Babysitters, Day Care and Overnight Stays

All parents as well as foster carers need a break and will at times have to leave their child with relatives, a baby-sitter or day care provision. A child/young person may also want to have an overnight stay at some point or times with friends.

It is important that the child’s social worker and the child’s parents reach agreement at the time the child comes to live with you, as to some of the circumstances in which you can give permission to situations and that this is set out in the Placement Plan and recorded. This is also the case for Family and Friends Carers.

However, the general rule is that the child or young person should have the same opportunities to enjoy leisure time activities like sleepovers as any other child of their age unless there is a good reason for this not to happen. Where there are exceptional reasons and you need to seek the permission of the child's social worker, a manager or a parent, or place specific restrictions on permitting a child to stay overnight with friends, this should be because of reasons necessary to safeguard the child's welfare. If there is such a reason, the required arrangements should then be appropriately recorded and these should be explained to the child in an appropriate way.

It may also be helpful to identify as soon as possible anyone who you may consider to be a baby sitter and discuss this with your fostering social worker. This should be included in your Placement Plan and where appropriate recorded as part of the decision with regards to delegated authority.

Children who we care for  have often led unsettled lives and usually benefit from being given good notice about staying somewhere different overnight.

A young person may also be asked to babysit and in these circumstances you should talk to your fostering social worker for advice.

Overnight Stays

You should only give agreement for overnight stays if it has been agreed that you have delegated authority to make such decisions. It is your responsibility to find out all that you can about the people the child wishes to visit or stay with.

As a minimum you should meet the adults, have an address and telephone number and be confident the child will not be at risk of harm.

You should also know how the child/young person is getting there, sleeping arrangements and how and when the child/young person will return.

Where possible overnight stays should be planned to ensure arrangements are made appropriately. Permission for overnight stays will usually be discussed when the child comes to live with you and recorded in the Placement Plan as part of your delegated responsibilities.

You should base your decision on the following:

1. What does the Placement Plan say about babysitters, visits and overnight stays?
2. Would the child struggle with an overnight stay because of their previous experiences?
3. Are you worried about the people or the activities they may be taking part in?
4. The age and understanding of the child/young person;
5. Whose idea was the overnight stay and what is the purpose?
6. How well is the friend or family known to the child/young person?

The child/young person should also have your contact details; know the plan for their return and what to do if they decide to come home early. A back up plan should be discussed if your phone is out of signal or unable to answer. This will support everyone to feel safe.

Depending on the needs of the child, you should discuss with the child/young person if they are old enough what they can tell the people they will be visiting.

You should only give information on a ‘need to know’ basis and record what information they have given in the child/young person’s daily record.

You may tell them about health care needs of the child/young person, routines and any behaviour issues or what supports the child/young person to feel comfortable in another person’s home.

If the child/young person does not want information to be shared, then they need to be told that this could affect whether they can stay overnight.

Record any decisions and the arrangements in the child/young person’s daily record.

Even if it has been agreed that the child/young person’s social worker does not have to be consulted, you should still inform them as soon as possible (within 1 working day) and the social worker should inform the parents as appropriate.

If, as part of family time arrangements, the child/young person is due to stay away from placement with family members, the child/young person’s social worker will make all appropriate arrangements. You need to be satisfied that all plans are in place and understand what to do as a contingency/back up plan.