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Contents

1. Purpose
2. Objectives
3. Contents of the Red File
4. Responsibilities
5. Procedures
6. The Child's Own Records/Photos/Personal Belongings, Life History Book, etc.
7. Running Sheets
8. Confidentiality and Open Access
9. Labelling

 
1. Purpose

The overall purpose is to establish a file held by carers which will:-

1. Provide a record which is collected and maintained by the carer on behalf of the child( until it is decided by the Team Around the Child that the young person maintains this). No child should leave care without a complete record of their life while Looked After by Wandsworth; and
2. Assist the development of a record which can be shared openly between the carer/social worker and the child/young person.

2. Objectives

To establish a file (red) for every child / young person looked after by Wandsworth held by the carer which will hold key information about the child. There will be a separate file for each child in a family group.

The file will hold all the information a parent/ carer would expect to keep on behalf of a child (e.g. school reports, certificates of achievement, awards, school work, National Insurance Number, photographs, medical information, certificates from other non school activities).

The file will also hold all appropriate key information relating to his/her care while looked after by Wandsworth (e.g. [care plans], placement agreements, placement planning meetings and reviews).

It will be a historical record being kept on behalf of the child which can be shared with him/her during his/her childhood and given to him/her on reaching adulthood at eighteen or earlier if judged appropriate. The carer will be given guidance about the timing of sharing the information and this will be recorded in the front of the red file. The carer will manage the risk that a child in distress may attempt to destroy part of the file and it is essential that copies of some documentation e.g. certificates and photos are made to ensure there is always a copy available Whilst the aim will be to share as much of the documentation with the young person during their childhood as possible, it is acknowledged that there may have to be careful timing about when the child would have access to some reports. Some information may need to be kept confidential until the young person is much older.

The file will also provide a source of information for the carers to assist them look after the child/young person. (The carer can expect to have a written copy of all key planning documents held by the social workers for their own records).

3. Contents of the Red File

The headings for the file are:-

• Key information;
• Care Plans, Agreement and Reviews;
• Assessments and Summaries;
• Health;
• Education;
• Panel Reports and Court Reports;
• Letters;
• Photographs and other documents.

It is expected that there will be a confidential section in the Red File for material which it is judged will be eventually important for the child to see but which perhaps it would not be appropriate to share with them at this stage. This will be a loose large envelope which can be easily removed.

It will be the responsibility of the Team Manager and Social Worker in discussion with the carer to decide what information should remain confidential and about the appropriate age at which a child should have access to this information.

4. Responsibilities

Responsibility for the red files will be shared between the carer and the social worker. The Carer, Supervising Social Worker and Social Worker should sign that the Red File and relevant documents have been handed to the Carer. The signature document should be scanned onto the Child's electronic file.

The Carer will be responsible for the red files while they are looking after a child or young person on behalf of Wandsworth and keeping it safe.

The child's Social Worker will be responsible for ensuring the carer has the information the s/he needs to look after the child; including their social and historical information which should be kept for the child to understand about his/her own life The Social Worker and the Supervising Social Worker must look at this file on a regular basis to check that it remains current and the information sent has been added.

Team Administrators will be proactive about ensuring there are second copies of all planning documents copied for the child's file. They will be responsible for the safe retrieval and storage of the red file when the child is not in care/accommodation and will make the file available if the child is readmitted.

5. Procedures

A red file provided by the Social Worker, should be started by a carer at the point of admission. Wandsworth foster carers and residential homes will normally hold the red files. For all other placements (e.g. with IFA carer or private residential homes) the Social Worker will need to provide them with a red file and explain its use.

The red files should always be kept in a safe and secure place and confidentiality respected. The Team Manager and Social Worker will decide who is to have access to the file. This must be made clear, and should be recorded at the front of the file. The decision will need to include whether the parent has access or not. For older children their views must be sought.

The child's Social Worker will be responsible for providing the information which must include , Placement Plans and the Care Plan.

Responsibility for ensuring the file has all the necessary documentation will be shared between the carer and the social worker. It should be checked at each statutory review by the Social worker.

The information on the red file should be open to the child or young person. A judgement will need to be made about what is appropriate for the child to have at any particular stage in their life. This decision will be taken by the Social Worker and Team Manager, who will need to make it clear to the carer what information is appropriate to share. The foster carer will be supported in their role so that the red file can be used constructively by the carer in their direct work with the child/ young person.

Photographs should be kept in plastic wallets at the back of the file. Carers should be encouraged to retain photographs which should be appropriately labelled and dated on the back. CDs and USB sticks can also be retained where available. This is additional to any photos or photograph album which the child and young person will have of their day to day activities with the foster carer and school etc.

When a child moves to another placement the file should move with the child and be given to the next carer to look after. The child's social worker will be responsible for arranging the transfer of this file and its information. The Social Worker will sign for the file ( the foster carer will keep this record ) and the next carer will sign for it on receipt.

When a young person (age 16 and over) is moving towards leaving care and their case is transferring to the Youth Support Teams or WILS the Social Worker must ensure that the young person has an up to date Red File. If it is appropriate, the young person should be helped to maintain their Red File in good order or that the carer continues to keep the File in a safe place until the young person is 18 years old.

The young person should sign for their Red File when it is given to them and this signature is kept on their file.

When a child is discharged from care/accommodation or returns home a decision should be made by the Team Manager and Social Worker about the future of the red file and its contents. In the case of short periods in care the contents may be removed from the file and returned in an envelope to be placed with the child's casefile. For first brief care episodes (i.e. under four weeks) it may be that there is minimal documentation. However on a second care episode it is likely that the information will need to be kept permanently in the red file. In this case the contents of the red file will be kept with the child's case file.

The red file will be retained next to the child's case file in the closed filing system.

It will be the responsibility of the Team Manager and Social Worker to judge the appropriate timing to hand the red file and its contents to either the child themselves or the parent. The child's Red File should be handed to the prospective Special Guardian or adoptive parents at the point of placement The guiding principle is that the aim of the red file is to ensure that the child has information about their life while in the care of the local authority. There may be circumstances in which it is important that the parent should have the red file to ensure that both they and the child are able to fill in important gaps. However, the primary aim is for the file to be for the child and his/her future. The Team Manager and Social Worker will need to be sure that the information in the file is as safe as possible for the child.

If a child moves or returns home the Social Worker will collect and sign for the Red File. If the child moves suddenly the carer will be responsible for returning the file and its contents (as per Section 4, Responsibilities above) to the SSW on their next visit. The child's Social Worker will be responsible for ensuring this process is completed and the location of the file is recorded on the system.

The social worker will be responsible for checking the documentation on the file. The Social Worker and Team Manager are responsible for identifying appropriate or confidential material when sending it to the carer to ensure that this material is not stored in the file or if it is, it is in the confidential envelope section and the reasons for this are explained and detailed.

The Team Administrator has responsibility for storing the files in the office. The team administrator will also be responsible for checking with the social worker that the returned file has all the appropriate documentation, ensuring that the file has been retrieved and for making it available for the new placement if a child is readmitted to care/accommodation.

The carers will be responsible for storing material safely.

6. The Child's Own Records/Photos/Personal Belongings, Life History Book, etc.

The red file should be seen as complementary and not an alternative to ensuring a child can keep safely their own photos, etc. Nevertheless the file maintained by carers is an insurance policy against such belongings, mementoes and photos getting lost or destroyed. It should ensure that all records are kept and are in a position to be given to the young person when s/he reaches 18.

The file will normally be given to the young person when they reach 18 years. However in certain circumstances it may be judged by the Team Manager and Social Worker more appropriate to give the child the file when s/he is leaving care.

The information contained in the child's Red File is confidential. If a red file is lost or misplaced this must be reported to the line manager and Service Manager.

7. Running Sheets

It is not expected that case notes will be kept and passed on from placement to placement. The idea of the red file is to retain essential information.

8. Confidentiality and Open Access

As previously stated it is important that the Team Manager and Social Worker use their judgement about the appropriate timing of access and their judgement about what material should remain confidential. Issues such as children with special needs, the age of the child and their relationship to their parents/family will be important issues to influence this judgement.

The red file is designed to be a record to which the child or young person can have open access. The confidentiality of the file is emphasised and carers must have a safe lockable place to store the file. Where the carer has written information which the child or young person should not read, they will need to keep separate confidential information. Examples of this include:

• Child protection information concerning family members or others which the child should not read:
• Information about themselves or their family which would have a very negative impact on their self-esteem or personal relationships; and
• Information about a possible placement before it is confirmed may raise unnecessary false hopes or fears for the child.

9. Labelling

Each red file (envelope, plastic file, lever arch file) should have a label which reads:-

Young Person's Red File

Name      ....................................     (Young Person's name)

.....................................     (Carer)

.....................................     (Carer)

 

Responsible     ......................................     (Social worker)

......................................   (Team Manager)

 

Strictly Confidential

Only those named above are to have access to the file unless it has been clearly agreed and recorded in Section 1 of the file.

End