The Children Act 1989 guidance and regulations - GOV.UK

1 The Children act 1989 guidance and regulations Volume 2: care planning, placement and case review June 2015 2 Contents Summary 9 About this guidance 9 Expiry or review date 9 What legislation does this guidance refer to? 9 Who is this guidance for? 9 Main points 11 1. Introduction 12 The Children Act 1989: key principles 13 Principles in relation to Children and their families 13 The UN Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights 14 The child s wishes and feelings 14 Corporate parenting and multi-agency involvement 15 The legal context 16 The looked after child 16 Definitions 17 Overview of the legislation and regulations in relation to this guidance 19 Primary legislation 19 regulations 19 2.

2 Care planning 22 The purpose of care planning and review 22 Permanence planning 22 The relationship between the care plan and other plans 24 The care plan, health plan and personal education plan 24 The care plan and placement plan 24 The care plan and pathway plan 24 The care plan and child protection plan 25 The care planning process 26 The cycle of assessment, planning, intervention and review 26 Arrangements for looking after a child 31 3 The care plan for a voluntarily accommodated child 31 The care plan for a child subject to section 31A of the 1989 Act (the Court care plan)

3 32 Court care plans and adoption 32 Corporate parenting and Court care plans 33 The content of the care plan 33 Care planning requirements in relation to health 34 Care planning requirements in relation to education 37 The contribution of the corporate parent to education 41 Arrangements for contact 42 Who should be included 42 Sibling contact 43 Different types of contact 45 Contact arrangements for a child looked after under a care order 45 Contact arrangements for an accommodated child 46 Contact and adoption 46 The role of the IRO in improved care planning 46 3. Placement 50 Placement under the 1989 Act 50 The placement decision for an individual child 51 Applying the individual criteria set out in section 22C (7) to (11)

4 52 Placements with a person connected to the child 52 Avoidance of disruption in education 53 Placements with siblings 55 Accommodation suitable to the needs of a disabled child 56 Placements out of the authority s area 56 The process for placing out of the authority s area 57 Emergency placements out of area 58 Placements in Wales 59 Placements outside England and Wales 59 Placements outside the British Islands 61 Notifications 61 4 Termination of placements by the responsible authority 63 Provision for different types of placement 64 Placement of a child in care with parents 64 Placements with local authority foster carers 68 Temporary approval of a connected person 70 Long-term foster placement 72 Placement in residential care 73 Placement of a looked after child in other arrangements 74 Placement of Children with foster carers who are also approved prospective adopters 80 Family and Friends 81 Duty of a local authority under section 22C(9B) of the Act 82 Considering adoption 82 Appointing a nominated officer.

5 Decision making 83 Considerations and safeguards 83 Children who are voluntarily accommodated 84 Adoption counselling for birth parents 84 Approving the decision 84 Finding a carer and duties of the adoption agency 85 Fostering allowances and adoption pay and leave 85 The UNCRC and the ECHR 86 Temporary approval of prospective adopters as foster carers 87 Placement plans 88 The purpose of the placement plan 88 Timescales for making the placement plan 89 Information the carer needs in order to look after the child 89 Day to day arrangements 90 Delegation of authority 91 Delegation in the context of the permanence plan 92 Delegation in the context of the law on parental responsibility (PR)

6 92 The child s competence to make decisions themselves 93 Types of decision 94 5 Delegation in the context of the child s education 95 Delegation in the context of the child s health 96 The placement plan 96 Timeliness 97 Placement plans for placements back with parent 97 Placement planning in short breaks 98 Information sharing 98 Visits to looked after Children 99 Frequency of visits 100 Placements with a temporarily approved foster carer or a child living with parents under an interim care order 101 A child placed back with parents 101 A child in care where accommodation is not provided by the responsible authority101 Additional visiting requirements 101 Seeing the child 102 Reports of the visits 103 Consequences of the visits 103 Concerns about welfare 103 Advice.

7 Support and assistance for the child 104 Supervision of the placement 104 Requirements to promote a strategic approach to placements 104 What is meant by sufficiency 105 What is meant by reasonably practicable 105 Standard for commissioning 106 Independent visitors 106 Identifying when an independent visitor should be appointed 107 The role and function of the independent visitor 107 Selecting an independent visitor 109 Review and termination of appointment 111 Expenses 112 4. Case review 113 6 Policy on reviews 113 Timing of reviews 113 Links with other reviews 115 Preparation 115 The conduct of the review 115 Consultation and information gathering 116 Attendance at the review meeting 117 The review meeting: matters for consideration 118 Updating and amending the care plan 121 record of the review 121 Duties of the IRO in the review process 122 Adjournments 122 Disagreements 123 Referral to Cafcass 123 5.

8 Ceasing to look after a child 125 Children accommodated under section 20 125 Considering ceasing to look after a child 125 Decision making 126 Eligible Children transition to adulthood 127 Functions of the personal adviser 128 Assessment 128 Planning 130 Review 132 6. Short breaks 133 The legal basis for short breaks 133 Deciding which provision is most appropriate for the child 134 When a child is not looked after 135 When a child is looked after 135 Care planning, placement and review in relation to a planned series of short breaks 137 Planning requirements where regulation 48 applies 137 Visits where regulation 48 applies 139 7 Review requirements 139 The role of the independent reviewing officer 140 7.

9 Case records 141 Establishing the child s record 141 Retention and safekeeping 142 Access and confidentiality 143 Electronic records 143 8. Looked after Children in contact with youth justice services 144 Responsibilities 144 Looked after Children who have been arrested 145 Looked after Children charged with an offence 146 Children not currently looked after 146 Children who are remanded 147 Remand to Local Authority Accommodation 147 Remand to Youth Detention Accommodation (YDA) 148 Young people remanded to YDA who were not already looked after Children 149 Review 154 Looked after Children who are convicted 155 Requirements following sentence 156 Custodial sentences 157 Responsibilities of the local authority to looked after Children in custody 158 Action to be taken if there are concerns about the child s safety or welfare 160 Complaints and advocacy for Children in custody 161 Planning and review process 162 Sentence planning 163 Planning for release 164 Support in the community 165 Annex 1: The statutory framework for care planning 167 Annex 2.

10 Overview of the care planning, placement and review process 168 Annex 3: Dimensions of developmental need 169 Health 169 8 Education 170 Family and social relationships 171 Emotional and behavioural development 172 Identity 173 Social presentation 174 Self-care skills 174 Annex 4: Suggested information for discussion between authorities when planning distant placements 175 Basic information about the child 175 Plans for the child s care 175 Services to support the child 175 Annex 5: Welsh Model Out of Area Notification Protocol 177 Out of Area Notification Protocol Form for use by Children s homes in Wales 178 Annex 6: Delegating authority to foster carers things you need to know 179 Annex 7: A model for joint planning and practice 181 Annex 8: Changes to care status as a result of criminal justice decisions 182 9 Summary About this guidance This is statutory guidance from the Department for Education.