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Contents

1.	Placements Process - Planned Placements
	1.1	Definition of Planned Placement
	1.2	Placement Required
	1.3	Identification and Approval of Placement
	1.4	Placement Planning
	1.5	Notification of Placement
2.	Support and Ending of Placements
	2.1	Support and Monitoring of Placements
	2.2	Ending of Placements
3.	Church Street Residential Assessment Centre

1. Placements Process - Planned Placements

1.1 Definition of Planned Placement

A Planned Placement is the placement of a child in residential care following an assessment and planning process whereby, at the time of the placement, a Care Plan and Placement Plan/Placement Information Record are in place.

Where the above plans are not in place, the placement is deemed to be an Emergency. 

See Emergency Placement Procedure.

At the point that it is determined that a placement may be required, and throughout the subsequent process of identification, planning and placement, the social worker must consult and take account of the views of the following people:

1. The child;
2. The child's parents;
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 who are significant to the child;
5. The child's school or education authority;
6. The Youth Offending Service, if the child is known to them;
7. Any other relevant person, e.g. nursery, health care professional, Children's Guardian;
8. The child’s Independent Reviewing Officer.

The views of these people should be given by them, in writing, or should be recorded by the social worker.

1.2 Placement Request

Where a decision has been made that a child requires a residential placement, the child’s social worker should complete and send a Referral Form to the Access to Resources Team.

The Referral Form should include information about the child, the type of placement sought, the Care Plan, the date by which the placement is required, the likely length of time for which the placement is required and the expected level of contact between the child and parents. 

If the Access to Resources Team is satisfied the referral is appropriate, it will make enquiries about the availability of an appropriate resource, and consult with the social worker as necessary for clarification or for more information, for example whether the child may be a risk to other children in the home.

The Access to Resources Team will arrange for all placement requests to be submitted to the next available Placement Panel – see Section 1.3 - and will inform the social worker of the Panel date. 

1.3 Identification and Approval of Placement

Unless an in-house residential placement at Church Street Residential Assessment Centre is considered appropriate (see Section 3, Church Street Residential Assessment Centre), the Access to Resources Team will identify possible placements with external providers and liaise with the social worker about their suitability. 

At this stage, the Access to Resources Team will hold initial discussions with the providers as to the appropriateness of the referral, time-scales for vacancies and the basic costs of the placement.  The Access to Resources Team will ascertain the services included in the basic cost, what would be regarded as extra cost and the conditions relating to the notice period, and liaise with the child’s social worker and relevant manager as necessary.

If an external placement appears suitable and a vacancy is available, the Access to Resources Team will:

• Obtain verbal references from other local authorities who have placed children with the provider in the last 12 months;
• Cross refer to the Pan London Contract.

As long as no concerns have been raised in relation to a proposed external placement, the Access to Resources Team will arrange to visit and evaluate the placement (with the social worker if appropriate) and then discuss its suitability with the child’s social worker and manager.

The social worker will complete the Placements Panel Referral Form and attach a copy of the Initial Assessment, or Core Assessment if available, and the child’s Care Plan. The social worker should attend the Placement Panel meeting when the case is considered.

The Placement Panel will authorise a residential placement if satisfied that there are no alternatives to the child being/remaining Looked After. 

The Placement Panel will ensure that all internal resources have been explored before agreeing to a placement with an external provider.

In relation to placements that are outside the borough, the Out of Area Placements Procedure should also be followed.

In cases where a child has complex needs and issues of joint funding with Health and Education arise in relation to the placement, the case will be referred to the Complex Issues Panel. This will be arranged through the Complex Issues Panel Coordinator, who is based within the Access to Resources Team.

NB In addition to the above approvals, in order to avoid placements that disrupt a child's education, the Nominated Officer must approve any change of placement affecting a child in Key Stage 4  except in an emergency/ where the placement is terminated because of an immediate risk of serious harm to the child or to protect others from  serious injury - see Education of Looked After Children Procedure.

Once the placement has been agreed as suitable, the Access to Resources Team will negotiate the terms and conditions of the placement with the provider.  Where the provider is a member of the Pan London Consortium, this will be in line with the standardised Pan London Contract.

The provider’s admissions procedure will then be followed.

1.4 Placement Planning

Before the child is placed, the Access to Resources Team will liaise with the child’s social worker and the manager of the home to arrange a pre-placement planning meeting. The meeting will usually be held in the child's new placement.

Participants will include:

• The parent;
• The child (if appropriate)
• The key residential staff;
• Any other relevant professionals, e.g. a representative from the child's school;
• Anyone else considered appropriate or who will have a role in the placement.

If it is not possible to hold a Placement Planning Meeting before the placement, because of the urgency of the placement, it must take place within 72 hours of the placement.

The purpose of the meeting is to share information about the child and the Care Plan, plan the timing of the placement and ensure that a Placement Plan/Placement Information Record is drawn up and a copy handed to the manager of the children’s home and, where appropriate, to the child.

The Placement Planning Meeting will involve a discussion of the child's needs, including the child’s personal history, religious persuasion, cultural and linguistic background and racial origin, as well as the child’s health and education needs and how these are to be met. It will also include the arrangements for registering the child with health professionals (GP, dentist and optician).

Wherever possible, the Placement Planning Meeting should be used to plan any introductions to the placement, for example whether arrangements should be made for the child, parents and the social worker to visit the home and/or whether it may be appropriate to have an introductory overnight stay. If this is not possible, arrangements may be made for children’s home staff to visit the child and parents; or for information about the home to be sent to the child and/or the parents, for example about routines in the home, bedtimes, meals, visitors, pocket money, school, privacy and the overall expectations in relation to the child’s behaviour within the home.

The meeting also provides an opportunity to ensure that the registered manager has a copy of any relevant court order and that full information is shared about any behaviour management issues.

For children placed in residential care, the Placement Plan should cover the following issues in addition to those for all placements set out in the Decision to Look After and Care Planning Procedure, Placement Plan (recorded on the Placement Information Record):

• The type of accommodation to be provided and the address;
• The child’s personal history, religious persuasion, cultural and linguistic background and racial origin;
• Where the child is Accommodated, the respective responsibilities of the Local Authority and parents/anyone with Parental Responsibility;
• Any delegation of responsibility by parents/anyone with Parental Responsibility to the Local Authority/residential home for the child's day-to-day care;
• The expected duration of the arrangements and the steps to bring the arrangements to an end, including arrangements for the child  to return to live with parents/anyone with Parental Responsibility;
• Where the child  is aged 16 or over and agrees to being provided with accommodation under Section 20 Children Act 1989, that fact;
• The circumstances in which it is necessary to obtain in advance the Local Authority's  approval for the child to take part in school trips or overnight stays;
• The Local Authority's arrangements for the financial support of the child during the placement.

Following the meeting, the child’s social worker will complete and arrange for the circulation of the Care Plan and Placement Plan/Placement Information Record to the child, parents and home manager.

The social worker should ensure that any Children’s Guide or other information about the placement that is available for the child is obtained and given to him/her.

If the child is being placed with an external provider, the social worker must also ensure that the child is provided with information on using the authority’s Complaints Procedure.

In all cases, the child should be accompanied to the placement by the social worker and helped to settle in. Suitable luggage should be used and a child's belongings should never be transported in bin-bags or other inappropriate containers.

At the time of the placement, the residential staff must also be given any additional information about details of the child's day to day needs which may not covered by the Placement Plan/Placement Information Record but are important to ensure that the home is in the best possible position to help the child settle in the new placement, for example any particular fears at night-time or other emotional needs. 

See also Placement Planning Meetings and Keeping the Placement Information Record Up to Date Procedure.

1.5 Notification of Placement

The child’s social worker must notify - preferably in writing but it may be verbally - the placement to all those consulted and involved in the decision-making process, including school and any health professional or YOT worker actively involved with the child.

In order to ensure the appropriate arrangements to pay care providers are in place, the Access to Resources Team must complete a Start/Stop Form and distribute it in accordance with Administrative Processes in relation to Stop/Start Forms Procedure.

In addition, the child’s social worker must complete a Change of Circumstances Form, providing the necessary information to his or her team administrative staff so that the child's electronic recording system can be updated. 

The social worker must also notify in writing, or arrange for the team administrative staff to send written notification to the following:

1. The Safeguarding and Quality Assurance Unit.    
   
   This notification will trigger, if necessary, the appointment of an Independent Reviewing Officer, who will contact the social worker to make arrangements for a Looked After Review If there is already an allocated Independent Reviewing Officer, the written notification may be sent directly to that person.
   
   
2. The appropriate health trust, local education service and Children’s Services for the area where the child is placed.  These notifications must be made in writing advising of the placement decision and the name and address of the home where the child is to be placed. They should be sent before or within 5 working days of the placement.

It will necessary for the social worker to ensure the child is registered with a GP, Dentist and Optician, either retaining practices known to them or in the area where they are placed. 

In relation to a first looked after placement it will also be necessary for the social worker to arrange a Health Care Assessment before the first Looked After Review, unless one has been conducted in the previous 3 months. In relation to a change of placement, the child's social worker must email the new placement address to the Designated Nurse for Looked After Children and Health Clerical Officer so that arrangements for subsequent Health Care Assessments can be made with the relevant medical practitioner. See procedures contained in Joint Protocol for the Health of Looked After Children and Young People.

The social worker must also complete a Personal Education Plan which should be available for the first Looked After Review having been initiated as a part of the Care Plan - see procedures contained in Education of Looked After Children Procedure.

As set out in Section 1.3 Identification and Approval of Placement above, 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. In order to avoid placements that disrupt a child's education, the Nominated Officer must approve any change of placement affecting a child in Key Stage 4 except in an emergency/where the placement is terminated because of an immediate risk of serious harm to the child or to protect others from  serious injury.

2. Support, Monitoring and Ending of Placements

2.1	Support and Monitoring of Placements
2.2	Ending of Placements

2.1 Support and Monitoring of Placements

The child’s social worker must visit the child in the placement within one week of the placement and then at specified intervals at a minimum every six weeks; see procedures in Social Worker Visits Procedure.

Also see Placement Planning and Keeping the Placement Information Record Up to Date Procedure.

The Access to Resources Team will maintain regular contact with the social worker and ask the social worker to complete the Placement Evaluation Form, to monitor the appropriateness and effectiveness of the placement.

The Access to Resources Team will also liaise with health and education in relation to jointly funded placements with external providers, and will carry out yearly unannounced visits to all placements, taking up with them any concerns or funding issues as soon as they are drawn to the Team’s attention.

The Access to Resources Team will arrange for the Placement Panel to review the placement at regular intervals as agreed at the Panel when the placement was authorised.

Where the needs of the child in the placement will involve costs in addition to those approved, the placement must be referred to the Placement Panel for authority for any such additional costs before they are incurred.

2.2 Ending of Placements

The child’s social worker should inform all those notified of the placement when a placement ends, including the Access to Resources Team - see Administrative processes for Start/Stop Forms Procedure.

All children leaving placements with external providers should be given an opportunity to give feedback on the placement.

3. Church Street Residential Assessment Centre

The Church Street Residential Assessment Centre provides a residential assessment for young people aged 11-17 years who are at the time of admission unable to live with their parents, with foster carers or wider family/friends. The resource offers a short-term crisis intervention service with the emphasis on risk assessment and rehabilitation home as soon as safely possible. Where rehabilitation home is not achieved or is assessed as inappropriate, then the young person’s care needs will be identified and alternative provision recommended. It is anticipated that young people will stay in the centre for up to 12 weeks, with clear reviewing and planning processes determined by legislation and regulation.

3.1 Criteria for Referral

• Young people who need to be accommodated in an emergency and there are no wider family members or foster carers that can undertake the task;
• A young person who requires an assessment in a residential setting;
• The young person is 12 + years;
• The young person is the responsibility of the London Borough of Enfield.

3.2 Core Service

• Provision of safe primary care that meets the cultural, ethnic, and religious needs of the young person;
• Contributing to an assessment of the young person’s needs to identify the longer term care needs of the young person;
• Supporting and ensuring education needs are met and working with the HEART Team;
• Support in ensuring health, dental and optical needs are appropriately met;
• Considering the emotional and mental health needs of the young person and supporting referral to SAFE / CAMHS if appropriate;
• Support in accessing recreational activities;
• Support the young person either back into their family or onto a longer-term alternative care provision.

3.3 Assessments are informed by:

• Observation of interactions of the young person with staff and peers, leading to an assessment of the young person’s maturity and ability to form age appropriate and satisfying relationships with peers and carers;
• Observation of the young person’s ability to respond appropriately to guidance and boundaries;
• Observation of the young person’s self caring skills;
• Observations of family relationships both within the unit and in the family home where appropriate;
• Joint working or access to HEART Service, SAFE and Child Guidance Service where appropriate (please see Contact Details Appendix).

3.4 Outcomes

• Written report on the assessment of the young person;
• Identification of young person’s developmental needs;
• Recommendations regarding how these needs are best met;
• Family work to assist in rehabilitation home where appropriate;
• Preparation for a move to a bridging or longer-term placement as required.

End