1.2.4 Resident's Meetings in Children's Homes

Each week there must be a scheduled meeting of the residents of the home, which includes all the residents and representatives of the staff team. The purpose of this meeting is to enable the residents to contribute their comments about  the way the home is run and to make comments, criticisms and suggest improvements.

The staff should ensure that they have encouraged the residents to use the meeting as a forum in which change can be discussed and negotiated.

Staff attending the meeting must ensure that it is conducted in a manner that facilitates the contribution of all the children and young people who live there regardless of their nature or ability.

Staff must not assume that any resident is not capable of expressing a view.

The meeting should be recorded in a hardback book and the record should include:

• The names of those who attended
• The issues that were discussed
• Any decisions or recommendations that were made
• Any action points that were agreed.
• Acknowledgement of any achievements made by a young person or a group of young people

Where required, the record can be referred to at staff meetings and other forums, which might be used to improve the quality of care.

The registered manager must review the minutes of the meeting and take action accordingly. Feedback to questions posed at the meeting should be entered and evidenced in the hardback book.

The minutes should be available to those conducting:

• Regulation 34 (Review of quality of care) reviews
• Regulation 32 and 33 visits
• Inspections of the home.

End