The Care Guide · you need to know and will help you to organise things that your carers need to...
48
The Care Guide The Children’s Rights Service
Transcript of The Care Guide · you need to know and will help you to organise things that your carers need to...
The Care Guide The Children’s Rights Service
Contents
Page 2 Index
4 An introduction to Care
5 All about me…
6 All about me…
7 Why am I here?
What does it mean to be in Care?
Why am I in Care?
8 What is contact? Can
I see my family?
9 Quotes and poems
10 What is a Northamptonshire County Council placement?
What is a fostering agency placement?
What is an accommodated placement?
What is a connected person/kinship placement?
What is a children’s home?
11 What is a Foster Carer? What
is long-term placement? What
is short-term placement?
What is an emergency placement?
12 Check list
13 Where would you like to live when you’re o l d e r ?
14 Social Worker - What is a Social Worker?
What qualifications does a Social Worker have?
15 What do they do?
16 What is a DBS c h e c k ?
What does the local authority d o ?
17 What happens in my d a y ..?
18 When will I will see my Social Worker and how often?
Contact
What is a Care P l a n ?
19 What will my Care Plan i n c l u d e ?
20 Good and not-so-good days…
21 What is an IRO?
What does an IRO do?
What is a review?
22 When is a LAC review held?
Why are LAC reviews held?
Where is a LAC review held?
23 Taking part in reviews
24 Personal Adviser - What is a Personal Adviser?
Who is my Personal Adviser?
What do they do?
Contact
25 What is a Pathway P l a n ?
2 Children’s Rights Service 01604368051
25 What will my Pathway Plan i n c l u d e ?
26 How I celebrate…
27 What I’m good a t ..!
28 What is a Child Protection Conference?
What is a Care Order?
29 What is an Interim Care Order?
Section 20
Section 31
Section 47
30 Friends
31 Quotes and poems
32 What is The Children’s Rights Service?
What is an Independent Visitor in
The Children’s Right Service?
33 What is an Advocate in The Children’s Rights Service?
How do I make a complaint?
What are participation and The Children in Care and
Care Leavers’ Councils and how do I get involved?
34 What will happen with me going to school
when I am in Care?
What will happen if I have to move schools
when I am in C a r e ?
How will I get to school while I am in Care?
35 Your education
36 Who will support me with my schooling
while I am in C a r e?
What is a P.E.P?
The ‘virtual school’ for children in care
37 What is pocket money?
What pocket money will I get while I’m in Care?
What money will I get for c l o t h i n g ?
What savings will I get while am I in Care?
Who will put this money away for me?
38 Am I allowed a door key?
Am I allowed to have sleepovers?
Am I allowed to stay out at my friend’s house overnight?
What will happen with my health while I am in Care?
What is a Health Plan?
What is an SDQ?
39 Looking after myself
40 Relationships
41 Information about alcohol, cigarettes and drugs
42 Diary pages
45 The Protective Behaviour Hand
46 Useful numbers and websites
47 With special thanks
The Care Guide
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 4
Corey
Carlie
Hassan
An introduction to Care This introduction and guide is for you to understand
what Care is about - it gives you important information
you need about your life situation. It tells you everything
you need to know and will help you to organise things
that your carers need to know too. From a simple thing
like ‘what you like’ to ‘what is a Social Worker’ and
‘what is an Independent Reviewing Officer’ it will help
you understand more about Care and hopefully answer
all of your questions.
If you have any questions ask a trusted safe person.
This guide was written
with young people in Care
for the The Children’s
Rights Service
All about me… Name:
Nickname:
Age: Hair colour:
Eye colour: Do you wear glasses?
Shoe s i z e : Height:
‘Happy birthday to you’… so when is your b i r t h d a y ?
My favourite food is:
Food I don’t like:
My favourite film is:
More on the next page…
The Care Guide 5
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 6
To chill out:
To cheer myself up:
In my free time:
To have fun:
My hobbies:
All about me… My favourite book/magazine is:
The TV show I most like is:
My favourite music is:
I like the colour:
My best friend’s name is:
My most important possessions are:
With friends:
Why am I here? Coming into Care can be a very big change in your life. This guide
is one way of trying to help you understand what coming into Care
is about, what you can expect and things you should know about.
What does it mean to be in Care? If you are a young person in need, the local authority will provide
some help to ensure that you are being properly looked after.
Usually, this means supporting you while you live with your family.
Sometimes it isn’t possible to stay with your family and then the local
authority will care for you and support you.
Why am I in Care? Young people go into Care for different reasons. The reason that
you have come into Care should be explained to you by your Social
Worker. However, if you have any questions, you have the right to
ask your Social Worker about why you need to be in Care. There
are lots of reasons people come into Care, for example:
• Because your family found it difficult to cope
• You were considered to be at risk of some sort of harm
• You have become separated from your family
• Your family are unwell
You have
a right to
ask your
Social
Worker
about
why you
need to be
in Care
The Care Guide 7
What is contact? Contact is where you visit your family, some young
people can visit their family and others are not able to,
which can be for many reasons. If you are unhappy
with this talk to your Social Worker, your Independent
Reviewing Officer or The Children’s Rights Service.
Can I see my family? Contact with your family is decided by your Social
Worker or the court. Every young person’s situation
is different when they come into Care. It completely
depends on what your situation i s .
If you speak to your Social Worker directly they will
be able to explain if you can see your family or not
and how often. If you are unhappy with this speak to
your Social Worker, your Independent Reviewing
Officer or The Children’s Rights Service.
8 Children’s Rights Service 01604368051
Quotes and poems from young people in Care from The Children’s Rights Service
The Care Guide 9
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 10
If you have any
questions about
being in Care you
can ask your
Social Worker
What is a Northamptonshire County Council placement? A Northamptonshire County Council placement is a
placement provided by the local authority of
Northamptonshire. It means that they will find you
someone to live with who will care for you.
What is a fostering agency placement? A fostering agency placement is a placement provided
by an organisation which is funded by the local
authority to provide a fostering service. In a private
placement you still have all the same rights as being
in a Northamptonshire County Council placement.
What is an accommodated placement? An accommodated placement is where parents agree
to having their child looked after or
‘accommodated.’ The local authority will not have
parental responsibility for the child if they are
accommodated this way - the parents retain full and
exclusive parental responsibility (this means that
your parents still have responsibility for you). The
local authority has a duty to let the parents know
where the child is and maintain contact between the
child and the parent.
What is a connected person/kinship placement? A connected person/kinship placement is an
arrangement where a child or young person who
cannot be cared for by their parents, goes to live with
a relative or a family friend.
What is a children’s home? A children’s home is a house where one or several
children can stay. You are looked after by a team of
staff who work shifts, so that there is someone there
at all times. They are there to make sure you receive
proper care and that you are helped to settle into the
home. If you live in a children’s home you have a
special member of staff called a ‘Key Worker’ who
should help you with problems and answer any
questions you may have.
What is a Foster Carer? Foster Carers are people who have been trained
to care for young people in their homes. They
will look after you as if you are a member of
their family.
Living with new people can be difficult. The
way they do things may not be what you are
used to - they may eat different foods or watch
different TV programmes. When you move into
a new foster placement you should talk to your
Foster Carers about the foods that you like,
bedtimes, watching TV and going out.
What is long-term placement? When a child or young person is placed with a
family on a long-term fostering basis it is
planned that they will grow up with the Foster
Carers and remain there until the time is right to
move on to independence.
What is short-term placement? Short-term Foster Carers provide a temporary
place to stay until the child or young person can
return home to their own family, move into a
longer-term fostering placement or an adoptive
family is found. This can last for a few weeks or
months - sometimes longer.
What is an emergency placement? This type of fostering involves caring for children
or young people who need somewhere safe to
stay immediately, usually for a few nights. This
can often happen at very short notice.
Alice - Foster Carer
Foster Carers are people
who have been trained
to care for young people
In their homes
The Care Guide 11
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 12
For when you are 1 6
Have you completed your Pathway Plan?
Do you have an Independent Visitor?
Check list… Have you completed your Care Plan?
Have you completed your Health Plan?
Have you completed a Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire ( SDQ)?
Have you completed your Personal Education Plan (PEP)?
Who is your Social Worker, Key Worker or Foster Carer?
Who is your Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO)?
Have you completed a LAC (Looked After Child) review?
When is your 16th birthday?
Do you have an Advocate?
The Care Guide 13
Where would you like to live when you’re older..? Sometimes there isn’t a choice where you live, as the local authority need to keep you safe
and support you in the best way that they can. But it would still be good for us to know
how you feel about this and where you would like to be in the future.
Where would you like to live when you are older?
In a flat? In a house?
Who would you like to live w i t h ?
Describe what sort of support you would like to have:
If you would like to talk to someone about this
talk to your Social Worker, Key Worker or Foster Carers.
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 14
Social Worker
What is a Social Worker? A Social Worker is your main contact with the local
authority over the time that you’re in Care. A Social
Worker is trained to help young people and their
families and provide help and guidance through your
time in Care. You should get to know your Social
Worker quite well over the time that they are with you.
When you come into Care your Social Worker will
come and meet you, after you have moved into a
placement. They should then come and see you
regularly (at least every six weeks) and check that
everything is going okay. Your Social Worker will also
be in touch with your family to make sure that they
are all right and that everyone understands and is
clear about why you are in Care.
Your Social Worker is responsible for making sure that
you are looked after properly and that there are clear
plans put in place for you. They (along with other
workers) should be able to help you sort out any
difficulties that you are having. Your Social Worker
will write a plan of what is going to happen during
your time in Care and this is called a ‘Care Plan’ (see
page 18 for more about your Care Plan).
There will be other things on there too. You should
always have a copy of your Care Plan and you should
have a chance to say whether you agree with it or not.
Once the plan has been agreed it is your Social
Worker’s job to make sure that you get all the things
that are agreed on it. There will be a review of the
Care Plan every six months (depending on your
situation) and this is a chance to change the plan.
What qualifications does Social Worker have? A Social Worker has a degree in Social Work. Social
Workers are also registered as part of the Health
& Care Professions Council (HCPC).
David- Social Worker
The Care Guide 15
Sophie - Social Worker
What do they do? • They will work with you, your family and your
Foster Carers to make plans for the future
• Spend time with you – helping with any
problems you might have and offering advice
and support
• Go to all the meetings about your care
• Listen to what you have to say, and help you
put your views across at meetings
• Keep records about the things that happen
to you
• Be there if you need someone to talk to
• Make sure you are being treated well
• Help you keep in touch with the people who
are important to you, like friends and family
(if it is safe to do so)
• Explain things to you, so that you understand
what is going on
• Make sure that you get the kind of support and
help that you need
• Make sure that you’re happy with your care
• They should provide information to you about
your school, health, placements and
achievements and all meetings about you and
your care
• Your Social Worker is there to help you
Your Social Worker
is there for you and
you can always call
them if you need help or
advice
What is a CRB check? Every professional working with children and
young people (i.e. Social Worker, Independent
Reviewing Officer) is checked by The
Disclosure and Barring Service, to reveal if
they have any convictions, cautions,
reprimands or warnings from the police in
order to make sure that they are safe to work
with children and young people.
What does the local authority do? It is the aim of the local authority to provide
services that promote, safeguard and improve
the wellbeing of all children and young people
and their families and will look after you
When your family are not able to.
Every professional
working with
children and young
people is checked by
the Disclosure and
Barring Service
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051
The Care Guide
How do you spend your time on a Sunday?
What is the best thing about the weekend for you?
What happens in my day..? Gathering information about what you do every day will help others to understand what
is important to you and what support you need.
Monday to Friday: How do you wake up?
What do you eat for breakfast?
Do you go to school, college, work, or youth clubs?
What do you do in the evenings?
How do you chill in the evenings?
What time do you usually get up?
How do you spend your time on a Saturday?
When will I will see my Social Worker and how often? If you have moved to a new children’s home or in with new Foster Carers,
your Social Worker should come and see you at least once every six weeks.
Your Social Worker will organise with you or your Foster Carers when they
are coming to visit.
They should see you on your own every visit, unless you don’t want them to.
If they don’t see you on your own you can ask them why not.
Contact Your Social Worker will give you and your Foster Carer their office number to
contact them and the out-of-hours number, which is a number you can call
when your Social Worker is not at work - for example in the evening time.
Social Workers should now have a work mobile. Just ask your Social Worker if
this is the case and they should let you have their work mobile number. You
will also receive a credit-card sized contact card with your worker’s number, and
other useful contacts.
What is a Care Plan? It is important that you, and everyone involved with you, know what’s
happening and what the plans for the future are, this is what your Care Plan is.
Every young person has individual needs and your Social Worker should
support you with these; for example if you have a disability or you are an
asylum seeker.
It is okay for you
to ring your
Social Worker for
advice and
support
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051
What will my Care Plan include? • Where you’re going to live
• How you’re going to keep in touch with
your family
• How long you’re going to be looked
After for
• Your school and health
• Your friends and what you like doing in
your free time
• Your thoughts, feelings and views
• If you are old enough you should be
fully involved in making this plan
The Care Guide 19
Good and not-so-good days…. Describe a good day for you. What are you doing? Where are you? Who are you with?
How does this make you feel?
Describe a not-so-good day for you. What are you doing? Where are you? Who are you
with? How does this make you feel?
If you have had a not-so-good day, what makes it better for you?
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 20
What is an IRO? An IRO is an Independent Reviewing
Officer. They don’t directly look after
children in Care; their role is to keep a
check on the Care Plan that is made for
each child or young person, to make
sure these are meeting their needs and
that they are well looked after and safe.
It is very important to them to find out
each child or young person’s views and
wishes and to make sure that these are
considered in decisions and plans about
their care.
What does an IRO do? Every looked after child or young
person will have a named Independent
Reviewing Officer (IRO). They will
talk to everyone involved in supporting
you to ensure that good progress is
being made with all aspects of your
Care Plan.
They will want to make sure that your
views are taken into account. They will
coordinate review meetings which
discuss and make plans for your future
and will offer to meet casually with you
before these meetings to hear how you
think you are getting on and to
understand your views.
What is a review? Every looked after child or young
person will have a Care Plan which
describes how they are looked after and
what is to be d on e .
As things change over time your plan
needs to be looked at regularly, to make
sure that it still meets your needs. This is
done by having a review meeting which
is sometimes called a LAC (Looked
After Child) review.
Jamal- IRO
The Care Guide 21
When is a LAC review held? • The first review has to be within 20 days of a child
or young person coming into Care
• The next review must be within three months of
the first
• After that, reviews are held at least every six months
If you are living at home, though having short breaks
with a Foster Carer or in a children’s home, then the first
review is held within three months of this arrangement
starting.
If there is a lot happening in your life, or there are big
changes in the overall plan, reviews will be held more
frequently - to make sure good plans are being made.
Where is a LAC review held? Your Social Worker will book a venue and they will let
you know beforehand where it will be, you can tell your
Social Worker if there is somewhere that you feel
comfortable and where you would like your review held.
Why are LAC reviews held? To make sure that you are getting the care that you need;
that there are plans in place which you can achieve and
which ensure that you are safe and well looked after.
Within each review the following things are likely to be
discussed:
• Seeing family and friends
• Education
• Health
• Activities and leisure
• Emotions and behaviour
• Culture, language and religion
• For teenagers, how they can become more
independent and what career, education or training
plans they might consider
Review meetings consider what everyone can do to make
sure that you are safe, well and happy and that everyone
is working towards you having a long-term, stable place
to live. Each review will identify what needs to be done,
who will do it and by when. It will also check that the
decisions made at previous reviews have been carried out.
It is really
important that
the IROgets to
know what
each child or
young person
thinks about
their situation
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 22
Taking part in reviews It is really important that the IRO gets to know what each child or young person thinks
about their situation and what they want to happen in future. Everyone aged over four is
sent a consultation booklet ahead of their review to fill in and send back to their IRO. This
asks your views about all aspects of your life. Foster Carers and Key Workers will help you
complete this if you want them to.
Wherever possible, the IRO will arrange to visit ahead of the review to talk to you. You
can talk with the IRO on your own if you want to, or you can have someone with you,
like an Advocate.
Depending on their age, children and young people may attend all or part of their review
meeting. You don’t have to attend if you don’t want to, but it is really helpful for the IRO
to know how you are feeling about your situation.
The Care Guide 23
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 24
Personal Adviser
What is a Personal Adviser? A Personal Adviser is someone who is there
specifically for you from the age of 16. Your
Personal Adviser is someone who is there for you
to provide support and help to improve your
circumstances and opportunities in life and to
offer you advice and guidance when developing
your Pathway Plan. .
Who is my Personal Adviser? Your Personal Adviser is someone that you can
have a trusting relationship with and is committed
to your well-being and to supporting you from 16
into adulthood. When you reach a stage of
becoming involved with the Leaving Care Team
you should be given the opportunity to talk to
your Personal Adviser.
What do they do? • Work alongside you and other
professionals in relation to your assessment
and Pathway Plan
• Provide you with advice and support
• Help you make decisions about your future
in relation to education, health, living
arrangements and employment
• Work with other services that you need in
order to help and support you
• Keep in contact with you regularly, to see
how you are progressing and ensure your
Pathway Plan is meeting your needs
• Assist you with managing your money
and budgeting
Contact Your Personal Adviser will keep in contact with
you on a regular basis by letter, phone, email or
face-to-face contact. However, the amount of
contact depends upon your needs and the support
you need as highlighted in your Pathway Plan.
Amina -
What is a Pathway Plan? Your Social Worker will help you
prepare a Pathway Plan. The
Pathway Plan is different to your
Care Plan in that it prepares for
your future in much more detail.
Your plan will be your own and it
will be flexible - suiting your needs
and giving you room to breathe as
your needs and plans may change.
You will have a copy of your
Pathway Plan and will have a say
about who else gets a c o p y .
What will my Pathway Plan include? • Your accommodation - your
rights and housing options
• Education, training or
employment needs and any
financial or practical help
you’re entitled to
• Relationships with family and
friends
• Any practical skills you need
and how to get them
• Any personal support you
may need
• Your Personal Adviser and
the people who will help and
support you will be named
• Any health support that you
might need and how to get it
Your Personal Adviser will help
along the way and ensure you get
the best help and support. Part of
your Pathway Plan will include a
back-up plan (contingency) so it
isn’t the end of the world if things
don’t work out as planned.
You will have a copy
of your plan and will
have a say about who
else gets a copy
The Care Guide 25
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 26
How I celebrate…
On my birthday:
A special occasion:
An anniversary:
My special dates are:
The Care Guide 27
What I’m good at..! We are all good at something and you may have a great talent for something like
painting, cooking, sport, singing or playing an instrument. This is sometimes hard to write
about - ask someone to help you if you need it.
I am good at:
What do other people like and admire about you?
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 28
What is a Child Protection Conference? A Child Protection Conference is a meeting arranged to enable
those professionals most involved with the child or young person and
their family to look at all relevant information, together with the
family, so that they can plan how best to safeguard and promote the
safety of a child or young person who has suffered harm, or is at
risk of harm.
What is a Care Order? A Care Order gives the local authority parental responsibility. This
means that the local authority, rather than your family, have the job
of looking after you. Day-to-day responsibility will be given to a
Social Worker - they will make decisions about where you live and
who you see but they should still talk to your parents about
important things and they should always talk to you to find out how
you feel. A Care Order will last until you are 18, unless somebody
asks the courts to change their decision
To make a Care Order, the court must be satisfied:
• That the child concerned is suffering or is likely to suffer
significant harm.
• And that the harm, or likelihood of harm is caused because of:
• The lack of care given to the child
• The likelihood of significant harm to happen if the Care
Order is not made
• The care not being reasonable
• The child being beyond parental control
Once a Care Order is made, the local authority obtains parental
responsibility, in addition to the other parental responsibility holders.
Your rights when it comes to being in Care can change when you
become sixteen. If you want to know more about this you can
speak to your Social Worker, Independent Visitor or The Children’s
Rights Service.
Under a Care Order a Social
Worker has the job of looking
after you
The Care Guide 29
What is an Interim Care Order? An Interim Care Order places the child or young person in
Care on a temporary basis, whilst the family is assessed and
until the court can make a final decision about what is best
for them. The Interim Care Order has the same effect as a
final Care Order in giving the local authority parental
responsibility to make decisions on your behalf.
Section 20 Where the local authority does not feel that the child or
young person can remain living with their family whilst
such an assessment is carried out they may ask the parents
to agree to them being accommodated under what is called
a Section 20 Agreement. The local authority may not
provide accommodation for the child or young person if
anyone with parental responsibility for them objects.
Section 31 Section 31 is a full Care Order where the local authority
has parental responsibility for a child or young pe rson .
Section 47 A section 47 enquiry means that the local authority must
carry out an investigation when they have reasonable
cause to believe that a child or young person living in their
area has suffered harm, or is likely to suffer h a r m .
Coram Children’s Legal Centre provide legal
advice for Chi ldren and young people–
www.childrenslegalcentre.com
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 30
What do you like doing with your friend?
Where do you usually hang-out?
If you have moved away from your friends make sure you speak to your Social Worker about keeping in contact with them.
Friends... Do you have a best friend?
My friends’ names are:
How did you meet your friend?
The Care Guide 31
Quotes and poems from young people in Care from The Children’s Rights Service
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 32
What is The Children’s Rights Service? The Children’s Rights Service is an organisation that works with children and young people
between the ages of 0 and 25 - to give them choices and to make their voices heard. The
Children’s Rights Service do this by providing advocacy, participation and support for
children and young people, carers, parents and other service u s e r s .
What is an Independent Visitor in The Children’s Right Service? An Independent Visitor is a volunteer who befriends a child or young person in Care. An
Independent Visitor befriends a young person in order for the young person to have a long-
lasting relationship outside of the Care framework. The young person and volunteer spend
time together, doing activities and building a trusting relationship.
The Children’s Rights
Service provides advocacy,
participation and support
The Care Guide 33
What is an Advocate in The Children’s Rights Service? An Advocate is someone who helps young people to express their wishes and
feelings. To help you to be fully involved in your own care and to be
consulted about decisions which directly affect you. Professionals like Social
Workers must decide what is in your best interests but Advocates are different.
They do not decide what you should be doing but assist you to express your
wishes and feelings - as well as supporting you making choices and knowing
your rights when there are problems around your care.
Rochelle -
Advocate
Advocates should not influence decisions made about the care of a young
person but should support their involvement in them. The only exception to
this is in safeguarding issue, where a young person is at risk of harm or is a
risk to others. An advocate can come with you to your review or other
meetings, to help people hear your wishes and to support you.
How do I make a complaint? If you want to make a complaint about your care, you can do this with
support of an advocate from The Children’s Rights Service. Contact The
Children’s Rights Service on the contact number below or you can contact
the Northamptonshire County Council customer feedback team. You can
also use an online form on the Young Northants website at
https://goo.gl/vNcxZo
What are participation and The Children in Care and
Care Leavers’ Councils and how do I get involved?
The Children’s Rights Service run groups and projects you can get involved
with. These include many different activities such as music, drama, dance,
art, sports, poetry, film making, cooking, animal road shows, water activities
and talks from different services. We go on trips including to the theatre,
theme parks and the seaside.
We also run training to develop young people into young leaders. One group
is called The Children In Care Council, made up of young leaders who meet
every month to plan projects or campaigns and represent the views of their
peers. The group is for children and young people who are, or have been in
Care and who want to take an active role in shaping services that affect
them. There is a similar group for those leaving care: The Care Leavers’
Council, and the Shooting Stars group is for any child or young person with
a learning disability. If you want to get involved please contact The
Children’s Rights Service on the number or email below. It is a chance for
you to speak up on behalf of other children in Care.
The Children’s Rights Service
Phone: 01604 368051
Email: [email protected]
What will happen with me going to school when I am in Care? Your Social Worker will work with the education department to try
and keep you in the same school. Sometimes this is not possible
and you will have to move s c h o o l s .
What will happen if I have to move schools when I am in Care? Your new school will try and support you the best they can. It is
important you talk to your Social Worker or a teacher about how
you feel about this.
How will I get to school while I am in Care? You may have to get to school in a different way. Your Foster
Carers may take you by car, you may walk or go by bus or
sometimes a taxi service is used.
Sometimes
how you
get to
school may
change
34 Children’s Rights Service 01604368051
The Care Guide 35
Your education...
What school or college do you go to?
What are your favourite subjects?
Do you need any help with school? Can you tell us about it?
Are there any after school clubs you are involved in or fancy getting involved in?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
My dream job is:
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 36
Who will support me with my schooling while I am in Care? Every school must have a particular teacher
who is responsible for looked after children.
While you are in Care your Foster Carers,
Key Worker, Social Worker, Independent
Reviewing Officer and school teachers should
support you. If you are finding anything
difficult or want to talk to someone about
school any of the people mentioned above can
help you with this.
What is a P.E.P? A P.E.P is a Personal Education Plan - you
complete this with your Social Worker and
your school, to plan your education. A teacher
within your school will have the responsibility
of making sure that what’s on the plan
happens. Your plan will be reviewed termly
and will also be talked about at your Care Plan
review.
The ‘virtual school’ for children in Care This is a team within the county council who
work with schools, children and young people,
social workers and carers to give any support,
advice and guidance that may help with any
matter to do with education.
A member of this team may attend the PEP or
can be contacted by anyone who has a concern
or problem or just wants to know more about
educational issues and looked after young
people. The team can be contacted by email at
While you are in
Care your Foster
Carers, Key Worker,
Social Worker,
Independent
Reviewing Officer
and school
teachers should
support you.
The Care Guide 37
What is pocket money? Pocket money is money that you get that you can
spend. It may be that your Foster Carers or Key
Worker gives you money every now and again, or you
may get a regular amount of money, for example
every week or once a month.
Some Foster Carers don’t give pocket money regularly;
they just give you money when you need it for
something specific. Sometimes Foster Carers may give
you money for birthdays or other special occasions.
What pocket money will I get while I’m in Care? You will need to talk to your Foster Carers, Key
Worker or Social Worker to find out if you get pocket
money or not.
What money will I get for clothing? Depending on your age and where you are living, all
young people who are in Care get an allowance for their
clothing. Your Foster Carers or Key Worker will
manage this money and take you shopping for clothes.
What savings will I get while I am in Care? Who will put this money away for me? Depending on your placement how your savings are
handled will be different. Talk to your Social Worker
or Foster Carers about this.
Talk to your Foster
Carers, Key Worker
or Social Worker to
find out if you get
pocket money or not
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 38
Am I allowed a door key? Am I allowed to have sleepovers? Am I allowed to stay out at my friend’s house overnight? Whether or not you can have your own key, sleepovers and friends to
stay overnight is different for every young person. You will need to talk
to your Social Worker, Key Worker or Foster Carers to find out if you
can have or do any of these things.
What will happen with my health while I am in Care? Your health is very important and as soon as you are settled into your
new placement your Social Worker, Key Worker or Foster Carers
should organise for you to go to the dentist and to see an optician. You
should also go to see a doctor, who will carry out a health assessment.
If you have moved to a new area you will be registered with a new
doctor, dentist and opticians and will have a routine appointment for
each. If you have any concerns talk to your Social Worker, Key
Worker or Foster Carers.
What is a Health Plan? This is a plan that will be completed by your doctor, with you
and your carers. It will say what needs to happen to make sure that
you are healthy.
The first or initial health assessment any young person has is done by
their doctor but the rest are done by a school nurse or a specialist nurse.
A Health Plan is compiled by the person doing the health assessment
with you and it is agreed with you and your carers. The assessment
may include listening to your chest and heart but no intimate
examinations are done.
Your following health assessment reviews are done by a school nurse or
a specialist nurse once a year. You will be given or posted a copy of
your Health Plan and it will be discussed with you at your LAC review
(see page 22 for more about t h i s ).
What is an SDQ? An SDQ is Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. This helps to find
out if you have any emotional learning or behavioural needs that you
might need help with while you are in Care. Your Health Plan will
include a section about your emotional wellbeing and mental health.
If you have
any
quest ions
or concerns
speak to your
Foster Carers,
Social Worker
or Key Worker
Looking after myself... Why do you think it’s important to look after your health?
What do you think about your own health; good, bad or reasonably ok?
If you are taking any medication, tell us what this is and why you have to take it:
Who are the people in your life who help make sure you’re healthy?
Doctor: Tel no:
Dentist: Tel no: .
Optician: Tel no:
Other: Tel no:
When did you last visit any of these people about your health?
Who can you trust to talk to if you are worried about your health?
If you’re not sure of the answers to these questions tell your Social Worker
or Independent Reviewing Officer, who can help.
The Care Guide 39
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 40
Relationships Things that are important in a relationship are:
• Trust
• Honesty
• Being positive towards each other
• Supporting each other when things are not going
so well and trying to find solutions together
• Celebrating each other’s successes
• Safety
Trying to
find solutions
together
Information about alcohol, cigarettes and drugs
Alcohol Drinking alcohol can be bad for you. It can:
• Damage your heart, liver and kidneys
• Cause brain damage
• Make you gain weight and can make you have bad skin
Drinking can make some people feel relaxed and merry for a while. Some young people
can become aggressive and depressed, or have a headache or feel sick. If you drink too
much this could also affect your development.
REMEMBER IT IS ILLEGAL FOR ANYONE UNDER 18 TO BUY ALCOHOL
Cigarettes Smoking can have serious effects on your physical health. Smoking has been shown to
cause poor health. Around a half of all teenagers who carry on smoking will eventually be
killed by tobacco. Smoking also makes you short of breath and makes sport and exercise
more difficult. You may start smoking because you think it is grown-up and cool. But
when you start smoking it is very hard to stop and you will be putting your health at risk.
So before you start have a think about the effects smoking could have on your health. You
need to speak to your Foster Carers and Social Worker about whether you will be allowed
to smoke. Some Foster Carers might not allow you to smoke in the house, so you may
have to smoke in certain areas.
REMEMBER IT IS ILLEGAL FOR ANYONE UNDER 18 TO BUY CIGARETTES
Illegal drugs If you take illegal drugs it can make you very ill. Taking illegal drugs involves risks and
can have serious side effects. It is important to think about the bad effects they could have
on your health.
REMEMBER IT IS ILLEGAL FOR YOU TO TAKE ILLEGAL D R U G S
What do you think about drugs and alcohol?
For discreet information about alcohol and drugs – talk to FRANK
www.talktofrank.com 0300 123 6600
The Care Guide 41
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 42
Diary page
The Care Guide 43
Diary page
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 44
Diary page
The Care Guide 45
The Protective Behaviour Hand Step 1: Imagine that this is your own hand.
Step 2: Write on the
fingers and thumb the
adults you can trust and
you know will listen to
you. Try to put down
adults from different
places, e.g. home, school,
Social Worker, friend or
other professionals. Then
decorate the rest of the
hand how you like, with
colours and patterns. You
can also cut the hand out
of this guide and put it
somewhere that you can
see it if you want to .
Step 3: When you need
someone to talk to use the
hand to know the people
you can open up to and
who you can trust.
Get someone to help you
with this is you need t o .
Children’s Rights Service 01604368051 46
Useful numbers and websites Thinking about all the things in this guide can be difficult and can bring mixed emotions
but there are many organisations out there who can help you. Here are just a few of them,
and there are many more listed on the Young Northants website
Action for Children Phone: 0300 123 2112
Email: [email protected].
Website: www.actionforchildren.org.uk
Can Confidential drug and alcohol service
Phone: 01604 824777
www.can.org.uk
Child Line 24-hour confidential advice and support service
Phone: 0800 1111 (calls are free)
www.childline.org.uk
The Children’s Rights Service Phone: 01604 368051
Email: [email protected]
www.northamptonshire.gov.uk
Children’s Services (Out-of-hours)
Phone: 01604 626938
www.northamptonshire.gov.uk
Coram children’s Legal Centre
www.childrenslegalcentre.com
Family information service www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/fis
Kettering Youth Information Kettering Office
Phone : 07846 797836
or 01536 510089
Email: [email protected]
Corby Office
Phone: 07402 786101
Email: [email protected]
The Lowdown Counselling information and sexual
health service.
Phone: 01604 634385
www.thelowdown.info
Service Six Counselling and sexual health service
Phone: 01933 277520/273746
www.servicesix.co.uk
Ask Normen Northants Mental Health Gateway, including live chat www.asknormen.co.uk
Talk to Frank www.talktofrank.com
Time2Talk Information, counselling and sexual
health service (Daventry and South
Northants)
Phone: 01327 706706
www.time2talk.org.uk
Ofsted
Phone: 0300 123 466
Email: ofsted.gov.uk
The Care Guide 47
With special thanks Several groups and individuals have contributed to the production of this guide. We extend
our thanks to everyone who was involved and contributed in any way.
Some groups deserve special thanks.
We would like say a massive thank you to
The Children In Care Council Young
Leaders who are part of The Children’s
Rights Service. They have worked very
hard, in partnership with professionals, in
designing every element of this guide for
young people coming into c a r e .
Particular recognition should be given to
Voice of Young People in Care (VOYPIC)
in the production of this guide. VOYPIC’s
own guides proved to be an invaluable
resource in the development of this
material.
We would like to say a big thank you to
NHS NORMEN for funding this Coming
Into Care Guide and making it possible
Rights
The Children’s Rights Service One Angel Square Northampton NN1 1ED
