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Contents

1. Decision to Look After Child
2. The Care Plan
3. Timescales for Completion
4. Approval of the Care Plan
5. Circulation of the Care Plan
6. Other Required Plans and Documentation
7. Permanence Planning

8. Summary of Actions Required by Social Worker within the First Month of Child's First Placement

1. Decision to Look After Child

A decision to Look After a child will be made by the Designated Manager (Decision to Look After) where an Initial and/or Core Assessment has identified that a placement and a structured package of support is required to meet the child's needs. 

In an emergency outside office hours, the Out of Hours senior practitioner can make the decision and any such decision will be communicated by fax or email to the relevant team by the beginning of the next working day.

The circumstances will be that:

• All attempts at early intervention to maintain and support the child with his or her family have broken down; or
• The child would be at risk of Significant Harm by remaining with the family; or
• The child is disabled and a series of short break placements is necessary to provide respite for his or her carers.

The decision will only be made where the Manager is satisfied that  appropriate consultation has taken place on the necessity, purpose and nature of the proposed placement in accordance with the Public Law Outline, or where he or she is satisfied that the circumstances constitute an emergency and opportunities for consultation are limited.

Alternative care arrangements within the extended family or with friends should be thoroughly explored with the family. This may be possible to avoid the child becoming Looked After.  See Friends and Family Arrangements Procedure. However, it may be interpreted as a placement with a Connected Person, in which case the child will be looked after and the Placement with Connected Persons Procedure will apply.

Where a request is received for a child to be Looked After, the family must be informed that before the Council can consider looking after the child (where there are no urgent safeguarding measures required), a referral will need to be made to the Alternatives to Care Team who will assist the family in addressing the issues which have led to the request. 

Within 24 hours of the Alternatives to Care Team receiving a referral from the District Social Worker, a visit will be undertaken by a member of this team along with the District Social Worker and a plan of action will be drawn up to include a written agreement.

The Alternatives to Care Team Manager may consider a Family Group Conference, which will be put in place 10 working days after the referral to the Alternatives to Care Team.

If no Connected Person arrangement can be identified to avoid the need for the child to be looked after or such an arrangement would not meet the child's needs, a planning meeting will be held, in advance wherever possible, to plan or consider:

• The date when the child will become Looked After;
• The child's immediate placement needs, including whether a Looked After placement with a Connected Person may be possible (see Placements with Connected Persons Procedure);
• The longer term plan;
• A date for the child to return home or when the decision will be reviewed;
• An action plan of support and work to enable the necessary change for the child to return home;
• The obtaining of parental consent to look after the child and consent to medical care;
• The need for Care Proceedings to secure the child's placement.

Where Care Proceedings are considered appropriate, the Designated Manager's authority should be requested to hold an Initial Legal Planning Meeting - see Initiating Care Proceedings.

Once a decision is made to look after a child, the social worker should complete the Looked After Children documentation on the child's electronic social care record. 

The social worker should also notify the Quality Assurance Unit's administrative staff that the child is Looked After.  The Quality Assurance Unit will then appoint an Independent Reviewing Officer and liaise with the social worker to arrange a date for the first Looked After Review.  See Looked After Reviews Procedure.

The social worker will be responsible for seeking an appropriate placement for the child and making the necessary arrangements in relation to the placement, in accordance with the Placement Procedures contained in Section 3.2 of the handbook.

Where a decision is made to pursue a Looked After placement with a Connected Person and the placement is likely to be for longer than 16 weeks, a referral should be made to the Fostering Service for a Kinship Care Worker to be appointed. See Placements with Connected Persons Procedure.

The social worker will also arrange to collect the child's health record (Red Book) and some clothing and belongings, including a special toy, photograph of parents and copy of the child's birth certificate and/or passport. 

See Section 6, Other Required Plans and Documentation for the actions, plans and documentation required when a child becomes Looked After and the Summary Chart for a summary of actions and their timescales.

2. The Care Plan

In all circumstances where a decision is made to look after a child, the child must have a Care Plan, the contents of which must include:

• The child's Placement Plan (setting out why the placement was chosen and how the placement will contribute to meeting the child's needs);
• The child's Permanence Plan (setting out the long term plans for the child's upbringing including timescales);
• The Pathway Plan (where appropriate, for young people leaving care);
• The child's Health Plan;
• The child's Personal Education Plan;
• The contingency plan;
• The date of the child's first Looked After Review (within 20 working days) ;
• The name of the Independent Reviewing Officer.

The child's social worker is responsible for drawing up and updating the Care Plan in consultation with:

1. The child;
2. The child's parents and those with Parental Responsibility;
3. Anyone who is not a parent but has been caring for or looking after the child;
4. Other members of the child's family network who are significant to the child;
5. The child's school or education authority;
6. The relevant health trust;
7. The Youth Offending Service, if the child is known to them;
8. Any other agency involved with the child's care.

See Care Plans Guidance.

One of the key functions of the Care Plan is to ensure that each child has a Permanence Plan by the time of the second Looked After Review. The Care Plan is subject to scrutiny at each Looked After Review - see Looked After Review Procedure.

The Care Plan should include the arrangements made to meet the child's needs in relation to his or her:

• Emotional and behavioural development;
• The child's identity in relation to religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background;
• Family and social relationships; arrangements for contact with sibling(s) accommodated by the authority or another local authority; details of any Section 8 Order, in relation to a Looked After Child; details of any order in relation to contact with a child in care; arrangements for contact with parents/anyone with Parental Responsibility/ any other Connected Person; arrangements for the appointment of an Independent Visitor for a Looked After Child;
• Social presentation;
• Self-care skills.

3. Timescales for Completion

A Care Plan must be prepared prior to a child's first placement wherever possible, or, if it is not practicable to do so, within a maximum of 10 working days of the child's first placement. 

If there are exceptional reasons that prevent the Care Plan from being drawn up prior to the child's placement, the key objectives of the child's proposed placement must still be identified and recorded.

4. Approval of the Care Plan

Any Care Plan taken before the Court within Care Proceedings must be endorsed and signed by a Designated Manager (Care Plans).

All other Care Plans must be endorsed and signed by the social worker's manager. 

The Care Plan can be updated by the social worker, with the manager's approval, at any time. 

The Care Plan is subject to scrutiny at each Looked After Review.

5. Circulation of the Care Plan

The Care Plan must be circulated to the following people:

• The child;
• The parent(s);
• Carers - if no Care Plan has been drawn up prior to the child's placement, the social worker must ensure that the carers understand the key objectives of the plan, and how the placement will help achieve these objectives;
• The child's Independent Reviewing Officer.

6. Other Required Plans and Documentation

6.1 Placement Plan

Placement: Wherever possible, the child must have a Placement Plan (recorded on the Placement Information Record on ICS before the placement. Where there is no Placement Information Record prior to a child's placement in residential care, an Emergency Review must be held within 72 hours - see Emergency Review Procedure. In relation to a placement in foster care, a placement meeting must be held prior to the placement to draw up a Placement Information Record/Placement Plan but where this is not possible the meeting must take place within 5 working days of the start of the placement - see Placement Plan Review Procedure.

The information to be included in the Placement Plan will include:

• How on a day-to-day basis the child will be cared for and the child's welfare will be safeguarded and promoted by the appropriate person;
• Any arrangements for contact between the child and parents/anyone with Parental Responsibility/any other Connected Person, including, if appropriate, reasons why contact is not reasonably practicable or not consistent with the child's welfare; details of any Contact Order (under Section 8 or 34 of the Children Act 1989); the arrangements for notifying any changes in contact arrangements;
• Arrangements for the child's health (physical, emotional and mental) and dental care, including the name and address of registered medical and dental practitioners; arrangements for giving/withholding consent to medical/dental examination/treatment;
• Arrangements for the child's education and training, including the name and address of the child's school/other educational institution/provider and designated teacher; the Local Authority maintaining any statement of Special Educational Needs;
• The arrangements for and frequency of visits by the child's social worker; and for advice, support and assistance between visits;
• If an Independent Visitor is appointed, the arrangements for them to visit the child;
• The circumstances in which the placement may be terminated;
• The name and contact details of  the Independent Reviewing Officer, the Independent Visitor if one is appointed, the social worker who will be visiting the child, and the Personal Adviser for an Eligible Young Person.

There is additional information required in the Placement Plan depending on the type of placement - please see the relevant Placement Procedure for these details.

6.2 Health

In addition, at the time of the placement, the social worker should request the parent to transfer the child's Personal Child Health Record (Red Book) and should arrange a Health Care Assessment.

A Health Care Plan must be completed by the time of the first Looked After Review. See Health Care Assessments and Health Care Plans Procedure.

6.3 Education

The social worker should also notify the CLA education worker of the child's placement in order to set up the Personal Education Plan.

A Personal Education Plan must be completed as part of the Care Plan before the child becomes looked after (or within 10 working days in the case of an emergency placement) and be available by the time of the first Looked After Review. See Education of Looked After Children Procedure.

7. Permanence Planning

This should be read in conjunction with Looked After Reviews Procedure.

The Care Plan will be regularly reviewed at Looked After Reviews. 

By the time of the second Looked After Review, the Care Plan must contain a plan for achieving permanence for the child within a timescale that is realistic, achievable and meets the child's needs. 

See Permanence Planning Guidance

Once a Permanence Plan has been made, the social worker must inform the team administrative staff who will record the information on CareFirst.

All subsequent Reviews should review the progress and validity of the Permanence Plan.

Depending on the contents of the Permanence Plan, the appropriate steps should be taken to achieve their implementation by reference to the appropriate procedures in this Handbook, for example: Placement for Adoption Procedure.

8. Summary of Actions Required by Social Worker within the First Month of Child's First Placement

BEFORE PLACEMENT	WITHIN ONE WORKING DAY	WITHIN SEVEN DAYS	WITHIN 21 DAYS	WITHIN 20 WORKING DAYS
Complete Care Plan Complete combined Placement Plan / Placement Information Record. Collect child's belongings, including a special toy and photographs. Collect a copy of child's birth certificate and/or passport. Collect child's Health Record (Red Book).	Contact the Quality Assurance Unit to arrange first Looked After Review. Contact CLA education worker in order to set up first PEP meeting. Ensure that Complaints Leaflet is given to child. Ensure that appropriate Children's Guide is given to child. Where the child is under 10 and placed with Southwark foster carers, ensure child sees "Just Ask" video. Complete early notification referral form to relevant CLA team. Arrange Health Care Assessment Ensure contact arrangements are in place Where child in foster placement, set up Placement meeting to take place within 5 working days if not already held. Arrange first social work visit to take place within first week.	Visit child in placement	Visit child and parents to discuss wishes and feelings regarding the Care Plan and ensure consultation documents are completed and social work report is prepared for first Looked After Review. Arrange PEP meeting.	Complete PEP. Attend Health Care Assessment with child and ensure Health Care Plan is completed. Attend first Looked After Review.

End