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4.1.2 Planning for Looked After Children

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

This chapter sets out Ealing Council's policy, its duties and responsibilities to Looked After Children and explains the concept of Parental responsibility and Corporate Parenting within the context of national guidance and regulations.

Issue Date: June 2010

Review Date: June 2011


Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Ealing's Policy towards Looked After Children
  3. Every Child Matters
  4. The Legal Framework
  5. Key Principles
  6. Summary


1. Introduction

1.1 This document summarises the duties and responsibilities of Ealing Council towards its 'Looked after Children'. It contains a statement of policy on looked after children. It locates Ealing's practice and our aspirations for our looked after children in the context of the government's Every Child Matters Agenda to transform Children's Service's. It details the legal framework around looked after children and clarifies some issues around "parental responsibility". It describes the general duties of the Council towards looked after children, explains  some key concepts such as 'corporate parenting' and summarises Ealing's continuing commitment to these young people


2. Ealing's Policy towards Looked After Children

2.1 The London Borough of Ealing's first priority in relation to children is to work in partnership with parents, so that children can grow up whenever possible in their own families. We have a range of services available through our Early Intervention arrangements to prevent admission to care, or to ensure that, as far as possible, such admissions are brief and part of a programme aimed at securing those children more safely with their families in the long term.
2.2 However, it will be unavoidable and in the best interests of some children that they grow up in the public care.
2.3 The London Borough of Ealing takes its responsibilities as a corporate parent to these looked after children very seriously. We recognise that we have a "cornerstone duty" to safeguard and promote their welfare (Children Act 1989, Section 22(3)(a)). We will work in partnership with all those people and agencies who can help us to exercise those duties.
2.4 We will ensure that looked after children receive all the help that good parents provide for their children by:
  2.4.1 providing high quality accommodation and care in their placements
  2.4.2 promoting their health, education and identity
  2.4.3 aspiring with them to achieve and fulfil their potential
  2.4.4 providing consistent planned support throughout their time in the public care and as young adults


3.Every Child Matters

3.1 Ealing has enthusiastically embraced the opportunities afforded by the government's Every Child Matters agenda, which has set out ambitiously to transform Children's services.
3.2 We have given the clearest possible statement of the high priority we attach to this work, and this group of young people, by establishing a Corporate Parent Committee, as a formal Committee of the Council, chaired by the Leader of the Council.


4. The Legal Framework

4.1

Definition of a looked after child
  4.1.1 The term "looked after" refers both to children who are "accommodated" through voluntary agreement, under Section 20, Children Act 1989 and "in care" as the result of action in the courts under Section 31, Children Act, 1989. There are separate procedures on each of these situations
  4.1.2

A child is looked after if he is

  1. accommodated for more than 24 hours by agreement with his parents(CA 1989, Section 22(2)), or with the young person himself if he is  aged between 16 and 18(CA1989 Section 20 (11)).
  2. In care on an Interim or full Care Order(CA 1989, Section 31)
  3. kept away from home on an Emergency Protection Order( CA 1989 Section 44)
  4. in police protection and accommodated by the local authority (CA 1989 Section 46)
  5. remanded into local authority accommodation (CA 1989 Section 21)
  6. subject to a Supervision Order with a residence requirement to live in local authority accommodation. (CA 1989 Schedule 3, (2)
  7. detained or arrested by police and accommodated by the local authority (CA 1989 Section 21)
  8. subject of a Child Assessment Order with a direction for removal from the parents' care.(CA 1989 Section 43)

4.2


Parental Responsibility
  4.2.1 Women automatically acquire parental responsibility.
  4.2.2

Married men automatically have parental responsibility for their children if they are married to the mother at the time of the child's birth.  Unmarried men may gain parental responsibility by;

  1. Registering their name on the child's birth certificate
  2. Entering into a parental responsibility agreement with the mother
  3. Obtaining a court order

4.3


The duties of local authorities in respect of looked after children
  4.3.1

The Children Act gives local authorities these duties in respect of looked after children:

  1. to promote the ability of families to look after their children so that where possible becoming looked after is avoided (CA 1989 Section 17)
  2. where children do become looked after, to promote and safeguard their welfare (CA1989 Section 22)
  3. to consult and work in partnership with children and their families(CA 1989 Section 22)
  4. to consider any issues of race, religion language and culture affecting children looked after (CA 1989 Section 22)
  5. to promote and support contact between children looked after and their families(CA 1989 Schedule 2, para (15)(1)
  6. to appoint an Independent Visitor where there is little contact from families(CA 1989 Schedule 2, para 17)
  7. to prepare children for when they are not looked after and to continue to assist them (CA 1989, Section 24, Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000)


5. Key Principles

5.1 To exercise its duties and meet its responsibilities, the local authority will need to ensure that its work embraces the key principles of paramountcy, partnership, corporate parenting and good care planning

5.2


Paramountcy

The overriding purpose of the Children Act is to promote and safeguard the welfare of children, and that purpose is seen at its clearest in its opening provision (Section 1). This emphasises that, whilst attention must be paid to surrounding circumstances, we will ultimately be guided in what we do by giving paramount consideration to what is best for the child.

5.3


Partnership
  5.3.1 Partnership is a fundamental concept informing the way all those involved in the care of children work together and with those children
  5.3.2 Partnerships should exist between social work staff, carers, children, their parents and wider families and communities.
  5.3.3 The local authority should also work actively in partnership with other agencies and in particular those agencies which can promote the education and health of children looked after.
  5.3.4

Local authorities need to recognise how parents can feel disempowered and become disengaged when their children become looked after. It will rarely be in the best interests of the child for contact with the parent to be lost. Therefore, the local authority needs to promote that continuing contact. This can be done by:

  1. ensuring that parents are properly informed about what is happening for their children
  2. ensuring that placements are local, culturally appropriate and welcoming to parents
  3. using interpreters and translators whenever necessary
  4. involving wider families and communities appropriately
  5.3.5 Children themselves need to be respected as individuals, listened to and involved in decisions about their lives. They should be enabled to make informed choices by being given information in a way that they can understand and use. Particular thought should be given to this in respect of children with disabilities.
  5.3.6 It is not good enough passively to accept that parents and children do not take part in the processes that go with being a looked after child. Where, for example, children do not attend statutory reviews, ways must be found to ensure that their views are represented and that they feel this to be the case.
  5.3.7 Working in partnership is often not easy. However, the resolution of conflict, when handled well, can promote partnership by creating a better understanding of processes and roles.
  5.3.8 Parents and children should always be reminded of their rights to use Complaints Procedures, which can again be used positively to promote partnership working.

5.4


The Corporate Parent
  5.4.1 Issues around shared parental responsibility have been discussed above. Looked after children also have "Corporate Parents". It means that responsibility for looked after children does not just rest with a social worker or carer or indeed the Children's Social Care Services Department. The local authority must ensure that the task of parenting is carried out at all levels across all its organisational structures.
  5.4.2 Elected Members have particular responsibilities as corporate parents. They can best ensure that service Departments plan and work together. At the highest levels they can engage the effective involvement of partner agencies, such as the Health Service or the voluntary sector, to promote the welfare of looked after children.
  5.4.3 Elected Members are also well placed to monitor and scrutinise the standards of care provided for looked after children. At Ealing's Corporate Parent Committee, which is chaired by the Leader of the Council, they receive regular reports about the services provided, their outcomes and the ways in which children's lives are affected, such as academic achievement, levels of health immunisation, dental and medical checks, destinations on leaving school and so on. Members also examine outcomes in relation to ethnicity and assess how well the authority is meeting the needs of black and ethnic minority children in its care.
  5.4.4 Members meet directly with looked after children at this Committee to hear their views on how they are being looked after. They also visit places where children are looked after to see for themselves what the quality of care is. They fully participate in consultation at the annual 'Outerlimits'  and 'Rising Stars' events for looked after children. They receive regular feedback from young people through the Horizon's Centre and other Consultation exercises.
  5.4.5 The local authority recognises that its children looked after often come from backgrounds of disadvantage, which is compounded by being looked after. It therefore recognises the need to provide a different and higher standard of care than that needed by children who are not looked after, eg Increased educational support through the LAC Education Team, a dedicated Health Nurse for looked after children, a dedicated careers adviser for Care Leavers and a dedicated psychologist for looked after children to support their emotional wellbeing

5.5


Planning Principles
  5.5.1 This document details the general principles which inform planning for children looked after and briefly outlines the systems used
  5.5.2 Planning for a child's future is both an essential part of good practice and a statutory requirement.
  5.5.3 Gathering information, making an assessment, drawing up a plan and reviewing that plan form a continuous process. The circular nature of that process must be understood by all those involved in caring for looked after children.
  5.5.4 Because a number of people will be involved in caring for a looked after child, it is essential that formal plans are written down. In this way, it is possible to be clear about who is doing what and to ensure that no tasks or responsibilities are overlooked.
  5.5.5 When writing and recording plans it is important that issues of confidentiality are understood and balanced against the need to share information. All those involved need to be clear about what information is being gathered and how it should be used.
  5.5.6 At the same time a permanent detailed record of a child's life, history and development is of particular importance to looked after children who may not be able to access this information if they do not have good contact with their families
  5.5.7 Plans for children looked after need to be made speedily and reviewed promptly. The possibility of children "drifting" without clear plans for achieving continuity of care and permanency is ever-present.
  5.5.8 Plans must always take account of differing needs in terms of religion, race, culture, language, sexuality and disability.
  5.5.9 A child's ability to participate in planning will depend on his age and   understanding but every effort should be made to establish the wishes of the child, to ensure that these are taken into account and to secure the continuing involvement of the child in the planning process. This will include a variety of approaches including the use of advocates or independent people.
  5.5.10 Parents and carers must be fully involved and consulted when making plans for their children.  They must be helped to understand why formal planning is necessary for children looked after and to contribute to that process at every stage.
  5.5.11 Plans must rigorously take account of a child's developmental needs in full. They will recognise the importance of the effective involvement of other agencies in achieving positive outcomes in terms of health, education and identity.
  5.5.12 Arrangements for changing plans will normally be exercised through the inbuilt process of review. Sometimes the plan will need to be changed outside that process. When that is necessary, the fundamental principles of involvement, participation and partnership will still apply

5.6


Planning tools and systems
  5.6.1

Plans must be seen and used as practical aids to ensuring high quality care and good outcomes, not as bureaucratic exercises. Ealing uses the ICS system - details of which are in a separate  procedure as well as in Frameworki Guidance. Some of the key exemplars for Looked After Children(LAC) are outlined below;

  • Basic Information Sheet for carers.

This provides basic information which might be needed immediately by carers looking after a child. The form includes details of family members, key relationships and any health issues

  • Child and Young Person's Plan.

This leading document states the overall plan for the child, giving explanations of the objectives for the child and timescales, alternatives which have been/  are being considered, and how the child's long-term needs are to be met.

  • Placement Agreement Record.

This includes the information and agreements to be completed before a child becomes looked after. It incorporates immediate agreements to accommodation and medical treatment.

This records detailed information and agreements about the child's everyday life, including education, health, family contact, social and leisure activities, identity and routines. It clarifies who has responsibility for these individual arrangements and is the key working document on a day to day basis.

  • Child and Young Person's Review Form.

    The Review Form guides the social worker through a procedure for checking both that the day to day arrangements continue to meet the child's needs, and that the overall care plan is still appropriate. It is accompanied by Consultation Papers, designed to help young people, parents and carers make their views known.
  • Personal Education Plans (PEP)

    Every looked after child of school age must have a personal education plan.  This should be a multi-agency plan and should be reviewed six monthly.  At the age of 16 the Pathway Plan replaces the PEP.
  • Health Assessments and Health Plans

    All look ed after children must have a health assessment and health plan.
  • Progress and Action Record.

    These provide a way of structuring a detailed analysis of the child's development, according to age, across seven key dimensions:
    1. Health;
    2. Identity;
    3. Social Presentation;
    4. Emotional and Behavioural Development;
    5. Education;
    6. Family and Social Relationships;
    7. Self-care Skills.

The PAR's set a context of reasonable developmental aims, and seek to establish in detail what needs to be done to ensure that those aims can be met. They are dealt with in detail in a separate procedure. The PAR's culminate in a Summary of Work to be Undertaken, which links in to the statutory reviewing arrangements.


6. Summary

Where children and young people do need to become looked after, Ealing is determined as a Corporate Parent to maximise their life chances and the opportunities available to them. We will use our resources, our contacts and our influence to give them the best possible access to education, careers, accommodation, health, social and leisure activities, and we will assure them of our continuing support into their adult lives

End