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Contents

1.	Consultation and Planning
2.	Placements Process - Planned Placements
	2.1	Definition of Planned Placement
	2.2	Placement Request
	2.3	Identification of Placement
	2.4	Placement Planning
3.	Support/Monitoring of Placements
	3.1	Support and Monitoring of Placements
	3.2	Ending of Placements

1. Consultation and Planning

1.1 Consultation

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 Team, if the child is known to them

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

1.2 Planning

See Section 2, The Care Plan of the Decision to Look After Procedure or procedures relating to the initial decision to look after a child, and in relation to the drafting and approval of the Care Plan.

2. Placements Process - Planned Placements

2.1	Definition of Planned Placement
2.2	Placement Request
2.3	Identification of Placement
2.4	Placement Planning

2.1 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 are in place. Such placements can only be made once the required authority has been obtained and the case has been discussed at the Care Management Panel or in the case of a placement outside Luton; the Out of Borough Panel.

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

See Emergency Placement Procedure.

2.2 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 duty fostering officer.

The Referral Form contains information about the child, the type of placement sought, 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. The referral should be supported by the following documents:

• Initial Assessment or Core Assessment
• Any relevant medical reports
• The child’s Statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) (where relevant)
• The most recent minutes of the last Looked After Review (in relation to a child already looked after)
• The most recent Strategy Discussion/Meeting or Child Protection Conference minutes (where applicable)

If satisfied that the referral is appropriate, the Resource Manager Team will then make enquiries about the availability of an appropriate in-house resource, and 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 Resource Manager will arrange for all placement requests to be submitted to the next available Care Management or Out of Borough Panel meeting depending upon the nature of the proposed placement; and will inform the social worker of the Panel date and the report required.  The social work manager will attend the Panel meeting to present the report.

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

The Panel will ensure that all internal resources have been explored before recommending a placement with an external provider to the Out of Borough Panel.

2.3 Identification of Placement

If an in-house residential placement is identified, the placement planning process can start – see Section 2.4.

If a placement with an external provider has been authorised by the Out of Borough Placements Panel or the Designated Manager (Placement of Looked After Children Outside the Authority); the Commissioning Manager will consult appropriate providers, identify possible placements and liaise with the social worker about their suitability and they should arrange for a copy of any brochure or written material that is available for the proposed placement to be forwarded to the social worker. 

Wherever possible, the child's social worker should visit potential homes and as required consult with other professionals, prior to a decision about the appropriateness of a placement being made.

Where the residential placement is outside the local authority area, see also Out of Area Placements Procedure.

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.

At this stage initial discussions will be held with the providers as to the appropriateness of the referral, time-scales for vacancies and the basic costs of the placement. The Commissioning Manager 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 Commissioning Manager will undertake the following:

• Request a copy of the provider’s registration certificate and the most recent inspection report
• Obtain at least  verbal references from other local authorities who have placed children with the provider in the last 12 months
• Liaise with social workers who have previously used the provider

As long as no concerns have been raised in relation to a proposed external placement, and where time permits, s/he will arrange to visit the placement (with the social worker if appropriate) and then discuss its suitability with the child’s social worker.

The social worker may then arrange visits to the proposed placement, with the child (if old enough) and parents (if appropriate).

When the placement has been agreed as suitable, the Commissioning Manager will negotiate the terms and conditions of the placement with the provider.

The provider’s admissions procedure will then be followed.

2.4 Placement Planning

Before the child is placed, the Commissioning Manager will liaise with the child’s social worker and the manager of the home to arrange a pre-placement planning meeting. 

The child, parents and any other significant family members and relevant professionals should also be invited. 

The purpose of the meeting is to share information about the child and the Care Plan, complete/update the Placement Plan recorded on the Placement Information Record, plan the timing of the placement and ensure that a Placement Plan/Placement Information Record is drawn up.

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

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:

1. The type of accommodation to be provided and the address.
2. The child’s personal history, religious persuasion, cultural and linguistic background and racial origin.
3. 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 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.
4. 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
5. The Local Authority’s arrangements for the financial support of the child during the placement.

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 residential 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.

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

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 relation to a first Looked After placement it will also be necessary for the social worker to liaise with the Designated Nurse for LAC to arrange a Health Care Assessment - see Health Assessments and Health Plans Procedure. The social worker must arrange for the completion of a Personal Education Plan - see Education of Looked After Children Procedure.

Notification of Placement

The child's social worker will notify all family members consulted and involved in the decision-making process of the placement.

The child's social worker must also notify the allocated Independent Reviewing Officer or, if it is the first placement, the Independent Review Unit of the placement. This notification will trigger the appointment of an Independent Reviewing Officer, if it is the first placement, and the setting up of arrangements for a Looked After Review.

These notifications must be made in writing, advising of the placement decision and the name and address of the children's home where the child is to be placed.

The notifications should be before the start of the placement or within 5 working days.

In all cases, the child should be accompanied to the placement by the social worker and helped to settle in. The child's Chronology should be updated.

3. Support/Monitoring of Placements

3.1	Support and Monitoring of Placements
3.2	Ending of Placements

3.1 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 at a minimum every six weeks; see Social Worker Visits Procedure.

Also see Placement Plan Reviews Procedure.

If an external placement has been made in an emergency, the Commissioning Manager will also liaise with health and education in relation to jointly funded placements with external providers, and will maintain contact with external providers in relation to the children placed with them, taking up with them any concerns or funding issues as soon as they are drawn to the Team’s attention and visiting at least every 6 months (with an unannounced visit at least annually). In any event the funding arrangements will be discussed at the Multi-Agency Funding Panel.

The Commissioning Manager will arrange for the Out of Borough Placement Panel to review the placement at regular intervals as agreed at the Panel when the placement was agreed.

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

The social worker should attend the Panel meeting(s) with the named worker of the Commissioning Team.

3.2 Ending of Placements

The child’s social worker should inform all those notified of the placement when a placement ends. The Social Work Team should notify the Commissioning Team within 28 days of a placement ending. When the placement ends in an unplanned way a report on what events led to the breakdown should be prepared. Also a discussion should take place with the provider in order to establish if anything different could have been done to maintain the placement

All children leaving placements with external providers should be given an opportunity to complete a Feedback Form giving their views on the placement.

Where a placement with an external provider ends in an unplanned way their should be a joint meeting between professional an the provider to establish future needs and services for children and young people who are to move on from residential care. 

End