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The Children's Views, Wishes and Feelings Standard
Regulation 7
This Chapter relates to contact with Parents and siblings, not to contact (or overnight stays) with relatives and friends - see Overnight Stays and Social Visits Procedure.
This chapter was updated in May 2018.
Also see Section 5, Suspension or Termination of Contact
NOTE: No contact may be permitted between children/young people and their parents, friends or relatives (which include grandparents and half siblings/step-siblings) without the approval of the Social Worker and, preferably, outlined in the Child's Placement Plan (or, at least, in writing).
Children/young people should be encouraged and supported to maintain contact with parents and siblings and other family members if appropriate, and parents should be encouraged to take part in activities in the home and organised for their children where appropriate. Such contacts should be consistent with the child/young person's Care Plan; which, itself, must take account of any Child Protection Plan or Contact Order that may be in force.
The purpose of the contact and how it will be evaluated must be made clear in the Placement Plan.
Both direct and indirect contact arrangements should always be clearly detailed setting out how contact will take place, the venue, the frequency, how the arrangements will be evaluated and reviewed and how the child / young person will be supported.The need to supervise contact should be considered as part of the assessment and planning process and any arrangements set out in the child/young person's Placement Plan. This restriction should only be as a result of a court order or as a result of consultation with the Placing Authority and this should always be as part of the planning process. These agreements must be in writing and regularly reviewed.
Children/young people may only have unsupervised contact with parents and siblings with the agreement of the Placing Authority and where the arrangements for such contact are set out in the Placement Plan.
The need to supervise contact should be considered as part of the assessment and planning process and any arrangements set out in the child/young person's Placement Plan.
This restriction should only be as a result of a court order, as required by a Child Protection Plan or by agreement with the parent(s), for example, where a child/young person may be disruptive or the parent(s) require other assistance whilst having contact with their child/young personren. It is also essential to consult the Placing Authority and this should always be as part of the planning process. These agreements must be in writing and regularly reviewed.
Where supervised contact is deemed appropriate or necessary, the reasons should be clearly recorded and the role of the care worker(s) and /or placement and family support worker as supervisor(s) clearly defined by the social worker and recorded accordingly in the Placement Plan.
Where possible the supervising care worker and/or placement and family support worker should be known to the child/young person and the family before the supervised contact takes place.
The Placement Plan is required to detail the extent of supervision required of the staff member i.e. it may be sufficient to supervise from an adjacent room, the duration of the visit and if the visit is confined to a certain identified area i.e. a specified children's home or family centre. Staff supervising such visits should familiarise themselves with the requirements as detailed in the Placement Plan and follow the requirements specified.
If it is likely that staff will visit children/young people or supervise them in the family homes, they must consult the Home's Manager/social worker beforehand - and a risk assessment should be completed. Advice should be provided to staff on the risks and strategies they should adopt.
If staff are confronted with unacceptable behaviour during the visit, they should attempt to comply with the guidance provided by their Home Manager or in accordance with their training/skills and the principles or procedures outlined in this manual.
If staff feel at significant risk, they should leave, preferably with the child/young person, and contact the manager, social worker and/ or the Police at the first opportunity.
Should staff have any concerns about their own, the child/young person's or other people's safety during contact they should inform/consult the Home Manager or on call manager and notify the child/young person’s social worker at the earliest opportunity. If this is not possible, staff should take what reasonable steps they can to reduce or prevent any risk or, in exceptional circumstances, they should notify the police.
If the police are called to assist with the management of a contact it is deemed to be a Notifiable Event and should be reported to the Community Director, the Regulatory Authority, Ofsted and others as appropriate, see Notification of Serious Events Procedure.
Staff observations of the contact must be clearly recorded.
Any concerns about the contact should be discussed with the Home Manager, who may decide to consult the social worker. As necessary, future arrangements must be amended as a result of such consultations, and set out in the Placement Plan.
Under normal circumstances, the arrangements for contact with Parents and Siblings may not be cancelled or changed without the authority of the Social Worker. However, the Home's Manager may impose a restriction, prohibition or condition upon contact which is necessary for the purposes of safeguarding or promoting the welfare of the child/young person in question e.g. if the child/young person may be at risk. Additionally the decision to cancel may be deemed necessary should the child/young person refuse to attend contact or if the child/young person is too ill to attend, if the contact were to go ahead. If such a decision is made by the Home's Manager, the parents/family should be notified as quickly as practicable and the Social Worker must be notified at the earliest opportunity but no later than within 24 hours. If this decision is made at the weekend/Bank holiday the EDT social worker to be notified of the decision with a follow up to the Social Worker on the first working day after the weekend.
Contact arrangements must not be withdrawn as a Sanction imposed on a child/young person.
See: Sanctions Procedure
Contact arrangements, including the continuing need for supervision, should be reviewed in the child/young person's Looked after Child Review and the Placement Plan Review.
Any contact arrangements which are agreed as a result of new friendships formed during the child/young person's placement should be included in the Placement Plan.
The risk assessment in relation to the arrangements for supervising contact must be reviewed at least every six months, or sooner, if any incident or report identifies concerns.
Where the child/young person is subject to a Child Protection Plan the contact arrangements should be reviewed as required in the Child Protection Plan.
Where a Contact Order is in force and it is considered that the contact arrangements set out in the Order should be altered, legal advice should be obtained by the social worker as to the need to seek a variation of the Court Order.
Any significant reactions that the child/young person has to contact should be reported to the child/young person's social worker by residential staff and/or supervision of contact staff.
Where it is considered that the child/young person's contact with the parents should be suspended or terminated, the social worker must be consulted.
Where the child/young person is the subject of an Emergency Protection Order, Interim Care Order or Care Order, an application to the Court for authority to terminate the contact will always be necessary.
If contact is suspended or terminated, the social worker must amend the child/young person's Care Plan and the Manager of the home must ensure the child/young person's Placement Plan reflects the decision.
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