Children and Family Community Services Policies, Values and Principles
Scope of this chapter
This chapter provides the context for all procedures.
It contains the overarching policy for the provision of services to children and families.
Amendment
In November 2025 this chapter was rewritten and should be reread.
This policy sets out the framework within which Children and Family Community Services (C&FCS) work with children, young people and their families. It is underpinned by:
- The Children (Guernsey and Alderney) Law, 2008;
- The Criminal Justice (Children and Juvenile Court Reform) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2008;
- Children (Secure Accommodation) (Guernsey & Alderney) Regulations, 2009;
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of The Child;
- Human Rights (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 2000;
- Adoption (Guernsey Law) 1970;
- Data Protection (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 2017;;
- The policy framework also has regard to a number of strategic documents including the Children and Young People’s Plan 2023-2026, the Corporate Parenting Framework 2020-2023 and the Care and Support Framework (Threshold Document) Care and Support Framework. It is also consistent with a range of UK government guidance, particularly the principles set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children and the Children’s Social Care National Framework.
Working Together to Safeguard Children emphasises the importance of multi-agency working ensuring a child-centred approach while also considering the family context. Working in this way recognises the need to build positive, trusting and co-operative relationships with parents and carers to deliver support which is individually tailored to the needs of the family.
Work that Children's Services undertakes with Children who require Safeguarding, Children in Need and Children in Care; is carried out in partnership with all sectors of the States of Guernsey and with other statutory, independent and voluntary sector services.
States of Guernsey Elected Members, Employees and partners have a crucial role to play as corporate parents for Children in Care and those who leave care.
Although the term ‘corporate parent’ does not have a formal legal definition, it is commonly understood to mean that officers and elected members of the local authority have a responsibility to take the same interest in the progress, attainments and wellbeing of Children in Care, as a reasonable parent could be expected to have for their own children. The term 'corporate parent' relates to how local authorities should approach their responsibilities for Children in Care and care leavers.
A strong ethos of corporate parenting means that sense of vision and responsibility towards the children they look after and their care leavers is a priority for everyone. Corporate Parenting is an important part of the Ofsted inspection framework and the Corporate Parenting Principles are referenced in Ofsted's Inspecting Local Authority Children's Services.
The Corporate Parenting Principles are intended to facilitate as far as possible secure, nurturing, and positive experiences for Children in Care and young people and enable positive outcomes for them.
The experiences of looked-after children and care leavers, particularly in regards to whether they feel cared for and listened to, will therefore be an important measure of how successfully local authorities embed these principles.
The Corporate Parenting Principles set out seven principles that local authorities will have regard to when exercising their functions in relation to Children in Care and young people, as follows:
- To act in the best interests, and promote the physical and mental health and wellbeing, of those children and young people;
- To encourage those children and young people to express their views, wishes and feelings;
- To take into account the views, wishes and feelings of those children and young people;
- To help those children and young people gain access to, and make the best use of, services provided by the local authority and its relevant partners;
- To promote high aspirations, and seek to secure the best outcomes, for those children and young people;
- For those children and young people to be safe, and for stability in their home lives, relationships and education or work; and
- To prepare those children and young people for adulthood and independent living.
The Corporate Parenting Principles do not replace or change existing legal duties. The principles are intended to encourage local authorities to be ambitious and aspirational for their looked-after children and care leavers.
See Corporate Parenting Framework for further information
The key outcomes for all children identified in the Children and Young People’s Plan enable the States of Guernsey and partner agencies to focus on the key aspects for all children as set out in the Children (Guernsey and Alderney) Law 2008. The States of Guernsey and partners use key performance indicators that are structured around these outcomes.
Healthy and Active
We want all children and young people to have the highest possible standards of physical and emotional health and to lead active lives that promote their long term health.
This includes reducing childhood obesity levels, lowering the rates of teen pregnancy, and minimising the impact of suicide on young people.
Where appropriate, they should be supported to develop a sense of well-being through:
- Building resilience;
- Develop their self-image and confidence;
- Experience positive affirmation and encouragement.
All young people should be given the encouragement and opportunity to live a healthy lifestyle.
Safe and Nurtured
We want to ensure all children and young people are protected from abuse, neglect or harm at home and in the community, have nurturing relationships that build their emotional resilience and to engage in safe behaviour.
Achieve individual and Economic Potential
We want all children and young people to achieve their full potential and to be supported in the development of their skills, confidence and self-esteem to enable them to achieve as much independence and financial security as possible.
Included and Respected
We want to ensure that all children and young people have help to overcome inequalities and are valued members of their communities. This means having a voice in decisions that affect them and being supported to play an active and responsible role in all aspects of their lives.
Safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of children will always be at the centre of the work the States of Guernsey and partner agencies undertake with children and their families. The child’s needs are paramount, and the needs and wishes of each child, be they a baby or infant, or an older child, should be put first, so that every child receives the support they need before a problem escalates.
Children and Family Community Services, together with their States of Guernsey colleagues as corporate parents, will work to secure the above outcomes by working to enable a child’s own family including their wider family to meet their needs. They will facilitate services, including early help services, to support children and families consistent with the child's safety and wellbeing.
Where a child cannot be cared for within his or her immediate family, strenuous efforts will be made to identify potential carers within the wider kinship network of the child who are able and willing to meet the needs and best interests of the child. If continuing care within his/her family is not possible, every effort will be made to identify suitable alternative carers through adoption or other forms of permanence. Efforts to secure the child’s future must be timely and avoid delay. Children and Family Community Services will ensure that permanence plans are made for all Children in Care within 4 months of their becoming looked after.
Children and Family Community Services will ensure that children who are looked after are placed in properly approved placements, suitable to meet their needs and that, wherever possible, siblings are placed together. They will be placed in a family placement unless there are assessed reasons why residential care or an alternative type of placement is the better option. Contact with their birth family should be promoted, and where required, supported, except where this may be contrary to the child’s best interests.
If a young person remains in care until adulthood Children and Family Community Services will, wherever possible, promote them remaining in their foster placement (Staying Put arrangements) and ensure that they are supported when they leave care , at least until they are 21 or 25, to give them a positive start to independent living. This support will include personal assistance with living independently and with accessing and making the most of education and employment opportunities.
Children, their parents and other significant adults will be consulted about plans for their care and these plans will be subject to regular independent review. Children and their families will be encouraged to take part in their reviews and can expect that their views will be listened to and will help shape the child’s Plan.
Children and Family Community Services will ensure that children have access to advocacy services that will assist them in being heard.
The strategy of Children and Family Community Services will be to harness States of Guernsey policy and funding streams to improve performance, so that we can work with other agencies to ensure better outcomes for every child and their family through cost effective systems, structures and partnerships - through targeting services to prevent most children from becoming children in need, whilst concentrating specialist services on children most in need to give them the best possible life chances
Last Updated: November 25, 2025
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