Sussex Child Protection and Safeguarding Procedures
Sussex Child Protection and Safeguarding Procedures Sussex Child Protection and Safeguarding Procedures

1.3.1 Decision to Look After

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

The chapter summarises the key steps that must be taken in deciding that a child should become Looked After.

Please read in conjunction with Process Flow Diagram: Looked After Children Operations


Contents

  1. Decision to Look After a Child
  2. The Care Plan
  3. Other Plans and Arrangements

1. Decision to Look After a Child

Timely assessments will incorporate consideration of providing supports to the family and or extended family to bolster their abilities to continue safely caring for the child.

Research clearly indicates that the outcomes for those children who become Looked After are significantly poorer than those who remain in their family of origin. It is therefore important that all attempts to exhaust the Local Authority duties, under Section 17 Children Act 1989, to promote & safeguard the welfare of children within their family are made.

Any decision to commence Care Proceedings, must take account of the Public Law Outline (See Public Law Outline Guidance) and assessments will consider

Assessments will consider:-

  • Support available from within the extended family and social network
  • Family arrangements for alternative Carers within their network
  • Planned support available from other agencies
  • Consideration of referral to other support agencies
  • Support available from within Social Care

Consideration should be given to convening a Family Group Conference and or using mediation & support services.

If placements are required, all efforts will be made to ensure joint agency planning: see Joint Agency Placement Planning Group (JAPLAG) Procedures.

Who Makes the decision to Look After?

Where it has been established that the child should be Looked After, the Head of Service should be consulted and, if required, the case presented to the Area Panel. If a joint agency placement seems to be appropriate, it will be necessary to refer the case to the Joint Agency Placement Planning Group (JAPLAG) see Joint Agency Placement Planning Group (JAPLAG) Procedures.

Outside office hours, the Emergency Duty Team can make the decision to Look After a child (See Emergency Duty Team Procedures). Any decision to place the child outside office hours must be supported by a Placement Plan/Placement Information Record which should be completed as fully as possible and communicated to the relevant team by the beginning of the next working day.

A decision to Look After a child may occur in the following circumstances:

  • All attempts or possibilities at intervention to maintain and support the child with his or her family have broken down; or
  • The child would be at risk of Significant Harm by remaining with the family.

The decision should only be made if appropriate consultation has taken place on the necessity, purpose and nature of the proposed placement.

If a Core Assessment has not been completed or it is not up to date, a Core Assessment must be completed (see Core Assessments Procedures). If approval is given, the Social Worker should complete a Fostering Referral, see Placements in Fostercare Procedures


2. The Care Plan

See Care Plans and Proceedings Guidance.

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
  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

2.1 Timescales for completion of the Care Plan

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 Look After.

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.

2.2 Approval of the Care Plan

Any Care Plan taken before the Court within Care Proceedings must be endorsed and signed by the Service Manager

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.

2.3 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.

3. Other Plans and Arrangements

This summarises the other plans that must be drafted. For more detail see Post Placement Arrangements Procedures.

A Placement Plan/Placement Information Record must be drawn up outlining the arrangements for Looking After the child.

Where the child is placed on a planned basis, this plan/record should be completed fully, with copies circulated to the child, Parent(s), Carers/Home and other significant people/agencies.

If the child is placed out of hours or on an unplanned basis, it may not be possible to fully complete the plan/record. In these circumstances, as much of this plan/record should be completed as possible. As a minimum, the following should be recorded:

  • healthcare/medical needs, including Consent to urgent medical treatment;
  • contact arrangements;
  • arrangements for school, including transport;
  • financial arrangements including the need to purchase any clothing or urgent equipment
  • support that may be required by the Carer/Home or child

3.1 Other Plans/Records

The Social Worker should additionally complete or update the following records immediately or within specified timescales:


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