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Contents

1. Normal Frequency
2. Children Placed with Parents pending Assessment, Subject of a Care Order or Interim Care Order or with Connected Persons on the basis of temporary approval who should be Seen
3. Who Should be Seen
4. Purpose
5. Recording

1. Normal Frequency

All Looked After children in Wandsworth will have an allocated social worker.

Wherever a Looked After Child is placed (foster placement, residential unit or placed with birth parents or relatives), the child’s social worker must visit the child in the placement at the following intervals, subject to the conditions in Section 2, Conditions

• On the day the child is placed, to assist in the placement process
• Within one week of the start of any placement
• Then at intervals of not more than six weeks for the first year of any placement
• Thereafter, at intervals of not more than 6 weeks
• Where the Care Plan for a child has been confirmed by the Assistant Director as permanent (i.e. intended to last until age 18) and the placement is stable it may be appropriate for the frequency of social work visits to change to every 10 weeks. (NB The maximum interval between visits to a looked after child in a permanent placement which is permitted by the Care Planning, Placement and Review Regulations 2010 is 3 months). The decision to change frequency of visits should be agreed by the Team Around the Child, the child, the carer and agreed at the Child's Looked After Review. The Service Manager must be informed of the change. See Looked After Reviews Procedure.
• Where the child or young person is in custody, the young person should be visited within a week of the start/ change of living arrangement and then visits should occur at least every six weeks for the first year and then at intervals of not more than three months in any subsequent year. In these circumstances and if the child or young person is deemed to have mental health needs, visits should take place once every three weeks at a minimum. In the case of the children being held in custody, consideration must always be given to appointing an advocate or Independent Visitor.

This applies to all new placements where, for example, a child moves from one placement to another.

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 i.e. Looked After 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.

2. Children Placed with Parents pending Assessment, Subject of a Care Order or Interim Care Order or with Connected Persons on the basis of temporary approval who should be Seen

If the child is placed with parents pending assessment, social work visits must take place at least once a week until the first Looked After Review, thereafter at intervals of not more than 6 weeks.

If the child is living with the parents under an Interim Care Order, visits must take place at least once a week until the first Looked After Review, thereafter at intervals of not more than 4 weeks.

If the child is placed with parents under a Care Order, within one week of the Care Order, thereafter at intervals of not more than 6 weeks.

If the child is placed with a Connected Person with temporary approval, visits must take place at least once a week until the first Looked After Review, thereafter at intervals of not more than 4 weeks.

3. Who Should be Seen

Wherever possible, the child must be seen in private and alone (unless the child of sufficient age and maturity and refuses or the social worker considers it inappropriate to do so). 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 young people who are not able to verbally communicate their views. The social worker to ensure that observations of the young person are made in their placement and also in other settings for example, school. Information and opinion to 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 carers and with children during a statutory visit. The social worker must prioritise their time with the young person as opposed to the foster carer. Issues raised by carers can be discussed when a child is not present for example when they are at school.

4. Purpose

It may not be possible for a social worker to gain all the information listed below in one visit but they must try to obtain a holistic view of the placement. The purpose of the visit is to ensure the placement continues to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare and in particular:

1. To give the child the opportunity to express his or her wishes, feelings and views
2. To advise, assist and befriend the child and to ascertain who they would turn to in times of difficulty 
3. To promote an effective casework 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.
4. To identify daily routines including getting up and going to bed. Mealtimes and whether the they all eat together. What are the arrangements for washing and is the child provided with privacy and support that is relevant to their stage of development.
5. To identify arrangements for holiday and leisure time including playing games, access to clubs, cultural and sporting activities.
6. To identify what special arrangements are made to meet any needs that arise from their culture, religious or heritage including communication, diet and skin/hair care.
7. To observe the child with the staff/foster carer/parent and to analyse parenting styles and the promotion of the child's self esteem
8. 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.
9. To monitor how the contact arrangements are working and to discover whether these are promoted within the unit or home.
10. To consider  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
11. To  identify any areas where additional support is required
12. To 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 and social development needs of the child.  Where it is a long term placement, the social worker should observe whether there are signs that the child is an integral part of the family such as photographs.
13. To carry out specific casework tasks with the child, for example carrying out a programme of life story work.
14. To identify whether older children and young people are encouraged to play an increasing part in their self care such as laundry, food preparation and the purchase of food, clothes and budgeting.
15. To identify the arrangements for the young person to get support with school work, do homework (including where appropriate, access to a computer), visit a library and where appropriate, have contact with friends. Do the carers attend parent's evenings?
16. To identify whether the child has access to complaints procedures.
17. To monitor that the “Red File” is stored safely, is up to date and is accessible to the child as appropriate to the child's age and understanding

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

• Practices that are being employed do not compromise a carers or a young person’s safety i.e. lifting a disabled child.
• Does the carer have sufficient equipment i.e. bath chair / hoist etc.?
• Who arranges a young persons health appointments and who will attend. For young people in residential placement is this a named person. If they have complex health needs does thought need to be given to ensure that there is consistency of worker due to the young person’s health concerns.
• For young people with complex health needs to ensure that there is clear written information re medication

Placement Planning Meetings can be undertaken during social workers visits.

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.

5. Recording

A written report on each visit must be made by the social worker and kept in the case notes section of the child's ESCR, stating clearly:

1. Who was seen
2. Whether the child was seen and if not why not
3. Whether the child was seen alone
4. Any comments made by the child or the staff/carers/parents
5. Any matters of concern or difficulties
6. Any observations on the child's welfare and the success of the placement
7. An analysis of the visit

End