1.7.1 Contact with Parents and Siblings

Contents

1. Introduction  
2. Approving and Planning Contact  
3. Unsupervised and Supervised Contact
4. Activities    
5. Cancellation of Contact
6. Review of Contact Arrangements 
7. Termination of Contact 
8. Guidance on Observing Contact

1. Introduction

For Overnight Stays or Contact with Relatives and Friends, see Overnight Stays and Contact with Relatives and Friends Procedure. Young people are actively encouraged to maintain contact, where appropriate, with their family, friends and significant others.

When considering the making of a placement, the social worker should consult the Home’s manager to ensure that proper arrangements are in place for the child to have contact with his/her family and significant others; particularly when the child is placed at a distance away from their family home. No contact may be permitted between Children and their parents, friends or relatives without the approval of the Social Worker and must be consistent with arrangements outlined as part of the young persons individual Care Programme and Staff should ensure that any young person wishing to have contact with someone that is already authorised in the Care Programme, provides them with sufficient information e.g. name, address, relationship and proposed contact so that the Social Worker can be contacted to authorise contact prior to it taking place.

Those with permission to visit children must be named in the Care Programme and must be able to identify themselves upon arrival.  If visitors are unable to identify themselves appropriately the Manager should be consulted before the visit starts (also see Visitors Procedure).

Visits should be arranged in advance and can either be supervised or unsupervised - depending on the arrangements outlined in the Care Programme.

2. Approving and Planning Contact

Also see Section 7, Termination of Contact

Children should be encouraged and supported to maintain contact with Parents and with their siblings in a manner consistent with the child’s Care Plan; which, itself, must take account of any Child Protection Plan or Contact Order that may be in force.

Contact between children and Parents or siblings may only be permitted if previously agreed by the Social Worker, taking account of any Child Protection Plan or Court Order that may be in force, and set out in the child’s Care Programme.

At the time of the Child’s placement, contact arrangements will be discussed and detailed in the Care Programme. This will include discussion around visits, telephone calls including mobile phones, email/internet and letters. It may need to be quite specific and link to Birthdays, Christmas, Religious Festivals and family occasions etc.

Contact between children and Parents or siblings may only be permitted if previously agreed by the Social Worker and set out in the child’s Care Programme.

The purpose of the contact and how it will be evaluated must be made clear in the Plan.

Both direct and indirect contact arrangements should always be clearly detailed setting out how contact will take place, the venue, the frequency and how the arrangements will be evaluated and reviewed and a contingency plan for any arrangements that do not go as planned.

3. Unsupervised and Supervised Contact

The need to supervise contact should be considered as part of the assessment and planning process and any arrangements set out in the child’s Care Programme/Risk Assessment. This restriction should only be as a result of a Court order or as a result of consultation with the Placing Authority and this should always be as part of the planning process. These agreements must be in writing and regularly reviewed.

3.1 Unsupervised Contact

Children may only have unsupervised contact with Parents and siblings with the agreement of the Placing Authority and where the arrangements for such contact are set out in the Care Programme.

3.2 Supervised Contact

The need to supervise contact should be considered as part of the assessment and planning process and any arrangements set out in the child’s Care Programme/Risk Assessment. 

This restriction should only be as a result of a Court order, as required by a Child Protection Plan or by agreement with the Parent(s), for example, where a child may be disruptive or the Parent(s) require other assistance whilst having contact with their children.  It is also essential to consult the Placing Authority and this should always be as part of the planning process. These agreements must be in writing and regularly reviewed.

Where supervised contact is deemed appropriate or necessary, the reasons should be clearly recorded and the role of the care worker(s) as supervisor(s) clearly defined by the Social Worker and recorded accordingly in the Care Programme. 

Where possible the supervising care worker should be known to the child and the family before the supervised contact takes place. Only Staff that have successfully completed an Induction Programme will undertake such contacts.

The Care Programme is required to detail the extent of supervision required of the Staff member i.e. it may be sufficient to supervise from an adjacent room, the duration of the visit and if the visit is confined to a certain identified area i.e. a specified children’s home or family centre. Staff supervising such visits should familiarise themselves with the requirements as detailed in the Care Programme and follow the requirements specified.

3.3 Staff Visiting Family Homes

If it is likely that Staff will visit children or supervise them in the family homes, they must consult the Manager/Social Worker beforehand - and a risk assessment should be completed. Advice should be provided to Staff on the risks and Strategies they should adopt.

If Staff are confronted with unacceptable behaviour during the visit, they should  attempt to comply with the guidance provided by their Manager or in accordance with their training/skills and the principles or procedures outlined in this manual.

If Staff feel at significant risk, they should leave, preferably with the child, and contact the Manager or the Police at the first opportunity.

3.4 Timekeeping

It is crucial that times are adhered to wherever possible. If a contact is for 2 hours and you arrive late then a child is deprived of some of its valuable time with its Parent. It is not usually possible to ‘add on’ time as contact rooms are needed for other people and if you were to return the child late to its foster Carer, this may have a ‘knock on’ effect to them or other children in their care. If you are held up unavoidably (e.g. unexpected traffic delays) please telephone ahead and explain/apologise. If contact time is lost in this way, a Parent may request extra time – do not authorise this without first checking with your Manager and/or the relevant Social Worker. Sometimes the Parents run late – if there has been no explanation and the Parent(s) are more than 20 minutes late, inform your Manager who will advise you as to what to do next.

3.5 Concerns during Contact

Should Staff have any concerns about their own, the child’s or other people’s safety during contact they should inform/consult the Manager or on call Manager. If this is not possible, Staff should take what reasonable steps they can to reduce or prevent any risk or, in exceptional circumstances, they should notify the police. If the police are called to assist with the management of a contact it is deemed to be a notifiable event and should be reported to senior Managers, the Regulatory Authority and others, see Notifiable Events Procedure.

3.6 Recording of Contact

Staff observations of the contact must be clearly recorded.

Any concerns about the contact should be discussed with the Manager, who may decide to consult the Social Worker.  As necessary, future arrangements must be amended as a result of such consultations, and set out in the Care Programme. 

4. Activities

Parents, relatives and friends, where appropriate, should be encouraged to take part in the activities undertaken by their child. Staff should remain sensitive to the feelings of other children living in the home but should not adopt a position of failing to encourage Parental or other involvement because the other residents do not have access to Parental or family contact.  It is appropriate to assist a child in selecting which activities they encourage their Parents or others to attend.

Staff should be sensitive to ensure that other young people are involved. It is best to encourage visits to activities which either involve the child as an individual or to activities which involve a larger group of children (such as a ‘sports day’ or ‘drama production’) where groups of Parents and Social Workers are present and where also a significant number of other children will not be having individual visitors on those days.

5. Cancellation of Contact

Where contact does not take place in accordance with the Plan, there must be a good reason, for example that the child is too ill to attend.  Wherever possible, the Staff should consult the child’s Social Worker in advance if they consider there is a good reason to cancel the contact. However Staff must be sensitive to the fact that contact can be a difficult time for a child and that they may have unsure feelings. Additional support may be required.

If contact is cancelled, the Social Worker must be notified, and arrangements made to ensure the Parent(s) are informed. If the Social Worker is not available, Staff must ensure as far as practicable that Parent(s) are informed in advance and that the reason for the decision is explained. The Social Worker or Staff should arrange an alternative contact at the next appropriate date and time.  

If contact does not take place and consultation has not been possible with the Social Worker, the Staff must inform the child’s Social Worker as soon as possible and confirm in writing the decision to cancel and the reason.

Contact arrangements must not be withdrawn a a sanction imposed on a child. However contact can be delayed if a young person appears in an inappropriate and unsettled frame of mind to travel or is refusing to attend the contact.

If contact is delayed a clear explanation should be given to all significant individuals including the child, Parents and Field Social Worker as soon as an opportunity arises.

If this unsettled behaviour and or attitude continues contact may be postponed until the following day if agreed with the Placing Authority and Manager and, if convenient, for the child and Parents.

If the contact is cancelled due to a child refusing to attend there needs to be evidence that the cause of distress by the contact being carried out would be detrimental to the child’s welfare. On all of these occasions we will follow it up in writing with the Placing Authority and it will be further addressed in the Looked After Review and the child’s Care Programme.

6. Review of Contact Arrangements

Contact arrangements, including the continuing need for supervision, should be reviewed formally in the child’s Looked After Review and the Care Programme Review. However on a daily basis contact in all its elements needs to be evaluated and informally reviewed. Any concerns, issues and or progression needs to be recorded accordingly and communicated to all relevant parties including the Placing Authority.

Where a Court Order is in force, no arrangements may be made which are contrary to the order. If a member of Staff wishes to change the contact arrangements this can only be done through consultation with the Social Worker, who then has a requirement to seek Legal advice.

Where the child is subject to a Child Protection Plan, the contact arrangements must be amended in line with any changes to the plan.

7. Termination of Contact

Where it is considered that the child’s contact with the Parents should be suspended or terminated, the Social Worker must be consulted. The Social Worker may then need to seek legal advice and the authority of a senior Manager before agreeing to suspension or termination. 

Where the child is the subject of an Emergency Protection Order, Interim Care Order or Care Order, an application to the Court for authority to terminate the contact will always be necessary.

If contact is suspended or terminated, the Social Worker must amend the child’s Care Plan and the Manager of the home must ensure the child’s Care Programme reflects the decision.

8. Guidance on Observing Contact

Abuse may affect young peoples behaviour in many ways. It is important for Staff to be aware of this in order to protect children and also to make informed observations.

Young people who have suffered physical abuse may respond to frustration with aggression as a learnt response or to perpetuate being a victim. Obviously this has implications for the Staff working in the home. Interactions with other children need to be closely monitored. For those young people who have been sexually abused they may have blurred sexual boundaries i.e. knowledge of sex exceeding that expected of someone of their chronological age.  They may have a propensity to explore further thereby presenting a potential risk to other young people.

They may portray as a victim, withdrawn with low esteem and self worth and the possibility of making themselves a target for further abuse.

There are many ways in which abuse can manifest in presenting behaviour hence the need for the home to produce detailed behaviour profiles and comprehensive risk assessments. These two documents should advise Staff on the level of supervision/observation needed.

Staff should also have an awareness on what the parameters of acceptable contact are between children in relation to their chronological age. It is important that any member of Staff witnessing what they believe to be abusive contact between children intervenes, makes detailed notes and brings it to the attention of a Manager immediately.

A final note is on maintaining objectivity in reporting observations and being aware of issues of children’s rights to privacy and confidentiality. Ann Cattanah ‘Play Therapy with Abused Children’ (1992) writes, “I recently watched a series of slides showing children with injuries caused by physical and sexual abuse.  It was too easy to disregard the individuality of the child in the photograph, perhaps our only way to cope with the shock is to de-personalise the child.  However, there is a child, really hurt, and we need to acknowledge that.  Even by the act of taking the photograph, unless the child gives permission and understands their purpose, we are further abusing the child, taking away their rights to privacy and respect”.

Kempe ‘Child Abuse’ (1978) stated that “Child abuse involves a hurt child. If we are to help hurt children, initially we have to face and acknowledge the hurt such children suffer. It is difficult for the professional to face some of the cruelties inflicted upon children. If we become too accepting we can become sucked into the abuse ourselves and dismiss its effects on the children, or we can be overwhelmed by the cruelty and become paralysed and unable to help”.

End