4.3.1 Social Worker Visits

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

This chapter was updated in April 2011 in response to the changes set out in the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 (Care Planning Regulations) and Associated Guidance.

Normal Frequency
Exceptions
Appointments
Who Should be Seen?
Purpose
Services Specific for Looked After Children
Recording
Monitoring

1. Normal Frequency

Wherever a Looked After child is placed, the child's social worker must visit the child in the placement at the following intervals, subject to the exceptions in Section 2, Exceptions:

On the day the child is placed, to assist in the placement process
Within one week of the placement
Then at intervals of no more than four weeks during the placement
Within the first week of any change of placement

NB These are minimum requirements and the Case Review may recommend more frequent visits.

Children subject to a Child Protection Plan should be seen by the allocated social worker no less than once every 2 weeks or according to the Child Protection Plan which might be more frequent. Again where possible the child should be spoken to alone and if part of the plan away from the family home. The social worker should be clear if unannounced visits are required to safeguard the child/ren and put this in place as required.

Children in need should be seen according to the Child in Need Plan or no less that 3 weekly (usually it would be more frequently). If possible children should be spoken to alone.

The child's social worker should also visit the child immediately a complaint is received from the child or from another person relating to the child concerning the standard of care they are receiving.

This applies to all new placements where, for example, a child moves from one placement to another. For children who are placed for adoption, see Monitoring and Supervision of Agency Adoptive Placements Procedure.

Some visits should be unannounced. (The foster carers, parent or residential unit should be informed by the child's social worker at the time of placing that there will be occasional unannounced visits and the reason for this explained.)

Meetings involving a child e.g. Case Reviews, do not in themselves constitute a visit, unless time is taken outside of the meeting to talk with and spend time with the child.

The child's social worker should on occasion take the child out from the placement (for example for a snack or a visit to a park) as this can strengthen the relationship between the child and the social worker and is also in the interests of child protection in that the child may feel more able to discuss issues that are of concern to him/her.

The social worker should provide the child or young person with their smart phone number and tell the child how to contact them i.e. e-mail and messages, who to speak to if the social worker is not in.

It is good practice to ask for feedback about your visits and how you can improve them.

2. Exceptions

Where the placement is with relatives or friends - Connected Persons who have not yet been approved as foster carers, the social worker must visit the child weekly until the carers have been approved as foster carers - see Placement with Family and Friends - Connected Persons Procedure.

Privately foster children should be seen by the social worker within 7 working days of notification and then weekly until the arrangement is formally approved, then no less than 6 weekly thereafter, or when a child/carer/parent requests a visit. The child should always be spoken to alone
For children receiving short break carer see Short Breaks Procedure.
Where the placement is for a series of short-term placements, the child's social worker must visit the child within the first 7 placement days (being days when the child is placed) and thereafter every six months.
Visits should be made more frequently if circumstances require and whenever reasonably requested by the child or the staff/carer.

3. Appointments

Children/young people should know when the next appointment is and should be clear how often they will be seen by their social worker and why. Children, who request a visit, should then have a visit arranged as soon as possible unless there are good reasons for not doing so: which should be recorded on the file. The child should know how to contact their social worker and who to contact between appointments.

4. Who Should be Seen?

Wherever possible, the child must be seen alone (unless the child of sufficient age and maturity and refuses). If this is not possible, a further visit must be made at short notice in order that the child can be seen alone and observed with the staff/carer.

The social worker should be aware of who else lives in the placement and they should know about changes in structure and composition as well as the relationships within the household or unit.

For children who are not able to verbally communicate their views, the social worker should ensure that observations of the child are made in their placement and also in other settings, for example, school. Information and opinion should also be gathered from other professionals about their presentation.

On some occasions, the social worker should also arrange to visit at times when all members of a household can be seen; or for children's homes, a significant number of adults and children.

Social workers must consider the balance of time spent with staff/carers and with children during a statutory visit. The social worker must prioritise their time with the child as opposed to the staff/carer. Issues raised by staff/carers can be discussed when a child is not present for example when they are at school.

Social workers should provide feedback to staff/carers regarding their visit.

5. Purpose

The child’s social worker should always be clear why the visit is being arranged and go prepared to talk to/communicate with the child.

The purpose of the visit is to ensure the placement continues to promote the child's welfare under Every Child Matters and ensure they are safeguarded, and in particular:

To give the child the opportunity to express his or her wishes, feelings and views and to incorporate the views in shaping the Care Plan
To advise, assist and befriend the child and to ascertain who they would turn to in times of difficulty
To promote an effective relationship between the child and social worker with particular reference to the role of the social worker as a link with the child's history and birth family.
To identify daily routines including getting up and going to bed, meal times (including whether the children in the placement all eat together), the arrangements for washing and whether the child is provided with privacy and support that is relevant to his or her stage of development.
To identify arrangements for holiday and leisure time including playing games, access to clubs, cultural and sporting activities.
To identify and assess what special arrangements are made to meet any needs that arise from their culture, religious or heritage including communication, diet and skin/hair care.
To observe the child with the staff/carer/parent and to analyse parenting styles and the promotion of the child's self esteem
To monitor the standard of care offered by the placement including the physical standards, house rules and behaviour management strategies.
To identify whether there are toys or games to play with and the access that the child has to them.
To monitor how the contact arrangements with family members and friends are working and to discover whether these are promoted within the home.
To see the child's sleeping arrangements such as room sharing, display of personal belongings and the physical state of the room. Has the child got clean clothes that are stored appropriately? This is good practice for children subject to a Child Protection Plan and Children in Need
To identify any areas where additional support is required
To monitor and evaluate whether the placement is helping to achieve the objectives of the child's Care Plan, with particular reference to whether the placement is meeting the educational, health, equalities and social development needs of the child. Where it is a long-term/permanent placement, the social worker should observe whether there are signs that the child is an integral part of the family such as whether they are included in photographs on display.
To carry out specific casework tasks with the child, for example carrying out a programme of life story work.
To identify whether older children are encouraged to play an increasing part in their own care such as laundry, food preparation and the purchase of food, clothes and budgeting.
To identify the arrangements for the child to get support with school work, do homework (including where appropriate, access to a computer)and visit a library. Do the carers attend parent's evenings?
To identify whether the child knows about the complaints procedure and the availability of advocacy services
To monitor that the Child Health Record is stored safely, is up to date and is accessible to the child as appropriate to the child's age and understanding

All cases where the child is subject to a Child Protection Plan or Looked after consideration should be given to advising the Independent Reviewing Officer of any significant changes.

6. Services Specific for Looked After Children

Looked after children who do not have a significant independent adult( parent/friend) to talk to, should have that person identified or found for them in discussion with the relevant IRO.

Where the social worker has concerns that the placement is not promoting the child/young person’s welfare, the local authority should review the Care and Placement Plan, to ensure the placement is able to meet the child/young person’s needs. The child’s welfare should be assessed by considering such thing as daily life and routines, view of the child/ young person, views of other (e.g. school teacher) as a child/ young person may not always be able to express any unhappiness directly to the social worker or carer.

Social workers visiting children with disabilities and/or complex health needs should also consider the following:

Whether practices that are being employed are appropriate and do not compromise the child's safety e.g. the method of lifting a disabled child.
Does the carer have sufficient equipment i.e. bath chair / hoist etc.?
Who arranges the child's health appointments and who attends? For children in residential placements in particular, is there consistency of worker? (See also Administration of Medication Procedure)
Is there clear written information re the administration of medication?

It may not be possible for a social worker to gain all the information listed in one visit but they must try to obtain a holistic view of the placement.

When visiting children in residential settings the social worker should read the running sheets to gain an understanding of recent events and also to identify any themes highlighted in the recording for example, behaviour and staff strategies for managing situations.

7. Recording

The social worker should record each visit on CF21 as an forthcoming activity and observation where the details are written down of conversations and observations of behaviour.

When the social worker makes an appointment with the child this should be recorded as a forthcoming activity on CF21.

The observations should state clearly:

Who was seen,
Whether the child was seen and if not why not,
Whether the child was seen alone
Any comments made by the child or the staff/carers/parents
Any matters of concern or difficulties such as any difficulties the child/carer/parent maybe be experiencing and the advice/support provided.
Any observations on the child’s welfare and the success of the placement
Any requirements for action.

The social worker should write a letter to the child in most cases after the visit, and in some cases a letter to the relevant parent and or carer so they are kept informed.

All children who are open beyond the Initial Assessment should have a Care Plan on file.

8. Monitoring

As part of performance monitoring a regular report will be made of all the recent visits to children who are open on the case record particularly Looked After Children and Children subject to a Child Protection Plan

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