Understanding Placement Plans and Looked After Reviews

You will need as much information as possible about a child/young person before they come into their home. Wherever possible planning meetings and documents are held and provided prior to a child coming to live with you. There also should be an opportunity for the child to have introductory visits prior to them being cared for by you. However, where this is not possible, there should be a planning meeting and a Placement Plan within 72 hours and Care Plan within 10 working days of the child being cared for by you. No information should be withheld from you without a manager’s approval and this will only be in rare cases. You should have a copy of the child/young person’s care plan or safety plan if there are specific worries you need to respond to. There should be a ‘Words and Pictures’ which explains to the child the reason for them coming into our care. You should have a copy of this.

A care plan must be completed before the child comes to live with you or within 10 working days of them being a child in our care.

This is a document that must be drawn up where a child/family is receiving a service from a local authority. It should provide information relating to the child and their family, and what work must be done to meet the needs of the child or young person in relation to future plans for them.

One of the main jobs of the Care Plan is to ensure that each child has a Permanence Plan by the time of the second Looked After Review which is held which is at the 4-month point.

The child’s overarching Care Plan should include:

• Placement Plan (setting out why the placement was chosen and how the placement will contribute to meet the child's needs). 
• Permanence Plan (long-term plans for the child's upbringing including timescales).
• Pathway Plan (where appropriate, for young people leaving care).
• Health Plan.
• Personal Education Plan.
• Education, Health and Care Plan.

This is a document that must be completed either on the day or within 72 hours of a placement being made with you. This plan is drawn up by the child/young person’s social worker, with you and your fostering social worker and family members. This plan details the expectations and routines of the child, as well as how their needs will be met by you.

The Placement Plan covers the following areas:

• Objectives and purpose of them being cared for by you;
• Arrangements for the child/young person’s education and training, including the name and address of the child’s school/other educational setting/provider and designated teacher; the Local Authority maintaining any Education, Health and Care Plan;
• The child/young person’s personal/cultural history;
• The child/young person’s likes/dislikes;
• Arrangements for the child’s health (physical, emotional and mental) and dental care, including the name and address of registered medical and dental practitioners; arrangements for giving/withholding consent to medical/dental examination/treatment;
• The rules of your home, including how the child/young person should behave;
• Agreements for family time between the child/young person, their family and others;
• Frequency of social work visits to the child and yourself, and any review meetings;
• If an Independent Visitor is appointed, the arrangements for them to visit the child and their contact details;
• Delegated Authority where appropriate;
• The Placement Plan must show who can make decisions about situations such as:
  • Medical and dental treatment;
  • Education and school trips;
  • Overnight stays;
  • Leisure and home life;
  • Faith and religious observance;
  • Use of social media;
  • Any other matters which the local authority/person with Parental Responsibility consider appropriate.

The Placement Plan must also identify any matters about which the Local Authority/person with Parental Responsibility considers that the child may make a decision about.

The child/young persons views need to be taken into account and therefore the use of an advocate may be useful. A referral should be discussed, and referrals made where necessary. You can support the child/young person to ‘self-refer’ and make the referral on their behalf.

A Children Looked After Review (CLA Review)  is a meeting that covers the arrangements for making sure the plans put in place for the child in your care happen. There is a full animated video on the Children In Care Council Website or Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership website. Please take a look and show this to your child/young person.

Children Looked After Reviews are held at specific intervals. They are normally chaired by an Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO). The IRO Profile should be sent to the child/young person with the invitation to the Child Looked After Review. This has an introduction from the IRO and contact details. They will discuss with all those involved with the child’s life including the child/young person how they are progressing and how their needs will continue to be met. The Independent Reviewing Officer has a monitoring role for the child overall so is a good source of support if needed. There is a ‘journey through care’ visual document on the Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership website which explains the role of the IRO and this process in more picture format.

Children Looked After Reviews happen at the following intervals:

• Within 20 working days of the child becoming looked after;
• Then within 3 months (91 days) of an initial Children Looked After Review;
• Then subsequent children looked after reviews should be conducted not more than 6 months (183 days) after any previous review.

Children Looked After Reviews should be brought forward by the Independent Reviewing Officer where the circumstances of an event has a significant impact upon the child’s Care Plan, as suggested in the following sorts of circumstances:

• A proposed change of care plan for example arising at short notice in the course of proceedings following directions from the court;
• Where agreed decisions from the review are not carried out within the specified timescale;
• Major change to the family time arrangements;
• Changes of allocated social worker;
• Any safeguarding concerns involving the child, which may lead to enquiries being made under Section 47 of the 1989 Act (‘Child Protection Enquiries’) and outcomes of Child Protection Conferences, or other meetings that are not attended by the IRO;
• Complaints from or on behalf of the child/young person, parent or carer;
• Unexpected changes in the child’s home provision which may significantly impact on the stability of it or safeguarding arrangements;
• Significant changes in birth family circumstances for example births, marriages or deaths which may have a particular impact on the child;
• If the child/young person is charged with any offence leading to referral to Youth Offending Services, pending criminal proceedings and any convictions or sentences as a result of such proceedings;
• If the child/young person is excluded from school;
• If the child/young person has run away or is missing from your home
• Significant health, medical events, diagnoses, illnesses, hospitalisations, or serious accidents; and panel decisions in relation to permanency.

(DfE Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations - Volume 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review).

This is not an exhaustive list and other events considered to be significant may prompt an earlier review. The decision whether to have an early review is the IRO’s.

The parents and child should also be consulted about the need for an additional review.

You should therefore:

• Discuss with your social worker any changes that occur for yourself or for your family;
• Ensure the social worker for the child is fully informed and aware of any of the issues that have been highlighted;
• Discuss with your social worker any other matter that you feel could reflect significantly or impact upon the child or their Care Plan.

The IRO can then review and consider whether an earlier review should be convened.

The first Children Looked After Review following a young person’s 16th birthday should consider whether a Staying Put arrangement (whereby the young person remains  cared for by you after the age of 18) could be an option.

You should attend the reviews of the child/young person you are caring for and feed into the meeting sharing achievements, success stories and worries you may have.

Also at the meeting will be the child/young person (if appropriate), the child’s teacher, their family, the child/young person’s social worker and any other professionals working with the family if the child/young person requests these people. Remember this is the child’s review and they should have decided who they wish to be invited and discussed this with the social worker before the meeting.

If you are worried about these meetings discuss it with your fostering social worker or the IRO when they visit you and the child.

The IRO should carry out a placement visit prior to each review. This is to plan the Children Looked After Review and support the young person to attend, chair their own meeting or support them to speak about what they want to happen.

Discussions about the need of an advocate will be held and a referral can be made by you or the child.

The IRO will also speak with you prior to the review. This is called a ‘Pre-Review Discussion’ and is recorded on the child/young person’s file. This may be where you wish to share any worries that may distress or upset the child/young person to be planned how these should or should not be discussed in the meeting. Speak with the IRO if you are not sure. There contact details will be on the IRO Profile.

Remember this is the child’s meeting and should be a positive experience and celebration of their life.