Family Time with Parents/Adults and Siblings

Throughout this chapter, the term family time will be used. Social workers and carers should consider carefully the language used with children to normalise the time they go and visit family and friends who are important to them. What is most important is that the child or young person is asked what term they would prefer to be used as every child and young person’s situation is different.

Our aim is that practice about family time changes to reflect the wishes and views of children and young people. To support this we have developed a set of principles to inform practice.

The following set of principles should inform practice when assessing, planning for, arranging and reviewing family time arrangements:

• There is a presumption of continued family time between children who are looked after and their parents, siblings, relatives, friends or other person connected with the child unless it is not reasonably practicable or consistent with the child’s welfare;
• Relationships with significant people may have been lost and consideration should be given as to how this can be re-established;
• Where children have moved on from care givers, relationships should be maintained unless this is not in the child’s interests. Sometimes, following an unplanned ending feelings are high and it is important that children and young people have an opportunity to repair damaged relationships and opportunities should always be considered to say goodbye and to give the opportunity for future ongoing relationships;
• Family time must always be for the benefit of the child and not the parent/relative or friend;
• Family time should only be supervised where it is necessary to ensure children are safeguarded and their welfare promoted;
• Where family time does need to be supervised this is better for the child/young person if it can be undertaken by someone familiar to them, an extended family member, friend or a key worker / care giver wherever possible;
• The role of the carer in family time should be carefully considered in the planning stages. All caregivers have a role to play in family time. Wherever possible carers should transport and support with arrangements, including supervision of family time. This should be arranged in a planned way in consultation with the supervising social worker and allocated social worker for the child(ren);
• Any transport arrangements should allow plenty of time for the child or young person, to enable them to arrive on time and feeling as relaxed as possible. Time with their family is not reduced because of transport getting them there late. Equally, any travel arrangements made for the journey back should allow the full time for family time. If transport arrives before the end of the session, there should not be the expectation that the child or young person will leave earlier than planned;
• Family time should take place in venues that are appropriate for children and young people; given their ages and who they are meeting up with;
• The assessment about family time and the subsequent arrangements will take into consideration ethnicity, culture and language needs (including those where English is not their first language) of children, young people and their families. Where family time is to be supervised, the assessment should consider if the use of interpreters is required;
• Children and young people have a choice about who they wish to see and have the right to change their minds about this over time;
• Maintaining relationships with sisters and brothers from both the same or different parents is reported by children to be one of their highest priorities and every effort must be made to ensure this is supported;
• The Family Group Conference as a decision making forum can be helpful in agreeing a plan for supporting family time;
• Family time should not be seen as a reward or punishment. It is a child’s right to have family time, unless this is not in their best interests;
• Family time should be reviewed regularly to ensure that this continues to meet children’s needs.

There are several factors that social workers must consider when making arrangements for face to face family time:

• The child's wishes and feelings in relation to family time;
• Any special needs of the child or parent/other; is the proposed building accessible?
• Is the proposed venue within a short travelling distance from the placement address of the child?
• Is the proposed venue accessible to the parent via public transport?
• Does the proposed venue have panic alarms or other staff members available?
• Would the attendance of the parent pose a risk to other users of the building?
• Is the room child friendly, appropriate and safe for the age of the child and the activities planned?
• The purpose of the family time e.g. family time where rehabilitation home is planned may contribute towards the Social Care Assessment. Parents should be encouraged to plan for their family time with their child, thinking of activities to undertake and be offered advice and guidance both within and outside of the family time sessions;
• Family time may need to be arranged at variable times of the day, particularly with babies and young children, to enable the parent to undertake everyday tasks such as bathing and preparing meals;
• How best to enable the parent to build upon their skills, with the support of the family time supervisor.

In more risky situations, those organising and supervising family time might want to choose locations where early and easy contact can be made with other parties or agencies such as the Police. In some cases prior contact with the Police should agree prearranged responses in the event of problems emerging.

The need to supervise family time should be considered as part of the assessment and planning process by the social worker and their Manager. It is the responsibility of the child's social worker to ensure that the person(s) supervising family time is appropriately skilled and experienced to do so.

The primary focus of the assessment of this issue will be the safety and welfare of the child.

Where supervised family time is deemed necessary, the reasons should be clearly recorded and the role of the supervisor or supervisors clearly defined.

A written risk assessment must be completed before supervised family times begin.

This assessment must take account of all factors that could impact on the success of supervised family time and relevant safeguards including:

1. Any history of abuse or threats of abuse to the child, carers, staff or others;
2. Previous threats to disrupt family time or failure to cooperate with conditions agreed for supervised family time;
3. Previous incidents or threats of abduction;
4. Previous incidents of coercion or inappropriate behaviour during family time;
5. The transient or unsettled lifestyle of the parents;
6. The child's behaviour and needs, including medical needs.

Where any of the above features in the risk assessment, and supervised family time is to continue, the risk assessment must state the specific measures to be put in place to minimise risks. The assessment must then be approved and signed by the social worker's Team Manager.

Where supervised family time takes place, the detailed arrangements for the supervision must be set out in the Placement Plan.

In addition, there should be a written agreement with the parents and other relevant parties having supervised family time, signed by them, which should state clearly any specific conditions relating to the family time and any expectations placed on the parents or relevant parties:

• The agreement should be clear about where the family time must take place and whether any flexibility is allowed for activity or movements within or away from the agreed location;
• It should also be clear about whether the person(s) having family time are permitted to give the child food, drinks, gifts or money during family time;
• It should state clearly the circumstances in which family time will be terminated.

The agreement should state the adults who will be allowed to attend for supervised family time and supervisors should be asked to apply that strictly.

Particular attention should be given to when and how visits are ended. It may be more appropriate that all 'goodbyes' take place indoors with the visitors asked to leave before supervisors return children to their placements or carers.

Significant changes to Care Plans, court proceedings and/or decisions made about the frequency of future family time are all likely to be potential tension points so extra vigilance should apply at any family times arranged around these times.

The staff/carers and any other person involved in the supervision of the family time should have copies of the Placement Plan and the agreement with the parents or relevant adults.

Where possible, those supervising the family time should be known to the child and the family before the supervised family time takes place

In the event of problems emerging, the supervisors must be clear who to family time and what details they will need to share.

The supervisor's observations of the family time must be clearly recorded in the child's record and shared with the parents within 3 months of the visit (Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman finding).

The supervisor must immediately report to the social worker any concerns about the child or parents conduct during the family time. The social worker in consultation with their Manager should consider the need to review the risk assessment and/or the family time arrangements in light of the concerns expressed.

Where social work assessment is unable to identify an appropriate person to supervise family time a referral can be made by the social worker to the family time service via the referral form for support until more sustainable long term options are identified.

See Section 7, Review of Family Time Arrangements.

The relationship between siblings is possibly the longest relationship that many people will have in their lives, often outlasting the relationship one has with parents, partners or friends. For this reason a strong sibling bond can be a vital support throughout life and for Children Looked After this kind of stability is especially important in a world where so much is out of their control.

Maintaining family time between siblings from the same or different parents is reported by children to be one of their highest priorities (The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations - Volume 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review). Where siblings cannot be placed together all parties should actively facilitate family time between them.

Children of different ages can have siblings who remain at home or who are spread across multiple care placements or adopted separately. Every situation is unique, and there are numerous circumstances that may result in brothers and sisters not living together. Children should not have to experience yet another loss; ensuring siblings have regular, high quality family time allows them to develop and maintain a healthy relationship with one another. Where children are placed with separate care givers, care givers would be supported to arrange regular family time between them. These sessions should be normal everyday activities that do not require a significant cost and could include visiting each other’s houses for tea or both households taking a trip to the park.

Family time with birth parents or between brothers and sisters does not always have to take place with everyone attending together. Sometimes, individual family time between a child and a parent can help develop and improve relationships. A family time arrangement that may be right for one child, may not meet the needs of another, and it is therefore important to look at the individual needs of children and make an informed decision based on a clear assessment of the child’s needs and relationships with siblings and parents.

Children Looked After talk about the over supervision of family time with their siblings and social workers need to be mindful of this. Family time between siblings needs to be assessed and appropriate levels of support or supervision put in place if required, depending on the ages and circumstances of the children.

The social worker and their Manager should keep family time arrangements, including the continuing need for supervision, under regular review.

The risk assessment in relation to the arrangements for supervising family time must be reviewed at least every six months, or sooner if any incident or report identifies concerns.

Where the child is the subject of a Child Protection Plan, the family time arrangements should also be reviewed as required in the Child Protection Plan.

Any significant reactions that the child has to family time should be reported to the child's social worker by those observing family time arrangements, for example, foster carers, residential staff and/or supervisors of family time.

Any significant reactions that the child has to family time should be reported to the child's social worker by those observing family time and these should be considered as part of the review.

The family time arrangements should also be reviewed in any Placement Planning Meeting and at the child's Looked After Review.

Where a Family time Order is in force and it is considered that the family time arrangements set out in the Order should be altered, the agreement of the child and the parents should be sought and legal advice should be obtained as to the need to seek a variation of the Court Order.

A family time review should be convened if there are issues arising in family time or a parent is failing to attend family time sessions available to them. Consideration should be given to the reasons for the failed attendance and whether enough assistance has been given to support parents' attendance, e.g. travel pass, or any special needs of the parent. The family time review meeting should include the parent, social worker and family time supervisor.

The supervised family time session must be recorded in full on the child’s file by the person who is supervising or observing. This may include a social worker, a family time worker, or a care giver.

Records should include:

• The quality of the family time:
• Did the session go as planned, who was involved, timing, place and activities – including any direct work tasks identified in the family time agreement.
• The interaction between the adult and child:
• Consider greetings, goodbyes, physical contact, behaviours, tasks, conversations, nonverbal communication, feelings.
• The child’s presentation:
• How they were before family time, were there any noticeable behavioural changes, concerns or feelings? What happened after family time – behaviours and feelings.
• Areas of progress and areas of concern:
• What is working well in family time, what are we worried about, what are the complicating factors? What is the progress in relation to identified direct work tasks, what is getting in the way?

Comments should be supported with evidence and shared with parents. The parents should be made aware that information recorded will be shared with the allocated social worker and may be required in any court proceedings.

Where family time is unsupervised a summary of any key observations of the family time experience and any issues arising from it that come to the social worker’s attention should be recorded. This might include feedback from care givers about the child’s mood, behaviour and presentation before or following family time.

Sometimes carers and social workers think that because family time can upset a child or young person, this should be reduced or cancelled altogether; yet many times the child or young person would like family time to continue regardless. In each case, the child or young person should be consulted before any decision like this is made that affects them.

Emergency restrictions on family time can only be made to protect the child from significant risk and must be notified to the Placing Authority (child's social worker) within 24 hours.

Family time must never be withdrawn as a sanction imposed on a child.

Family time should take place in accordance with the child’s Placement Plan, Court Order and any Court Directions. Family time should never be cancelled unless there is a very good reason, e.g. it is deemed that it would not be safe for it to take place or the child/ adult/sibling attending is too unwell for it to take place.

Wherever possible, the carer should consult the child’s social worker in advance if they consider there is a good reason to cancel family time. If consultation has not been possible the carer must inform the child’s social worker as soon as possible and confirm in writing the decision to cancel and the reason.

If family time is cancelled, the social worker, or carer if the social worker is unavailable, must ensure that the child and, as far as practicable, the parent or relevant adult is informed in advance and that the reason for the decision is explained. The social worker or carer should arrange an alternative family time if appropriate; if the child is not wishing to attend another session will not be rearranged and a review will be considered.