Leisure Activities
REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS
The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011
Regulation 16 - Education, employment and leisure activities
Fostering Services National Minimum Standards
STANDARD 7 - Leisure activities
RELATED CHAPTERS
Contents
- Introduction
- Planning
- The Role of the Agency and Foster Carer
- Funding for Leisure Activities
- Holidays
1. Introduction
Leisure activities are an important part of everyday life. The guiding principle is that looked after children should, as far as possible, be given the same permission to take part in normal and acceptable age appropriate activities as their peers. Judgment should depend on the assessed risks and needs of the child. See also Delegated Authority Procedure.
Leisure activities benefit a child and can help develop their emotional, intellectual, social, creative and physical skills.
Children should enjoy and have access to a range of social, educational and recreational opportunities, including activities in the local community, as appropriate. They have the opportunity to participate in after-school activities or community-based activities and school trips and holidays. They are supported to engage in faith-based activities if they wish.
Arts and drama can help a child or young person to express their feelings with the child being free from everyday pressures. Mental wellbeing can also be supported by sports and other activities as it gives a child or young person an outlet for their energy, emotions and/or focus.
Taking part in after school activities can increase a child or young person self-esteem and give them another skill such as piano lessons, football, drama classes etc. It can also help with structuring a child or young person's week and give them security.
The existing leisure interests of a child or young person can play an important role when a child or young person becomes looked after as it provides some stability and continuity for the child and helps maintain friendship groups.2. Planning
The child or young person's interests, hobbies and leisure activities should be considered when placing a child with foster carers. As far as practical hobbies and interests should be maintained and encouraged. This will form part of the placement plan (see Care Planning Procedure).
A child or young person's education plan should be used to encourage a child or young person to develop leisure activities both in and out of school.
The placement plan should also detail and add clarity around day to day decisions and activities such as education, leisure activities, overnight stays, and personal issues such as haircuts.
The child or young person's statutory review should be used to evaluate the effectiveness of these plans and ensure that a child or young person's needs are being met.
Children are supported to take age-appropriate risks that are considered with carers, placing social workers (as appropriate) and the children themselves, following appropriate risk assessment (see Risk Assessment and Planning Procedure).
3. The Role of the Agency and Foster Carer
Foster carers should be proactive and encourage the child and young person to take part in family life such as family outing and leisure activities but outside interests should also be encouraged.
Leisure activities depend on what the child or young person is interested in and their abilities. For example a disabled child may not be able to ride a bike but may enjoy music and swimming activities.
The Agency will review a foster carers' diary regularly to make sure that the foster carer is supporting the child or young person with leisure activities and is meeting their developmental needs.
Things to consider:
- Is the foster carer reading with the child?
- Can the child ride a bike?
- Can the child swim?
- Are friendships supported and welcome to visit the foster home?
- Is the child able to stay over with their friends?
N.B Children should be supported to stay overnight, holiday with friends, or friends and relatives of their foster carer, or go on schools trips, subject to requirements of the care/placement plan, if foster carers, the Agency and the children's social worker consider it appropriate in individual circumstances. DBS checks are not normally sought as a precondition unless there is a safeguarding need and this can be evidenced. Also see Delegated Authority Procedure.
4. Funding for Leisure Activities
The Agency with the local authority should agree any extra funding needed to pay for leisure activities such as horse riding, extra educational tuition, piano lessons where the cost is above the normal cost of a club.
For children who are entitled to Personal Independence Payment( PIP)
Personal Independence Payment is paid in addition to the foster carer's fee for children and young people who have additional needs by the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP). This money should be used to support the child with their additional needs such as leisure activities, equipment needs, extra holiday costs such as accessible accommodation.
5. Holidays
All foster carers should inform the supervising social worker about any holiday plans and the child's social worker will be involved around whether the holiday is possible. There is an expectation for Looked After Children that any holidays are taken outside of term time if the child is in full time education.
A risk assessment should be in place around the holiday.
Things that need to be considered:
- What sort of legal order is the child or young person subject to? This will determine who has parental responsibility for them, what permission is needed (whether from Local Authority and/or parents) and who can apply for a passport if needed?
- Who else is going on the holiday and their details- such as foster carer's children, other friends?
- Are there any security or safety concerns that need to be considered?
- Is a letter from the responsible local authority needed to explain who the foster carers are?
- Financial considerations – is a holiday allowance given and who needs to apply for it such as child's social worker, Agency supervising social worker and /or foster carers;
- Are vaccinations needed?
- Are Insurance documents in place which cover the holiday and cover any health care issues? Is there good cover if things go wrong?
- Does the accommodation meet the needs of the child? Where will everyone be sleeping?
- Are safer caring practices in place to support the foster carer and child whilst on holiday? Is a safer caring plan needed or does the current plan cover all the issues?
- Is the holiday right for the child or young person and what could be the impact on their behaviour?
- What support network will the carer have if things go wrong if travelling abroad?
- There should be a cancellation policy in the event the child or young person refuses to or is unable to go.
Essentially, it comes down to each individual child or young person and their needs. Not all children or young people like the intimacy of family life or the abandoning of normal structures that are inevitable on holidays such as caravanning or camping holidays. Some children and young people benefit from going to a familiar place each year. This needs to be considered as part of the risk assessment.