Revelations of the widespread abuse and neglect of children living away from home have done much to raise awareness of the particular vulnerability of such children. Many of these revelations have focused on sexual abuse, but physical and emotional abuse and neglect – including peer abuse, bullying and substance misuse – are equally a threat in institutional and other settings. See Bullying Guidance and Children of Drug Misusing Parents Procedures.
Concerns for the safety of children living away from home have to be put in the context of attention to the overall developmental needs of such children and a concern for the best possible outcomes for their health and development.
Every setting in which they live should provide the same basic safeguards against abuse, founded on an approach that promotes their general welfare, protects them from harm and treats them with dignity and respect.
These values are reflected in regulations and in the National Minimum Standards, which contain specific requirements on safeguarding and child protection for each particular regulated setting where children live away from home – see also Recruitment, Supervision and Training of Staff Procedure and Allegations of Abuse Against Persons who Work with Children (including Allegations Against Carers and Volunteers) Procedure.
The following essential safeguards should be observed in all settings such as foster care, residential care, private fostering, armed forces bases, healthcare, boarding schools (including residential special schools), Prisons, Young Offenders’ Institutions, Secure Training Centres and secure units. Where services are not directly provided, these safeguards should be explicitly addressed in any contract with a service provider.
All settings must ensure that:
Where there is reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered Significant Harm, the local authority for the area in which the child is living has the responsibility to convene a Strategy Discussion/Meeting, which should include representatives from the responsible local authority that placed the child, if different.
At the Strategy Discussion/Meeting it should be decided which local authority should take responsibility for the next steps, which may include a Section 47 Enquiry. See also Children Moving Across Boundaries Procedure.
The local authority‘s duty to undertake a Section 47 Enquiry, when there are concerns about Significant Harm to a child, applies on the same basis to children in foster care as it does to children who live with their own families.
When the concerns relate to a child placed in a foster home outside the area of the responsible local authority – see Children Moving Across Boundaries Procedure.
Where there is reasonable cause to believe that a child in foster care has suffered or is at risk of suffering Significant Harm in the foster placement, the Allegations of Abuse Against Persons who Work with Children (including Carers and Volunteers) Procedure will apply and a Strategy Meeting will be held.
In these circumstances, enquiries should consider the safety of any other children living in the household, including the foster carers’ own children, grand-children or any children cared for by the foster carers in their home as well as any children whom the foster carers may be caring for or working with outside their home in a voluntary or paid capacity e.g. teaching, faith or youth work, scouts or many other groups.
As foster care is undertaken in the privacy of the carers’ own home, it is important that children have a voice outside the family. Social workers are required to see children in foster care on their own and evidence of this should be recorded on the child’s records.
Foster carers should monitor the whereabouts of their foster children, their patterns of absence and contacts, and follow the recognised agency procedure whenever a foster child is missing from their home.
A private fostering arrangement is essentially one that is made without the involvement of a local authority for the care of a child under the age of 16 (under 18 if disabled) by someone other than a parent or close relative for 28 days or more. Privately fostered children are a diverse and sometimes vulnerable group which includes:
Under the Children Act 1989, private foster carers and those with Parental Responsibility are required to notify the local authority of their intention to privately foster or to have a child Privately Fostered, or where a child is privately fostered in an emergency.
Teachers, health and other professionals should notify the local authority of a private fostering arrangement that comes to their attention, where they are not satisfied that the arrangement has been or will be notified.
It is the duty of every local authority to satisfy itself that the welfare of the children, who are privately fostered within their area, is being satisfactorily safeguarded and promoted. This includes an initial visit to the child and private foster carers within one week of receiving notification that the placement has started and subsequent assessment under the Assessment Framework. The local authority must also arrange to visit privately fostered children at regular intervals. Children should be given the contact details of the social worker who will be visiting them while they are being privately fostered.
All arrangements and regulations in relation to private fostering are set out in the Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005.
When there are concerns about Significant Harm to a child who is privately fostered, the local authority and all the other agencies have the same duties to make enquiries as they do in relation to any other child. The concerns must be reported to the local authority for the area where the private foster placement is located in accordance with the Referral Procedure.
Walsall Children's Services have set up a Private Fostering Panel which receives the assessments of private foster carers carried out under the Private Fostering Regulations and considers the private foster carers' suitability in light of the assessment. Further detailed procedures as to how the local authority's duties towards privately fostered children are contained in the Walsall Children's Services Manual.
All residential settings where children and young people are placed, including children’s homes and residential schools, whether provided by a private, charitable or faith based organisation, or a local authority, must adhere to the Children’s Homes Regulations 2001 and all other relevant regulations and to the relevant National Minimum Standards.
Clear records must be kept and reviews and inspections must take place in accordance with National Minimum Standards and Regulations.
Children in such settings are particularly vulnerable and must be listened to.
All such establishments must have in place complaints procedures for children and young people, visiting and contact arrangements with social workers and Independent Visitors (for Looked After children), as well as parents. Advocacy services should also be available for children who wish to make a complaint..
Where there is reasonable cause to believe that a child in a residential setting has suffered or is at risk of suffering Significant Harm, a referral must be made in accordance with the Referral Procedure. The concerns may range from bullying or abuse by other children to allegations against staff – see Bullying Guidance, Children who Sexually Abuse other Children Procedure and, where the concerns relate to a member or members of staff and/or the care the child is receiving in the residential setting, the Allegations of Abuse Against Persons who Work with Children (including Carers and Volunteers) Procedure will apply and a Strategy Meeting will be held.
When the concerns relate to a looked after child placed in residential care outside the area of the responsible local authority – see Children Moving Across Boundaries Procedure.
Hospitals should be child-friendly, safe and healthy places for children. Wherever possible, children should be consulted about where they would prefer to stay in hospital, and their views should be taken into account and be respected. Care should be provided in an appropriate location and in an environment that is safe and well suited to the age and stage of development of the child or young person.
Children under 16 should not be cared for on an adult ward. Hospital admission data should include the age of children, so that hospitals can monitor whether children are being given appropriate care in appropriate wards.
Hospitals must have policies in place to ensure that their facilities are secure and regularly reviewed.
Any concerns about Significant Harm to a child within a hospital or health based setting must be referred to Children’s Social Care Services in whose area the hospital is located in accordance with the Referrals Procedure.
No child known to Children’s Social Care Services who is an inpatient in a hospital and about whom there are child protection concerns should be discharged home without a referral to establish that the home environment is safe, the concerns by medical staff are fully addressed and there is a plan in place for the ongoing promotion and safeguarding of the child’s welfare – see Child Protection Discharge Procedure.
When the child has been in hospital for three months or more, the appropriate health/hospital trust must notify the Responsible Authority i.e. the local authority for the area where the child is normally resident or, if this is unclear, where the child is accommodated. This is so that the local authority can assess the child’s needs under the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families and decide whether services are required under the Children Act 1989.
For further reading and information see the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services (NSF) 2004 and the Public Inquiry into Children’s Heart Surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary 1984-1995: Learning from Bristol.
The local authority has the same responsibilities towards children in custody as it does to other children in the local authority area.
Young Offenders Institutions which accommodate Juveniles (16-18) must have policies and procedures in place which set out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of the children and young people in their care.
Specific institutions in an area must ensure that there are links in place with the relevant Local Safeguarding Children Boards and local authority.
The local authorities responsibility's are set out in Local Authority Circular (LAC) 2004(26)
Placement in temporary accommodation, often a distance from previous support networks or involving frequent moves, can lead to individuals and families falling through the net.
It is important that effective systems are in place to ensure that children from homeless families receive services from health and education, social care and welfare support services as well as any other specific services, because with frequent moves they may become disengaged from services. For example a child who is not registered with a school or a GP will miss out on basic services such as health screening, eye tests, immunisations and learning to read and write. Where a child who needs specific treatment misses appointments due to moves the problem may become an issue of significant harm.
Temporary accommodation, for example bed and breakfast accommodation or women’s refuges, may be a location which is not secure and safe and where other adults are also resident who may pose a risk to the child.
All concerns of Significant Harm to a child should be referred to Children’s Social Care Services in accordance with the Referral Procedure.
A small number of children who are Looked After will be placed at any one time with prospective adoptive households. The new parent(s) should have received all information about the child's current needs and historic experiences prior to joining their care. It should be recognised that in considering the safeguarding needs of these children, the early days and weeks of placement are a time of high anxiety for all involved. During this period, children may show sudden changes to their routines and temperaments as a result of the transition they are making. Consultation with former foster carers may assist assessing the concerns and behaviours.
We know from disruptions of adoptive placements that the period prior to the transfer of full Parental Responsibility on the making of an Adoption Order can be very challenging and prospective parent(s) can under-report worrying behaviours seen with their new children. All adoptive placements are subject to a schedule of supervisory visits and these take place fortnightly until the granting of an Order. It is expected that supervising social workers will exchange written records of their observations and there is an expectation that the child will normally be seen alone.
The location of the majority of pre-adoptive placements will be outside Walsall and will necessitate close inter agency working with neighbouring authorities. As with other children placed outside of their home local authority, it is the responsibility of the local authority where the child is resident to hold any Strategy Meeting that is required and they will normally agree that Walsall will carry out the Section 47 Enquiries. The reverse applies when a child from another local authority is in a pre-adoptive placement in Walsall. A member of the team involved in the adoption placement should attend the Strategy Meeting to provide up to date information on the placements progress, along with a manager from the adoption agency involved.
As with all Section 47 Enquiries, the welfare of children in the household will need to be considered regardless of their legal status.
An adopted child or young person may divulge at some time into their placement, that they have been abused at some time in their previous history. Where such information is received, a Strategy Meeting should be convened by the local authority where the child is living. Consideration should be given to inviting the placing agency to the meeting.
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