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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, 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 Designated Manager (Decision to Look After). In Peterborough this is a Service Manager – and the decision will usually be made at a meeting of the Threshold of Care Panel.

Where an Initial Assessment and/or Core Assessment identifies that a placement in foster care or residential care is required to meet the child’s needs, this must be referred to the Threshold of Care Panel (which is chaired by a Service Manager). The Panel will either agree to the child's placement in care or suggest an alternative package of support with a Child in Need Plan.

In any case where a placement in foster care or residential care may be required, the Access to Resources Team (ART) should also be informed. This will be through an initial telephone call and the ART worker receiving the referral will complete a written record. This will not be seen as a request for a placement, but as advance notice of the possibility that a placement may be required.

This may also provide the opportunity for the ART to advise the child's social worker and team manager of possible alternative packages of support which may be available to prevent the need for the child to come into care - in which case see Access to Family Support Services Procedure.

There may, however, be some exceptional circumstances in which decisions to look after children are required outside the Panel process. These circumstances will be where a risk assessment indicates that a situation is so serious that urgent action (including accommodation) is required. A decision for a child to come into care in such circumstances can only be agreed by the Designated Manager (Decision to Look After) until the date of the next available Threshold of Care Panel meeting.

The circumstances where such emergency action is necessary will be rare, and one or more of the following criteria need to be met:

• The child is subject to Police Protection or an Emergency Protection Order (EPO) and the risk assessment indicates that the child should come into care once the Police Protection or EPO expires; or
• The legal advice indicates that the grounds for an EPO are met and would be made, except that there is cooperation from those with Parental Responsibility
• The risk assessment indicates that the child, for his or her own safety, should be removed to alternative carers and, following an exhaustive search, there is no relative or friend who knows the child and can care for her/him.

Any decision to look after a child made outside office hours will be communicated by fax or email to the relevant team by the beginning of the next working day – see Emergency Placements Procedure.

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 making arrangements with other extended family members or friends who might be prepared to care for the child without the need for the child to come into care. In these circumstances, care must be taken 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 in which case the Placements with Connected Persons Procedure must be followed. A legal view may be helpful to clarify the status of the child and the placement – see Family and Friends Care Policy and Procedure and Family and Friends Arrangements for Children in Care.

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

Any arrangements whereby the child is not regarded as Looked After 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 in Need 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 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.

Wherever possible the above should be considered within a Threshold of Care Meeting.

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 Legal Planning Meeting and Court Proceedings 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 Access to Resources 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 Connected Person must be undertaken by the social worker jointly with a duty social worker from the Fostering Team. See Placements with Connected Persons Procedure.

For secure placements, see Placements in Secure Accommodation Procedure.

For placements outside the local authority area, see Placements Out of Area 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 Action Plan
• The child’s Personal Education Plan
• The contingency plan;
• The date of the child's first Child Care 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.

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 court order in relation to contact with a child in care; arrangements for contact with parents/anyone with Parental Responsibility/ any other relative or friend; arrangements for the appointment of an Independent Visitor for a Looked After Child.
• Social presentation
• Self-care skills.

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 Child Care Review. The Care Plan is subject to scrutiny at each Child Care Review – see Child Care Reviews Procedure.

See also 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 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 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 Family Placement Service, where the child is in foster care. 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 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/(recorded on the Placement Information Record) 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.  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 a Peterborough 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/Placement Information Record 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. For further details in relation to the child’s placement see the relevant Placement Procedure in Part 3.2 of the manual.
6.2	Once the child is placed, the social worker should confirm this to the Access to Resources Team (ART) who will ensure the details of the child’s placement/care package are logged on RAISE. The ART will also notify the relevant finance officer to trigger payments to carers/agencies for the agreed weekly cost of the placement and any additional services/costs. Notification of the placement will also be sent by the ART to the relevant health trust (see paragraph 6.4 below), the relevant education officer/school (see paragraph 6.5 below) and, where the child is placed outside the city, to Children’s Social Care Services in the relevant local authority.
6.3	The child's social worker must notify the Child Care Review Convenors of the placement, so that the necessary arrangements for the allocation of an Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) and the child’s first Child Care Review can be made.  See the Child Care Review Procedure for the procedures relating to reviews, including the responsibility for invitations to reviews.
6.4	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 Designated Nurse for LAC to assist with providing any information to complete the record. The social worker should also contact the Designated Nurse for LAC to arrange a Health Care Assessment within one month of the placement and the completion of a Health Action Plan in time for the child’s first Child Care Review.  See Health Care Assessments and Health Action Plans.  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.
6.5	Personal Education Plan (PEP).  The social worker should also liaise with ETLAC so that a Personal Education Plan (PEP) can be completed in time for the first Child Care 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 child and parents must also be provided with information about the complaints process and the availability of advocates – see Advocacy and Interpreting Services.
6.7	Changes in Legal Status. Any changes in a child’s legal status as a result of court proceedings must be notified to the Access to Resources Team who will update RAISE.

End