Babysitters, Day Care, Overnight Stays, Holidays and Trips

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Overnight Stays
3. Holidays and Trips
4. Holidays for Looked After Children Outside the UK
5. Insurance Cover
6. Obtaining a Passport & Identification
7. School / Organisational Trips of up to 4 days Away

1. Introduction

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 of the child’s placement 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 when 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 Supervising Social Worker. A fostered child should not have more than two regular babysitters wherever possible. Statutory checks, including DBS have to be completed for babysitters and have to be satisfactory in outcome before the "babysitting" can start. Babysitters are required to be 18 years of age and preferably be close friends, neighbours or family members. Any other arrangement must be agreed by a foster child's social worker in conjunction with the supervising social worker for the foster carers. This includes foster children who should not be given responsibility for the sole care of other children without previous consultation, as above. This should be included in your Placement Plan and where appropriate recorded as part of the decision with regards to delegated authority. Placement planning and safe caring documents will provide the specifics of agreements for individual children, as agreements may vary depending on the child’s circumstances. Current Achieving for Children practice is that a babysitter for a looked after child must be aged over 18 and have had a clear DBS check.

Looked After Children have often led unsettled lives and usually benefit from being given good notice about staying somewhere different overnight.

2. 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.

You should meet the adults, have an address and telephone number and be confident the child will not be at risk of harm. On a Case by case scenario you should consider risk assessment; sleeping arrangements, household members and making sure this is discussed with the social worker. (Guidance is taken from Fostering Network and Coram BAAF)

They should also have a clear idea of how the child is getting there, sleeping arrangements and how and when the child 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 is placed 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 stays because of their background?
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?

The child should also have your contact details; know the plan for their return and what to do if they decide to come home early.

Depending on the needs of the child, you should discuss with the child 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’s daily record.

They may tell them about health care needs of the child, routines and any behaviour issues.

If the child 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’s daily record.

Even if it has been agreed that the child’s social worker does not have to be consulted, you should still inform them as soon as possible afterwards (within 1 working day) and the social worker should inform the parents as appropriate. Childrens files need to have recorded any sleepovers and make sure all details are recorded on this.

If, as part of contact arrangements, the child/young person is due to stay away from placement with family members, the child’s social worker will make all appropriate arrangements.

3. Holidays and Trips

Where there is a proposal for a looked after child to go on holiday in the UK, the child's social worker must obtain full information about the holiday.

This will include:

• Proposed dates and duration of the holiday;
• The wishes and feelings of the child;
• Address(es)/contact details of the holiday location/what type of holiday;
• Insurance details;
• Who will be present on the holiday e.g. names of other children and other adults;
• If the holiday involves staying with friends or relatives, their names and addresses;
• Emergency contacts;
• Any risk assessments that may be required, which should include any health or behaviour issues of the child as well as the holiday environment itself.

The child's social worker should seek the views of the child and parent/persons who have Parental Responsibility as soon as practicable. If the parents consent, this consent must be obtained in writing. Where the social worker, parent and staff/carer agree to the proposed holiday, the holiday can be approved and should be included in the child's Placement Plan.

For children who are in a long term placement and there is agreement with the Children's Services that the carers have Delegated Authority, (see Achieving for Children Procedures Manual, Delegation of Authority to Foster Carers and Residential Workers Procedure, depending upon the nature of the delegation agreed, it may be the case that the carers are able to make decisions relating to holidays themselves. However, good practice should ensure that decisions by the carers are shared in a timely way with their Supervising Social Worker and/or child's allocated practitioner. The parent/s should be advised as appropriate especially if the holiday affects contact arrangements.

Children must not be taken on holiday during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances and the holiday must be approved by the Head of the child's school and the Associate Director/Director, in advance. If parents are opposed to the holiday, the social worker and their manager should seek legal advice. Written confirmation of the manager's decision, together with the reasons, should be provided to the parent.

Where the holiday will involve additional costs, the social worker should obtain approval for the costs from the relevant manager before the holiday can be agreed. If approved, the holiday should be included in the child's Placement Plan.

Where the holiday will interrupt contact arrangements between the child and parents, consideration should also be given to arranging additional contacts before and after the holiday.

4. Holidays for Looked After Children Outside the UK

Arrangements for notifying and consulting the social worker about holiday plans should be agreed in the Placement Plan.

The consent of the parent(s) or person with Parental Responsibility must be obtained and consent form signed.

The child's social worker must obtain full information about the holiday/trip. This will include:

• Proposed dates and duration of the holiday;
• The wishes and feelings of the child;
• Address(es)/contact details of the holiday location/what type of holiday;
• Insurance details;
• Who will be present on the holiday e.g. names of other children and other adults;
• If the holiday involves staying with friends or relatives, their names and addresses;
• Emergency contacts;
• Any risk assessments that may be required, which should include any health or behaviour issues of the child as well as the holiday environment

NOTE: If there are any issues such as the holiday destination experiencing political unrest, concern that the child may not return as planned or other circumstances which may place the child at risk, these should be highlighted to the social worker's Manager. A check should be undertaken through Foreign Office - Foreign Travel Advice and a balanced decision regarding the outcome made.

If it is a group holiday, the social worker must be satisfied that adequate health and safety precautions including appropriate risk assessments are taken and in place.

Children must not be taken on holiday during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances; such a request must be approved by the Head of the child's school and the Social Worker's Manager.

5. Insurance Cover

Healthcare for UK Nationals in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland

The UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) provides access to state healthcare in Europe at a reduced cost, or sometimes for free.

• If the child already has a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) this remains valid until the expiry date on the card;
• If the child does not have a European Health Insurance Card or it has expired, they will need a Global Health Insurance Card. Cards can be ordered online from the NHS. For children under 16, the application should be completed by their carers;
• The GHIC and EHIC do not replace travel insurance which should be in place for all holidays outside the UK. For the latest advice on the GHIC see the GOV.UK website.

Travel Insurance Cover for Holidays

• Carers should obtain travel insurance for all holidays overseas, this will cover a range of eventualities, including medical expenses, a trip being cut short or cancelled, and loss or theft of possessions. For more advice on travel insurance, see the GOV.UK website.

6. Obtaining a Passport & Identification

In Achieving for Children, the child’s social worker is responsible for ensuring all children with care orders have a birth certificate within 6 months from becoming looked after. It is desired that all children looked after would have a passport within 6 months of orders being granted, however this will be dependent on parental responsibility, acquiring the required documents (especially if the family are born outside the UK), and the immigration status of the child. These processes will be monitored in the children looked after reviews.

• The Home Office has issued Guidance for Local Authorities Children's Services Departments when Applying for Passports on Behalf of Children;
• Children's Services Departments are normally only entitled to apply for passports for a Looked After Child when they have parental responsibility;
• Where Children's Services do not hold parental responsibility, the application cannot be processed without the consent of at least one person who has parental responsibility for the child.

In relation to unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) or children whose immigration status is in question this would be entirely dependent on their home office application. The process for this is dictated by the home office and asylum processes.

7. School / Organisational Trips of up to 4 days Away

The social worker should ensure risk assessments have been conducted. The child's participation in school/organisational trips should be considered at the time of the placement, and the consultation required before they can be agreed should be included in the Placement Plan.

Where a child is placed with the parents, the Placement Plan will usually provide that a school trip of up to 4 days can be agreed by the social worker in consultation with the school and the parent.

The Placement Plan will usually authorise the carer to agree to the child going on school or other organisational trips of up to 4 days away without prior consultation with the social worker or the parent. If the carer has not been so authorised, the child's social worker and parents must be consulted before agreement can be given.

Where parental consent is not given, the social worker should consult their Head of Service and obtain legal advice as necessary. Where the Manager agrees to the child going on the trip despite parental opposition, the reasons must be recorded and explained to the parent.