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Contents

1. Referring to the Commissioning Team for Emergency and Same Day Placements
2. Funding Authorisation for Same Day and Emergency Placements
3. Emergency and Same Day Placement Finding
4. The Care Plan
5. LAC Review (Looked After Child Review)
6. Notifications
7. Health Care
8. Education
9. Complaints and Advocacy
10. Permanency Planning Meetings
11. Support and Monitoring of Placement

When children and young people need to be found a placement on the same day as the referral is made or as a result of an emergency that has arisen to accommodate a child or as a result of a remand from court; the following procedures apply. Children who have planned placements will need to be referred in the same way but for the authorisation for their placement see Decision to Look After Procedure.

1. Referring to the Commissioning Team for Emergency and Same Day Placements

Referrals for placements must be made to the Commissioning Team on the commissioning team referral form. This includes details of the child and family needs and history; the reasons for requesting the placement and the details of the service required to make an appropriate match for the child.

The Children's Commissioning Team must also have a full risk assessment of the children order to manage risks for the child and the carer.

In order that the best match is found, the commissioning team need the referral to be made as early in the day as possible. A completed referral form must have reached the team by 5.00 pm. E-mailed and faxed referrals can be accepted up to that time. E-mailed referrals should be copied to the Placements Coordinator. If a referral form is not sent to the team by 5.00 placement finding will not take place until the following day.

Referrals that cannot be made by 5.00 pm must be referred to the Emergency Duty Team

2. Funding Authorisation for Same Day and Emergency Placements

All placements have to be approved by a Head of Service who will confirm the approval by phone or e-mail with the Commissioning Team. Placement finding cannot commence until this approval has been obtained.

3. Emergency and Same Day Placement Finding

The Children's Commissioning Team will continue to work to source a placement until one is identified.  Once a placement (bed) is identified for that night the details will be provided to the social worker/social work manager.  At 5pm and once the details of the resource have been given to the social work team, the Commissioning team will cease work for the day. 

The Children's Commissioning Team will telephone the social worker with the details of the placement. When Children's Commissioning Team are unable to obtain a response from the social work team, the details of the placement will be emailed to the social worker, the team manager (or Duty Manager for the day) and the Head of Service.

The Children's Commissioning Team will provide the details of the accommodation, the carers and telephone number(s). The social worker will be responsible for making the arrangement for the child/young person to be moved to the new placement.

The Children's Commissioning Team will identify the most appropriate carer for the child available at the time and within the boundaries of the funding approval. This may not be the most appropriate longer term placement and it may be necessary to seek alternative planned moves in the days after initial accommodation.

If it becomes known that due to a change in circumstances that the placement is not required for that day the Children’s Commissioning team should be informed immediately in order to cancel the placement with the carers.  If this decision is made after 5pm and after the details of the placement have been provided to the social worker, it becomes the responsibility of the social worker to make contact with the carer and let me them know the placement is no longer required.

The Placement Panel Administrator will make arrangements for the child’s case to be scheduled for the next panel meeting after the day of accommodation.

4. The Care Plan

Whenever a child becomes looked after, whether through a court order or voluntarily under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, the child must have a written Care Plan. The Care Plan should comprehensively set out, in plain English, the child’s needs and how the local authority proposes to meet these needs whilst the child is looked after. Further details (including timescales and circulation requirements) are available here in Section 3, The Care Plan of the Decision to Look After Procedure.

Wherever possible the Care Plan should be written by the child’s social worker before the child becomes looked after. Where the child becomes looked after in an emergency, allowing limited planning time, the social worker must ensure that a Care Plan is prepared as soon as possible following the child becoming looked after and in time for the initial LAC Review.

The child’s social worker should have made arrangements for the Care Plan and other plans (e.g. Placement Information Record to be drawn up, as set out in Section 2 of Decision to Look After Procedure.

5. LAC Review (Looked After Child Review)

It is a statutory requirement for an initial LAC Review to take place within 28 days of any child becoming looked after. (see LAC Reviews Procedure). As soon as the child becomes looked after the child’s allocated social worker must ensure that the Quality Assurance Unit is notified so that a date and time can be set for the initial LAC Review and all relevant people invited in good time to the review meeting.

6. Notifications

After the child becomes Looked After the social worker should also notify all those consulted and involved in the decision-making process. If not consulted in the decision making process, the social worker must notify the child's parent(s), significant relatives or friends and previous carers. The notifications should be before the start of the placement, wherever possible, or within 5 working days. The Children's commissioning Team should also be notified if they are not already aware.

The Children's Commissioning Team will send notifications of the placement to the Designated Nurse for LAC, the education service, and the relevant local Children's Services (if the placement is in the area of a different local authority).

The Children's Commissioning Team must also notify the allocated Independent Reviewing Officer or, if it is the first placement, the Quality Assurance Unit of the placement. This notification will trigger the appointment of an Independent Reviewing Officer if it is the first placement, and the setting up of arrangements for a Looked After Review.

The child's social worker will notify all family members consulted and involved in the decision-making process of the placement.

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.

The child's social worker should also notify - preferably in writing but it may be verbally - all those involved in the day to day arrangements for the child, including nursery/school and any health professional or YOT worker actively involved with the child.

It will be necessary for the foster carer or the child's social worker to ensure the child is registered with a GP, Dentist and Optician, either retaining practices known to him or her (which is preferable) or in the area where they are placed.

For any new placement, every effort should be made to enable the child to remain at the same school unless there are reasons which would be detrimental to his or her well being.

7. Health Care

The social worker should arrange for the child to have a Health Care Assessment (see Health Care Assessments for Looked After Children Procedure) and ensure the child is registered with a GP, Dentist and Optician (if necessary). A Personal Health Plan (PHP), which is an integral part of the Care Plan, must be drawn up as soon as practicable. The child’s social worker should seek advice as required from the Clinical Nurse Specialist (Children Looked After) and Children Looked After Education Team

8. Education

The social worker should ensure that there is minimal disruption to the child’s education.  If the child can not continue to attend his/her previous school, the social worker should liaise with the carer/home and with Children Looked After Education Team to ensure the child is registered without delay with a school appropriate to the child’s assessed needs. This will include ensuring that a Personal Education Plan (PEP) is drawn up within 20 school days of the child becoming Looked After.

9. Complaints and Advocacy

The social worker should ensure the child is given literature/information about:

• The Complaints Procedure;
• Advocacy Services provided by the authority.

10. Permanency Planning Meetings

See Permanency Planning Guidance and Procedure.

Permanency Planning meetings are held regularly on all children who are looked after for longer than 4 months and who are not in an agreed permanent placement. Permanency Planning Meetings are normally chaired by the relevant Social Work Manager. If it is unlikely that the child will be discharged from looked after status within 4 months then the child’s social worker should notify the Permanency Administrator who will convene an Initial Permanency Planning Meeting.

11. Support and Monitoring of Placements

If the child is placed out of hours, the EDT Worker must consult carers/the home and provide necessary immediate support to the placement.

The social worker must undertake a visit within a week of the placement and then at intervals required in Social Worker Visits Procedure.

If the child is placed with Foster Carers, the carers will receive support and supervision as set out in the Supervision and Support to Foster Carers Procedure.

End