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Contents

1. Making a Planned Placement
2. Placement Planning and Matching
3. Post-Panel Process
4. Making an Emergency Placement
5. Out of Hours Placements
6. Placements with Independent Fostering Agency Carers
7. Placement Disruptions

1. Making a Planned Placement

Where a decision has been made to look after a child the Team Manager/Deputy Team Manager of the responsible team must:

1. Make a referral to the Placement Panel Administrator in the ART Team using the agreed Care Package/Expenditure form, CD09, which will enable the case to be referred to the Placement Panel; and
2. Make a referral to the Duty worker in the ART Service using the form, CD12. Under review due to framework implementation.

Requests for placement must be forwarded to the panel administrator at least 24 hours before the weekly meeting of the Placement Panel.

The Care Package/Expenditure form (CD09) must be comprehensively completed.  The form must include information on the type of placement required and the plan for the child, to enable panel members to make an informed decision on the proposal to accommodate. ART staff should refer to the child's Framework record as necessary. There should be a completed Core Assessment for all planned accommodations; and there must be an Initial Assessment prior to any accommodation. The social worker should also complete as much as possible of the ICS Placement Information Record

The Team Manager for the child is responsible for presenting the case to the Placement Panel in order to gain funding approval. The ART Team Manager is a member of the Placement Panel and should be aware of the proposal to secure a placement. The ART Team Manager should be able to inform Panel members of the likelihood of the child or young person being placed with Lambeth approved carers.

If it is necessary to source an Independent Fostering Agency (IFA) placement the ART Manager will provide the necessary evidence to demonstrate that an in-house placement is not available or would be inappropriate for the child or young person. 

1. The Chair of the Placement panel will decide:
2. To approve the application to accommodate for an agreed time period;
3. To defer the application for additional information, on the basis that the application return to the next panel;
4. Not to approve the application.

The child's wishes and feelings must be ascertained and If their wishes are not acted upon, the reason should be given.

All placement documentation must be saved in the child's Framework record.

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.

2. Placement Planning and Matching

The matching process should consider the child's needs especially regarding the following key areas:

• The child's education;
• The expectations around contact with relatives and friends;
• The child's identity/race/culture;
• The child's history;
• The child's behaviour;
• The child's health;
• The focus of the placement.

The matching process should also consider the carer's availability and:

• Their experience
• Their strengths
• The family composition
• The distance from the foster home to the child's school
• Other children in the placement
• The foster carer's children.

Once a potential placement has been identified, the child's social worker will liaise with the foster carer's supervising social worker (who may be from an independent fostering agency) to agree arrangements for the placement.  At this stage, the social worker will also discuss the child with the prospective foster carer and, in particular, share/clarify any risks associated with the placement with the foster carers and the supervising social worker. Wherever possible, the child's social worker should visit potential carers and as required consult with other professionals, prior to a decision about the appropriateness of a placement being made.

In relation to the sharing of bedrooms, each child over 3 should have their own bedroom, or where this is not possible, the placing authority must agree to the sharing of the bedroom and this must therefore be addressed during the matching process.

Where the proposed placement is an in-house placement, it will then be presented to the social worker's manager for approval.

If the placement is outside the foster carer's terms of approval or an exemption is required, see Exemptions and Extensions Procedure.

If the proposed placement is with an independent fostering agency, the Designated Manager (External Placements) must approve the placement and a written agreement must be drawn up with the fostering agency setting out the precise terms and conditions between the local authority and the agency in relation to the placement. Where the placement is with independent foster carers who live outside the local authority area.

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 and Looked After Children and Lambeth Community College Procedure.

If the relevant manager approves the foster placement, the placement planning process can start - see Section 3, Post-Panel Process. 

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

Before the child is placed, the child's social worker will arrange a Placement Planning Meeting after liaising with the foster carer and the foster carer's supervising social worker (who may be from an independent fostering agency).  The meeting will usually be held in the new placement. See also Placement Support and Disruption Meetings Procedure.

Participants will include:

• The parent;
• The child (if appropriate);
• The foster carer;
• The supervising social worker;
• Any other relevant professionals, e.g. a representative from the child's school;
• Anyone else considered appropriate or who will have a role in the placement.

The purpose of the first Placement Planning Meeting is to finalise the Placement Plan (which will be recorded on the Placement Information Record). This will involve a discussion of the child's needs to ensure careful matching, including the child's personal history, religious persuasion, cultural and linguistic background and racial origin, as well as the child's 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)

In addition the placement planning meeting will consider the type of introduction process required, for example whether arrangements should be made for the child, parents and the social worker to visit the foster home and/or whether it may be appropriate to have an introductory overnight stay. Children should be able to visit the foster home and talk in private with the carer. If this is not possible, arrangements may be made for the carers to visit the child and parents; or for information about the foster carers to be sent to the child and/or the parents, for example about routines in the foster home, bedtimes, meals, visitors, pocket money, school, privacy and the overall expectations in relation to the child's behaviour within the home.

For children placed in foster 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;
6. The obligation on the carers to comply with the terms of the foster care agreement. 

The meeting also provides an opportunity to ensure that the foster carers have a copy of any relevant court order and that full information is shared with them about the child's needs and any behaviour management issues.

Except in emergency placements, the Placement Planning Meeting should be held before the placement.  Where this is not possible, it should be held at the latest within 5 working days of the placement.

The child's social worker will complete and arrange for the circulation of the Care Plan and Placement Plan to the child, parents and foster carers before or at the latest, within 5 working days of the placement.

At the time of the placement, the foster carers should also be given any additional information about details of the child's day to day needs which are not covered by the Placement Plan/Placement Information Record but are important to ensure that the carers are in the best possible position to help the child settle in the new placement, for example any particular fears at night-time or the child's favourite toys.

The child's social worker must provide the child and the parent with written information about coming into care, including information on using the Complaints Procedure.

In addition, as indicated above, the social worker should ensure that any other information about the placement that is available for the child is obtained and given to him/her. Children must understand house expectations before the placement is made.

In all cases, the child should be accompanied to the placement by the social worker and helped to settle in.  Suitable luggage should be used and a child's belongings should never be transported in bin-bags or other inappropriate containers.

In relation to the sharing of bedrooms, each child over 3 should have their own bedroom, or where this is not possible, the placing authority must agree to the sharing of the bedroom and this must therefore be addressed during the matching process.

3. Post-Panel Process

The Team Manager and Social Worker for the child will be informed of the panel's decision on the day of the panel meeting by the ART Team.

The Social Worker for the child must then contact the duty worker in the ART Team, who will investigate placement options and identify a foster placement for the child.

The Social Worker should confirm at the outset any special requirements that the placement will be expected to meet, such as transporting the child to school.

If the child is placed with a Lambeth Foster Carer, the completed Care Package/Expenditure Form (CD09) is forwarded to the Senior Information Support Assistant for processing payment to the foster carer.

If however the child is placed with an IFA carer, the ART Finance Officer will complete and forward a Payment Order form to the Finance Department to secure a Requisition/Purchase Order number which will enable payment to the IFA carer's agency.

The ART Support Officer will send written notification of the placement to the Area Health Authority, the Education Authority and the Council with Social Services Responsibility in whose area the child is to be placed.

Prior to the child moving to the foster carer, or at the time of placement, the foster carer should receive the following:

1. The ICS Placement Information Record: this includes details of the child's day-to-day needs, details of contact arrangements, parents' agreement where relevant, consent to medical treatment and the Foster Carer's undertaking;
2. The ICS Care Plan - this should be available for all planned placements;
3. A copy of the Core Assessment of the child and any further information they may require to meet their needs;
4. Copies of all Court Orders in force.

The names and address of the Foster Carer may be omitted from the Forms distributed where the child is subject to legal proceedings and there is serious risk that harm may be caused to the child, the carers or to a member of their household. Any such decision should be confirmed by the Team Manager and entered on the child's ICS case record under the appropriate categories.

A Placement Agreement Meeting should be carried out within five working days of the child's placement. The meeting should include the foster carer, child's social worker and foster carer's supervising social worker and should ensure that:

1. All basic arrangements for education, health and the child's contact with family have been made;
2. Everyone involved with the child is clear about current plans and how and by who these will be implemented;
3. The carer has all relevant information and the support and resources necessary to carry out their task.

4. Making an Emergency Placement

Before making an emergency foster placement the child's Social Worker and Team Manager must be satisfied that fostering is the most suitable way of promoting and safeguarding the child's welfare; on the basis of a completed ICS Core or Initial Assessment.

Where it is necessary to secure an emergency placement, the Head of Service may give approval for placement. This approval is valid only until the date of the next panel.

The Care Package/Expenditure form, CD09 and the ART service form, CD12, must be used for requesting an emergency foster placement.

The Head of Service will notify the ART Team Manager, ART Team Finance Officer and Panel Administrator of the decision to accommodate and forward the completed forms to the Panel Administrator and ART Duty Worker.

The panel administrator will schedule the case for consideration at the next available panel.

Following the panel meeting the responsible Team Manager will follow the process in Placement with Connected Persons Procedure: Accommodation and other practical arrangements.

5. Out of Hours Placements

When placements are made out of hours, the Emergency Duty Team will notify both the ART Service and the appropriate Team Manager for the child on the next working day.

On receipt of notification from the Emergency Duty Team the relevant Team Manager must arrange an urgent assessment of the child's needs in the light of the overall circumstances of the emergency accommodation.

All children placed out of hours by the Emergency Duty Team must be presented to the next available Placement Panel in accordance with the process outlined in the sections of Placement with Connected Persons Procedure commencing at Policy Statement.

6. Placements With Independent Fostering Agency Carers

Where it is necessary to use a foster carer approved by an Independent Agency the ART Officer will first try to use and agency  which is on the approved Pan-London provider list.

The ART Officer will request copies of the following from the agency and ensure that they are satisfactory:

1. The Form F assessment of the foster carer;
2. The decision on current approval;
3. Copies of the references and checks; and
4. The last annual review, if appropriate;
5. Details of any other children currently placed. The agency responsible for such children must give agreement to any further placement.

The Social Worker will read the information on the family and be clear at the outset that the placement is able to meet the needs of the child.  

Please follow procedures set out in Placement with Connected Persons Procedure: Application of Procedure.

7. Placement Disruptions

The need to terminate the placement may arise for a variety of reasons which mean that remaining in the placement is no longer in the child's best interests.

Wherever possible the termination of the placement should be planned to reduce the trauma for all parties and any non-emergency situation must be discussed at a statutory review, which should be brought forward if necessary.  There will however be occasions when immediate action will be required.

A disruption meeting should always be held when a placement is at risk of disruption in order for all parties to gain a greater understanding of the relevant issues and dynamics and to inform future planning for the child as well as the carers' learning and development.

Children must, when they leave the home, be helped to understand the reasons and be supported with the transition - including return home and independence.

Foster carers must be supported to maintain links with children who leave their care, where appropriate.

End