoption Procedure.

Where adoption is not the plan for Permanence, see Section 7.1, Summary of Looked After Review Procedures.

Also see Permanence Planning Procedure

7.1 Summary of Looked After Review Procedures

For detailed procedures see 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 permanence plan is likely to be adoption or long term fostering then the Adoption and Permanency Team should be consulted prior to the Review.

At the third Looked After Review, a Contingency Plan must be made where the plan for permanence has not been achieved. 

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

7.2 Permanence Planning Meetings

The following procedure normally applies to children over the age of 13 where there is a plan for Permanence.  If the plan is for the child to be Adopted, see Placement for Adoption Procedure.

This procedure is designed to complement the procedures set out in Looked After Reviews Procedure.

First Permanence Planning Meeting

Having identified the need for a permanent foster placement, the child’s social worker must convene a Permanency Planning Meeting. 

The first Permanency Planning Meeting should be chaired by the Adoption and Permanency Manager, and the key people should be invited (i.e. allocated fostering social worker, the child’s social worker and manager/supervisor.

The social worker should prepare a report prior to the Permanency Planning Meeting that sets out information under the following headings:

• Basic information;
• Background history;
• The current Care Plan.

The report should also provide information in relation to the child on the following matters:

1. Ethnicity and religion;
2. Contact;
3. Education;
4. Health;
5. Behaviour;
6. Geography and community.

The first Permanency Planning Meeting will consider the report and identify the profile of a foster placement that will meet the needs of the child.  The above information should be recorded on a Meeting Record in Lotus and circulated to any party who may not have access to Lotus. 

A date should then be agreed for a second Permanency Planning Meeting, usually about 4-6 weeks later.

The allocated permanency social worker will attempt to identify an in-house or  consortium foster carer to meet the permanence needs of the child. They will also contact agencies in the private and voluntary sector to identify possible availability of carers. This worker will produce a report for the second Permanency Planning Meeting, setting out the details of foster carers who were considered, and make recommendations about whether any of these can meet the child’s needs.

Second Permanence Planning Meeting

The second Permanency Planning Meeting will be convened within 4-6 weeks of the first Permanency Planning Meeting to consider the options available and decide from one of the following:

1. Progress permanence with one of the identified carers;
2. Continue to search for an appropriate in-house carer – long term carers are unlikely to be available in-house unless a short term carer wishes continue caring for a child permanently who currently resides with her/him;
3. Seek funding agreement to search for a foster carer in the private and voluntary sector;
4. Details of this meeting should be recorded on the Lotus Meeting Record.

Third/Subsequent Permanence Planning Meetings

Where appropriate, a date will be set for a further Permanency Planning Meeting to progress the agreed plan.  At each Permanency Planning Meeting the options available will be considered.

Where funding is agreed (in writing) for foster carer in the private and voluntary sector it will be the responsibility of the allocated permanency social worker to undertake this search.  This worker will produce a written report for the subsequent Permanency Planning Meetings setting out the details of agencies/foster carers who were considered, and make recommendations about whether any of these can meet the young person’s needs.  If it has not been possible to identify a placement in this way, the meeting will need to consider whether permanence through fostering is a viable and realistic plan.

The child’s social worker and the permanency social worker should together visit the carers they are considering in their home and give clear information about the needs of the child to be fostered and any specific behavioural problems.  More than one visit may be needed to assess the capacity of the foster carers to care for the child.

When an appropriate placement with an approved foster carer has been identified and agreed at a Permanency Planning meeting it will be necessary for the match to be presented to the Adoption and Permanency Panel together with the Form F for the carer and the Form E for the child, both up-dated.  If a suitable carer has only been approved for short term fostering then an addendum report and assessment will be needed following meetings with the  carer where the issues for long term fostering should have been discussed and agreed.  For in-house carers this will be completed by the Permanency family finding social worker and for Agency carers by their Agency link worker.  If a carer is not yet approved the Adoption and Permanency Team would undertake the assessment for long term fostering for a specific child.

The Adoption and Permanency Panel will then make a recommendation to the Director for Family Services who will make the formal decision.

Once the match is agreed an introduction planning meeting is arranged chaired by the Manager of Adoption and Permanency and attended by the current foster carers, prospective long term foster carers and both their link workers, the family finding social worker and the child’s social worker and their Manager.  At this meeting information about the child is exchanged, placement arrangements clarified, and introductions planned.

End