Out of Jurisdiction Placements

This procedure applies to any placement of a child in care outside the Bailiwick of Guernsey, EXCEPT WHERE the placement is with a Connected Person, or a UK local authority foster carer approved by the placing authority.

The decision to place the child out of area must be approved by the Associate Director of Children’s Services.

The Associate Director of Children’s Services must be satisfied of the following:

• That the child's wishes and feelings have been ascertained and given due consideration;
• That the placement is the most appropriate placement available for the child and consistent with the Care Plan;
• That relatives have been consulted where appropriate;
• That the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) has been consulted (usually the IRO will discuss with the child after the child has visited the proposed placement);
• That the area authority has been notified, and have been provided with a copy of the child’s Care Plan (see Section 3, Placement Considerations);
• That the approval for placement out of jurisdiction has been obtained via the court under (S48) Children (Guerney and Alderney) 2008 Law in the making of a Community Parenting Order with consent to place out of jurisdiction or under (sec 36) Children(Guernsey and Alderney) Law 2008 by the making of a Care Requirement with a condition to approve place out of jurisdiction;
• That appropriate funding provision is in place and has been approved by the Committee for Health and Social Care’s Specialist Placement and Transitions Panel

Placements out of jurisdiction are only sought when the child’s needs cannot be met within the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Such placements are therefore likely to be specialist foster or residential placements and will require effective planning, engagement and information sharing with the services likely to be responsible for meeting the child’s needs in the future. Consultation with Health and Social Care’s Off-Island Services is essential and the allocated social worker will need to present the case to the Specialist Placement and Transitions Panel  Panel for any funding approval requirements. It is essential that this process is completed in advance of any final hearing or submission of a final care plan before the Court or Tribunal.  Consultation with the area authority must be undertaken in good time to enable a thorough assessment of appropriateness to be made. Appendix 1: Suggested Information for Discussion between Authorities when Planning Out of Jurisdiction Placements suggests information that might be discussed with the area authority.

Where the placement under consideration is in a children’s home or residential school, account should be taken of the information in the home’s Statement of Purpose and its location assessment (which should include details of the home’s safeguarding arrangements, including any measures taken by the home to manage safeguarding concerns arising from the neighbourhood where the home is located). Consideration must also be given to the provisions current Ofsted rating and latest inspection report.

In assessing the suitability of an out of jurisdiction placement, consideration should be given to the arrangements which will need to be put in place to enable the child to access services such as primary and secondary health care. Where the child will require specialist health services such as CAMHS, the Clinical Commissioning Group (local health board in Wales) that commissions secondary healthcare in the area authority should be consulted, to establish whether the placement is appropriate and able to meet the child’s needs. The designated nurse for looked-after children in the area authority will also be a valuable source of advice and information.

Similarly, the Virtual School Head for looked-after children in the area authority, (Children in Care Education Co-ordinators (LACE) in Wales) should be able to advise about access to school support.

For children vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, children’s services in the area authority will be an important source of intelligence and information about local arrangements for safeguarding children.

Written notification must be given to the area authority of the arrangements for the placement before the placement is made or, if the placement is made in an emergency, within five working days of the start of the placement unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so.

The notification must include:

1. Details of the assessment of the child’s needs and the reasons why the placement is the most suitable for responding to these; and
2. A copy of the child’s care plan.

Basic information about the child

• Name and date of birth;
• Legal status (subject of a Community Parenting Order (s.486 Children (Guernsey and Alderney ) Law 2008; voluntarily accommodated (s.25) Children (Guernsey and Alderney) Law 2008  or subject to a Care Requirement (sec 36) of the Children (Guernsey and Alderney) Law with a condition to place out of jurisdiction obtained;
• Number of previous placements – outline reasons for child leaving earlier placements.

Plans for the child’s care

• Details of the assessment of the child’s needs, with information about the child’s wishes and feelings, with reasons the planned placement is suitable;
• Duration of placement (emergency/short-term/long-term/permanent). If it is not possible to assess the intended duration of placement – reasons for this and when this information will be available;
• Arrangements for contact;
• Details of who will be responsible for implementing plans for the child’s day to day care (the ‘placement plan’) including details of arrangements for delegating responsibilities to the child’s carer(s);
• Details of any plans to offer the child care leaving support (as an ‘eligible child’) during the anticipated duration of the placement;
• Contingency arrangements if the plan to support the child in the current placement does not succeed.

Services to support the child

• Details of plans to meet the child’s educational needs – information about the school the child is expected to attend; details of plans for supporting the child if a school has not been identified or whether a private educational placement is to be sought to meet the child’s needs;
• Information about plans to meet the child’s health needs, e.g. whether the child requires secondary health care (including mental health and other specialist health care), including how this will be sourced and commissioned privately if necessary.

Local authorities have a common interest in supporting high standards of corporate parenting for all children in care.

When approached for consultation about potential placements, area authorities should be able to offer a professional view about the benefits of a planned placement, the benefits of living in the neighbourhood where the placement is located and the potential for local services to respond appropriately to the needs of the child concerned.

Local authorities could also advise about other sources of information to assist social workers and commissioners in determining whether a distant out of authority placement is the most appropriate for the child concerned (e.g. the Virtual School Head or the Designated Nurse for looked-after children).

This protocol was developed by the Welsh Government in conjunction with the children’s residential care sector in Wales.

Where a child who is looked-after is placed at distance the responsible authority has a statutory duty to notify the local authority and the health care provider, in the area in which the child is to be placed, of the arrangements for placement prior to placement and no later than 10 days thereafter.

Similarly, where a child is provided with accommodation by any Local Health Board, Special Health Authority, Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS Trust or by a local authority in exercise of education functions for three months or more or with the intention of the placement lasting for this time the Accommodating Authority has a duty to notify the appropriate officer of the responsible authority.

Where a child is provided with accommodation in any care home or independent hospital for three months or more or with the intention of the placement lasting for this time the residential setting has a statutory duty to notify the lead Director of Social Services in the area in which the establishment is situated.

Notification should be sent to the Director of Social Services in the local authority in which the home is situated.

Click here to access the Out of Area Notification Protocol Form for use by children’s homes in Wales*.

*This information has been reproduced from the Department for Education publication: The Children Act 1989 guidance and regulations - Volume 2: care planning, placement and case review, June 2015.