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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 Documentation  
7. Permanence Planning 

1. Decision to Look After Child

A decision to Looked After a child will be made by the Designated Manager (Decision to Look After) where an Initial and/or Core Assessment has identified that a placement and a structured package of support is required to meet the child’s needs. Except in the case of an emergency or where the Designated Manager (Decision to Look After) deems it not to be in the child’s interest, the case should have been referred to the Family Support Panel (see Family Support Panel Procedure).

Where the Threshold Criteria is met and Care Proceedings are being considered, the Public Law Outline must be observed, including a letter before proceedings (see Annexe B of Public Law Outline) and the Pre Proceedings checklist (see Annexe 5 of Public Law Outline).

In an emergency outside office hours, the Emergency Duty Officer can make the decision and any such decision will be communicated by fax to the relevant team by the beginning of the next working day.

The circumstances will be that:

• All attempts at early intervention to maintain and support the child with his or her family have broken down and there is no other relative or friend who can safely care for the child; or
• The child would be at risk of Significant Harm by remaining with the family and there is no other relative or friend who can safely care for the child; or
• The child is disabled and a series of short break placements is necessary to provide respite for his or her carers and there is no relative or friend who can safely care for the child.

The decision will only be made where the Designated Manager (Decision to Look After) is satisfied that appropriate consultation has taken place on the necessity, purpose and nature of the proposed placement, or where he or she is satisfied that the circumstances constitute an emergency and opportunities for consultation are limited.

Before a decision is made to look after a child, consideration should be given to other extended family members or friends who might be prepared to care for the child without the need for the child to be Looked After.

Any such placement would have to be agreed with the parent, and the social worker and manager 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.

See Children in Need - Relative Carers and Allowances Procedure.

If no such arrangement can be identified, or such an arrangement would not meet the child’s needs, a planning meeting will be held wherever possible to plan or consider:

• The date for the child’s admission to the Looked After Service
• The child’s immediate placement needs, including whether a Looked After placement with a relative or friend may be possible
• The longer term plan
• A date for the child to return home or when the decision will be reviewed
• An action plan of support and work to enable the necessary change for the child to return home
• The obtaining of parental consent to look after the child and Consent to medical care
• The need for Care Proceedings to secure the child’s placement.

The social worker will be responsible for seeking an appropriate placement for the child and making the necessary arrangements in relation to the placement, in accordance with the Placement Procedures contained in Placements Section.

Where a decision is made to pursue a Looked After placement with a relative or friend and the placement is likely to be for longer than 6 weeks, the assessment of the relative/friend as a Kinship Foster Carer must be arranged to commence immediately.

See Placements with Relatives and Friends 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.

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

See Care Plan 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 'Decision To Look After Child' above.

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.

4. Approval of the Plan

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

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.

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.

6. Other Required Documentation

1. Placement Plan/Placement Information Record
2. Notifications on Form C250 The social worker should notify relevant agencies of the child’s placement using Form C250, ensuring that a copy of the form is sent to the Conference and Reviews Team. This will trigger the appointment of an Independent Reviewing Officer, who will liaise with the social worker to arrange a date for the child’s first Looked After Review.
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 and should arrange a Health Care Assessment.  The social worker should also complete a Health Care Plan in time for the first Looked After Review.  See Health Care Assessments Procedure.
4. Personal Education Plan (PEP).  The social worker should also notify the education department of the child’s placement and take the necessary steps to complete a Personal Education Plan in time for the first Looked After Review.  See Education of Looked After Children Procedure.

7. Permanence Planning

This should be read in conjunction with 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 placement is going to become permanent or a new, permanent placement is to be sought for the child, the Designated Manager (Permanent Placements) must be notified and a copy of the review minutes should be sent by the child’s social worker,  

See Permanence Planning Guidance

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

Depending on the contents of the Permanence Plan, the appropriate steps should be taken to achieve their implementation by reference to the appropriate procedures in this Manual, for example Placement for Adoption Procedure.

This is the case whether the Permanence Plan is the primary plan or the Contingency Plan.

End