Referring Your Child to Us and Moving into One of Our Homes

At the point when it is determined that a child requires a home at The Caldecott Foundation and throughout the subsequent process of identification, planning and transition to the home, the social worker must consult and take account of the views of the following people:

1. The child;
2. The child's parents;
3. The child’s Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO), if the child is moving from another Looked After Placement;
4. If the child is at Key Stage 4 (Years 10 or 11), a senior manager within the placing authority must be consulted prior to the child moving in;
5. Anyone who is not a parent but has been caring for or looking after the child;
6. Other members of the child's family who are significant to the Child;
7. The child's school or education authority;
8. The Youth Offending Service, if the child is known to them.

The social worker should ensure that the proposed move into a Caldecott home is in keeping with the overall Placing Authority Care Plan for the child, which should be set out in writing.

The Care Plan should demonstrate that the child's needs will be met by the identified Caldecott Foundation home.

The Care Plan should be completed before the child becomes Looked After, or within 10 working days of the child’s moving in.

If a move into the home is approved, the social worker should ensure that a Placement Information Record is drawn up before the child moves in, or within 5 working days.

The manager of the Home will be responsible for drawing up the child's Caldecott Foundation Plan.

Before an enquiry is made the social worker is normally required to seek management authorisation, the social worker may also be required to make the referral via a placement service or budgetary management process.

Any transfer of a child from another children’s home, foster home or boarding provision who is at Key Stage 4 (Years' 10 or 11) must be approved by a senior manager within the placing authority.

Unless it is in an emergency, the child’s Independent reviewing Officer (IRO) must be consulted before a child is moved outside the area they normally live. If the child moves in in an emergency, the IRO must be consulted as soon as practicable after the child makes the transition.

When considering the making of an offer for the child to move into a Caldecott home, the social worker should consult the home’s manager to ensure that proper arrangements are in place for the child to have visits to and from their family and significant others; particularly when the child may be living a long distance away from their family home.

A planned offer to move into a Caldecott home is a child moving in with the agreement of the Placing Authority, the Responsible Individual, Head of Education and the Registered Manager. Before a decision is reached about suitability, the procedures set out in Section 4.2, Emergency Move for a Child Procedure must be followed.

If there is no agreement, the child moving into a Caldecott home is deemed to be an Emergency, and an Emergency Review should be convened within 72 hours of the placement, to consider whether the Home is suitable.

We carry out our own assessment of whether the suggested home can meet the needs of the child or young person, and therefore whether the potential move is appropriate. At the initial stage, a discussion must take place with the Registered Manager, Responsible Individual, Head of Education, and Placing Authority about how they will meet the child’s physical, social, cultural, emotional, developmental and psychological needs. This will involve discussing with the adults in the home, how they feel they will provide the specialist support the child needs and help the child to begin to feel safe.

The following information, whilst not an exhaustive list, must be requested/ provided, to support with this assessment:

• Age, ethnicity and religion of the child;
• Location of the current carers/home/family and reason why a move is required;
• Date and type of support required in the home;
• A description of the child's wishes and feelings and relevant others;
• Details of the placing authority’s expectations concerning the new Home;
• Name, workplace, and contact details of the social worker;
• The legal basis for the current work with the child;
• Assessment of needs based on the impact of the child/young person’s experiences;
• A comprehensive chronology of significant events in the child/young person’s life up to the present day;
• Prevailing circumstances at the time, including the needs/risks if the young person is not moved into our Home;
• Details of the young person’s personal characteristics, strengths, abilities, likes, talents, aspirations, goals, and strengths;
• A care plan setting out any presenting needs or difficulties which need to be addressed by the Home including any matters pertinent to the safety and well-being of the child or young person. This should include a copy of the safety plan/risk assessment and any previous behaviour management document (if used);
• A plan for any specific health needs, and diagnosis if they have one;
• Details of whether the young person can be placed with animals (and any specifics around this);
• A summary of the young person’s education to date, and a plan for their future education;
• Details of any specific arrangements deemed necessary to maintain the young person’s safety and feelings of safety, including details of any concerns about the young person’s exposure to child sexual exploitation and up-to-date risk assessment;
• Details of any involvement in offending, outstanding charges, court or panel dates, orders and bail/remand conditions;
• History of going missing, or failing to return from free-time or Home contact and associated risks;
• History of behavioural distress towards others, and whether the young person has needed to be restrained in order to keep them or others safe;
• History of sexually harmful behaviours, including predatory sexualised behaviour, whether they are subject to MAPPA arrangements and what current work is ongoing;
• History of self-injurious behaviours or suicidal thoughts/actions;
• Details of the services, resources and equipment the child/young person needs in order to meet their health, educational, individual interests, racial, religious/cultural, and linguistic needs;
• Identification of important relationships (including connections and relationships from previous care placements), and proposed contact arrangements to facilitate continuity and development of these relationships;
• Practical considerations for young people placed far away from Home and how family time/ contact where appropriate, will take place;
• Explicit consideration of the anticipated needs of the young person in relation to accommodation post-18.

At the point when it is determined that a child requires a home at the Caldecott Foundation, and throughout the subsequent process of identification, planning and transition to the home, the social worker must consult and take account of the views of the following people:

1. The child;
2. The child's parents;
3. The child’s Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO), if the child is moving from another Looked After Placement;
4. If the child is at Key Stage 4 (year’s 10 or 11), a senior manager within the placing authority must be consulted prior to the placement;
5. Anyone who is not the parent but has been caring for or looking after the child;
6. Other members of the child's family who are significant to the child;
7. The child's school or education authority;
8. The Youth Offending Service, if the child is known to them.

We therefore need sight of these views.

At the point of a local authority making an enquiry about a child moving into one of our homes, we will share our Matching & Impact Framework document with them. This framework will inform the local authority social worker of the process up until the child moves into the Home.

The child should be encouraged to bring with them favourite and cherished possessions, although expensive items will require careful consideration. Suitable luggage should be used; a child's belongings should never be transported in bin-bags or other inappropriate containers (see NYAS, My Things Matter Report).

An Emergency move for a child is without the Placing Authority and the Referral Manager, having completed and considered the following, which may be completed over the 'phone:

• A Referral Form;
• A Placement Risk Assessment.

If there is no agreement, an Emergency Review must be convened within 72 hours of the placement, to consider whether the placement is suitable.

In the event of a referral for an Emergency move for a child, the person receiving / administering the referral information should do all that is reasonable to follow the procedures set out in Section 3.2, Referring a Child Process and Section 3.3, Placement Planning.

However any decision to admit a child in these circumstances must be based on an assessment of the available information that the child's needs are likely to be met by the Home.

For emergency admissions, the above process (Section 3, Planned Offers of a Move into a Caldecott Home) will apply. However, given the time constraints, the risk assessments will be carried out from information provided over the phone or e-mail. Referral forms need to be completed and received before the young person is admitted despite the time pressures with emergency placements.

As a minimum, the following information will be required at the time of the placement:

• The contact/family time arrangements that may be permitted between the child and their parents, siblings, relatives, and friends - no contact may be allowed without the approval of the social worker, in writing (or set out in the child's Placement Plan)
• A copy of the child's Health Care Plan or, if this isn't available, details of any healthcare or medical needs/requirements that the home should be aware of e.g. Home Remedies or Medication that the child may require (see Health Care Assessments and Plans Procedure)
• Copies or information relating to any Court Orders that may be required or influence the child's placement e.g. if the child is subject to a Remand.

The person administering this process must keep a record of the matters that are not undertaken, and pass this to the chair of the Emergency Review, so that they can be followed up.

Upon moving into the home, or as soon as possible afterwards, children should be provided with key information - as follows:

• A copy of the child's Care Plan, Placement Information Record, the Home’s Placement Plan and other key plans and arrangements;
• A copy of the Children's Guide for the Home; if not covered in the Children's Guide, the child should be given information about the following:
  • The layout of the Home and toilet/bathroom facilities;
  • Fire Precautions / Drill;
  • Representations, Compliments and Complaints Procedure;
  • The name of the designated Key-Worker;
  • The Daily Routines for the Home, including meal times or arrangements;
  • Details of any 'House Rules, and whether any consequences will apply if rules are broken;
  • Arrangements for the Child's Education.

Within 24 hours of the child's move into the home, the Key-Worker or another adult/carer should meet the child to check this information has been given and that the child understands them fully. If there is any doubt, the Key-Worker should arrange to meet the child for a second time to clarify/confirm any misunderstandings.

The area local authority must be notified without delay of a child moving into the home, unless that authority is also the child’s placing authority.

The notification must state:

• The child’s name and date of birth;
• Whether the Child is Accommodated under Section 20 or subject to a Care Order or Supervision Order;
• The contact details for:
  • The child’s placing authority; and
  • The child’s Independent Reviewing Officer.
• Whether the child has an Education, Health and Care Plan and, if so, details of the local authority which maintains the statement.
  
  For the homes in Kent this information is be sent to: OLALAC01@kent.gov.uk
  For Nottinghamshire this is to be sent to: childrensnotifications@nottscc.gov.uk
  
  

Notification of the child moving into the home must be sent, by the Social Worker / Placing Authority, to all those consulted and involved in the decision-making process within 5 working days of the placement starting.

If not consulted during the decision-making process, the following people/agencies must be notified:

1. The team/unit, within the Placing Authority, responsible for arranging Looked After Reviews, so that the child's first/next Looked After Review can be arranged, normally within 20 days of the child's placement;
2. The Health Trust;
3. The Local Education Authority;
4. The Children's Services Department in the area where the child is placed; these notifications must be made in writing advising of the placement decision and the name and address of the person with whom the child is to be placed.