1.4.12 Children Living Away from Home (including Children and Families living in Temporary Accommodation)

1. Introduction

Revelations of the widespread abuse and neglect of children living away from home have done much to raise awareness of the particular vulnerability of such children. Many of these revelations have focused on sexual abuse, but physical and emotional abuse and neglect - including child abuse, bullying and substance misuse - are equally a threat in institutional and other settings.

Concerns for the safety of children living away from home have to be put in the context of attention to the overall developmental needs of such children and a concern for the best possible outcomes for their health and development.

Every setting in which they live should provide the same basic safeguards against abuse, founded on an approach that promotes their welfare, takes into account their wishes and feelings, protects, protects them from harm and treats them with dignity and respect.

These values are reflected in regulations and in the Children's Homes Regulations (including the Quality Standards) which contain specific requirements on safeguarding and child protection for each particular regulated setting where children live away from home - see also Safer Recruitment, Selection and Supervision of Staff Procedure and Allegations Against Persons who Work with Children Procedure.

2. Essential Safeguards

The following essential safeguards should be observed in all settings such as foster care, residential care, private fostering, armed forces bases, healthcare, boarding schools (including residential special schools), Prisons, Young Offenders' Institutions, Secure Training Centres and secure units. Where services are not directly provided, these safeguards should be explicitly addressed in any contract with a service provider.

All settings must ensure that:

Children feel valued and respected and their self-esteem is promoted;
There is an openness on the part of the institution to the external world and to external scrutiny; including contact with families and the wider community;
Staff and foster carers are trained in all aspects of safeguarding children, can recognise children's vulnerabilities and risks of harm, and know how and when to implement safeguarding children procedures;
Children are listened to, and their views and concerns responded to;
Children have ready access to a trusted adult outside the institution, e.g. a family member, social worker, independent visitor or Advocate. Children should be made aware of independent advocacy services, external mentors and Child Line;
Staff/carers recognise the importance of ascertaining the wishes and feelings of children and understand how individual children communicate by verbal or non-verbal means;
Complaints procedures are clear, effective, and user–friendly and are readily accessible to children and young people including those with disabilities and those for whom English is not their preferred language;
Bullying is effectively countered;
Recruitment and selection procedures are rigorous and create a high threshold of entry to deter abusers and there is effective supervision and support that extends to temporary staff and volunteers - see Safer Recruitment, Selection and Supervision of Staff Procedure;
Contractor staff are effectively checked and supervised when on site or in contact with children;
Clear procedures and support systems are in place for dealing with expressions of concern by staff and carers about other staff or carers (a Whistle-blowing Policy);
There is respect for diversity, and sensitivity to race, culture, religion, gender, sexuality and disability;
Staff and carers are alert to the risks of harm to children in the external environment from people prepared to exploit the additional vulnerability of children living away from home.

Where there is reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered Significant Harm, the Local Authority for the area in which the child is living has the responsibility to convene a Strategy Discussion/Meeting, which should include representatives from the responsible Local Authority that placed the child, if different.

At the Strategy Discussion/Meeting it should be decided which Local Authority should take responsibility for the next steps, which may include a Section 47 Enquiry.

3. Foster Care

The Local Authority's duty to undertake a Section 47 Enquiry, when there are concerns about Significant Harm to a child in foster care.

Where there is reasonable cause to believe that a child in foster care has suffered harm in the foster placement, the Allegations Against Persons who Work with Children Procedure will apply and a Strategy Meeting will be held. Calderdale and Kirklees have reciprocal arrangements for the chairing of Strategy Meetings where the allegations relate to the agency's approved foster carers.

In these circumstances, enquiries should also consider the safety of any other children living in the household, including the foster carers' own children, grand-children or any children cared for by the foster carers in their home as well as any children whom the foster carers may be caring for or working with outside their home in a voluntary or paid capacity e.g. teaching, faith or youth work, scouts or many other groups.

As foster care is undertaken in the privacy of the carers' own home, it is important that children have a voice outside the family. Social Workers are required to see children in foster care on their own and evidence of this should be recorded on the child's records.

Foster carers should monitor the whereabouts of their foster children, their patterns of absence and contacts, and follow the recognised agency procedure whenever a foster child is missing from their home.

4. Private Fostering

Private fostering arrangement is the term used when someone other than a parent or close relative is looking after a child under 16 (or 18 if disabled) for 28 days or more in their own home. Privately fostered children are a diverse and sometimes vulnerable group which can include:

Children sent from abroad to stay with another family, usually to improve their educational opportunities;
Teenagers who, having broken ties with their parents, are staying in short–term arrangements with friends or other non-relatives;
Language students living with host families.

Under the Children Act 1989, private foster carers and those with Parental Responsibility are required to notify the local authority of their intention to privately foster or to have a child privately fostered, or where a child is privately fostered in an emergency.

Teachers, health and other professionals should notify the local authority of a private fostering arrangement that comes to their attention, where they are not satisfied that the arrangement has been or will be notified.

Once notified, it is the duty of every local authority to ensure that the welfare of children, who are privately fostered within their area, is being satisfactorily safeguarded and promoted. This includes an initial visit to the child and private foster carers within 1 week of receiving notification that the placement has started and subsequent assessment in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children. The local authority must also arrange to visit privately fostered children at regular intervals. Children should be given the contact details of the social worker who will be visiting them while they are being privately fostered.

When there are concerns about Significant Harm to a child who is privately fostered the local authority and all the other agencies have the same duties to make enquiries as they do to any other child. The concerns must be reported to the local authority where the private foster placement is located in accordance with the Referrals Procedure and the Safeguarding Children Procedures will be applied.

5. Children in Residential Settings

All residential settings where children and young people are placed, including children's homes and residential schools, whether provided by a private, charitable or faith based organisation, or a local authority, must adhere to the Children's Homes Regulations – including the Quality Standards (2015).

Clear records must be kept and reviews and inspections must take place in accordance with the Regulations and Quality Standards.

Children in such settings are particularly vulnerable and must be listened to.

All such establishments must have in place complaints procedures for children and young people, visiting and contact arrangements with social workers, parents / carers and Independent Visitors and advocacy services.

Where there is reasonable cause to believe that a child in a residential setting has been harmed, a referral must be made in accordance with the Referrals Procedure. The concerns may range from bullying or abuse by other children to allegations against staff - see Bullying Procedure, Harmful Sexual Behaviour Procedure and, where the concerns relate to a member or members of staff and/or the care the child is receiving in the residential setting, the Allegations Against Persons who Work with Children Procedure will apply and a Strategy Meeting will be held. Calderdale and Kirklees have reciprocal arrangements for the chairing of Strategy Meetings where the allegations relate to local authority staff.

When the concerns relate to a looked after child placed in residential care outside the area of the responsible local authority - see Safeguarding Children who Move Across Local Authority Boundaries / Abroad Procedure.

6. Children in Hospital

Hospitals should be child-friendly, safe and healthy places for children. Wherever possible, children should be consulted about where they would prefer to stay in hospital, and their views should be taken into account and be respected. Care should be provided in an appropriate location and in an environment that is safe and well suited to the age and stage of development of the child or young person.

Children under 16 should not be cared for on an adult ward. Hospital admission data should include the age of children, so that hospitals can monitor whether children are being given appropriate care in appropriate wards.

Hospitals must have policies in place to ensure that their facilities are secure and regularly reviewed.

Any concerns about harm to a child within a hospital or health based setting must be referred to the Children's Social Care Services in whose area the hospital is located in accordance with the Referrals Procedure.

When the child has been in hospital for 3 months or more, the appropriate health/hospital trust must notify the Responsible Authority i.e. the local authority for the area where the child is normally resident or, if this is unclear, where the child is Accommodated. This is so that the local authority can assess the child's needs in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children, and decide whether services are required under the Children Act 1989.

No child known to Children's Social Care Services who is an inpatient in a hospital and about whom there are child protection concerns should be discharged home without a referral to establish that the home environment is safe, the concerns by medical staff are fully addressed and there is a plan in place for the ongoing promotion and safeguarding of the child's welfare.

7. Children in Custody

In all cases, the local authority in which a secure youth establishment is located is responsible for the overall safety and welfare of the children in that establishment. Specific institutions in an area must ensure that there are links in place with the Safeguarding Children Partnership and local authorities.

Under the Legal Aid Sentencing & Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, whenever children under 18 are remanded to the care of the Local Authority they become 'looked after' for the period of their remand. Their home local authority must visit them at specified intervals and prepare a Detention Placement Plan (DPP). The DPP is reviewed in the same way as a Care Plan for a Looked After Child.

Each centre holding those aged under 18 should have in place an annually-reviewed safeguarding children policy which promotes and safeguards the welfare of children, and covers all relevant operational areas as well as key supporting processes, which would include issues such as child protection, risk of harm, restraint, separation, staff recruitment and information sharing.

8. Children of Families Living in Temporary Accommodation

Placement in temporary accommodation, often a distance from previous support networks or involving frequent moves, can lead to individuals and families falling through the net.

It is important that effective systems are in place to ensure that children from homeless families receive services from health and education, social care and welfare support services as well as any other specific services, because with frequent moves they may become disengaged from services. For example a child who is not registered with a school or a GP will miss out on basic services such as health screening, eye tests, immunisations and learning to read and write. Where a child who needs specific treatment misses appointments due to moves the problem may become an issue of Significant Harm.

Temporary accommodation, for example bed and breakfast accommodation or women's refuges, may be in a location which is not secure and safe and where other adults are also resident who may pose a risk to the child.

All concerns of Significant Harm to a child should be referred to Children's Social Care Services in accordance with the Referrals Procedure.

The local authorities' responsibilities for homeless families are set out in the Statutory Framework.