Who are "Looked after children"?

They are children who Social Care Services are providing with care and accommodation. Mostly they will be cared for by Foster Carers but some looked after children might stay in a children’s home or boarding school, or with friends or relatives. In some circumstances, looked after children can stay with their parents.

How do children become “looked after”?

Children come into our care by two main routes – because their parents have asked for this help or because the child is at risk of significant harm.

Where parents consider that, for some reason, their child can no longer stay at home, they can ask us for help. If we agree that it is best for the child, we will find care and accommodation for them. The parents will retain parental responsibility.

The courts can make care orders if they decide that a child has suffered or is at risk of suffering significant harm. The court will take all the circumstances into careful consideration before doing this. When a care order is made, parental responsibility passes to Social Care Services, who become a legal parent alongside the parent/guardian.

What happens next?

We will find out more about the child’s situation and needs (this is called Assessment) then decide the arrangements for their care. This will, wherever possible, be done in discussion with the family and the child. The arrangements can include a plan for the process of returning the child to the family home.

The arrangements are set out in two documents. The Care Plan describes how the child’s health, education and welfare will be supported, along with how contact will be kept with the family. The Placement Agreement covers living arrangements, including travel, and any restrictions which may be needed.

Review

We will review the Care Plan within 28 days of the first placement being made, then after 3 months and, after that, at least every 6 months. (For disabled children having overnight stays away from their parents, the first review is three months after the first stay). Parents and children are usually invited to the review and we will always try to agree with the child who should attend. There are separate leaflets – “Reviews – Information for Parents” and "Reviews - Information for Children and Young People" which give more detail on this.

Disabled Children

There is a separate leaflet “Assessing the Needs of Disabled Children” which describes how we consider the care needs of disabled children and plan to meet their needs. Sometimes the Care Plan will include overnight stays away from the family for the child to give parents a break. This technically brings the child into the Looked After system and so we have to apply our Looked After procedures accordingly.