Family Time with Parents/Adults and Siblings

1. Approving and Planning Family Time

The responsible authority has a duty to promote the relationships between the child and parents, siblings, anyone with Parental Responsibility who is not a parent, any relative, friend or other person connected with the child unless it is not reasonably practicable or consistent with the child's welfare.

There should be continued family time between the child and their family while the child is in care, unless it is not reasonably practicable or consistent with the child's welfare. Where it is not reasonably practicable or consistent with the child's welfare, the reasons must be set out clearly in the child's plans and reviewed regularly.

The purpose of the family time and how it will be evaluated must be made clear in the child's Plan. Family time arrangements should focus on, and be shaped around, the child's needs. The child's welfare is the paramount consideration at all times and each child's wishes and needs for family time should be individually considered and regularly assessed and reviewed. The wishes and feelings of the child should be established, wherever possible, using advocacy and communication services if necessary. For many children, relationships with family members, previous carers and foster parents, siblings, friends and others are valued. Family time can be very important in helping children develop their sense of identity and understanding in their lives.

Maintaining family time with siblings from both the same or different parents is reported by children to be one of their highest priorities and should be pursued wherever possible (The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations - Volume 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review). However, it is not always possible or appropriate to place sibling groups together. Where siblings cannot be placed together it requires the active involvement of all parties to facilitate family time between them. The Together and Apart Toolkit can be accessed here for further guidance.

The assessment, and any additional discussions with the child, will identify those people for whom it is important to maintain relationships with. This may include those where contact has been lost and consideration should be given as to how this relationship could be re-established.

So far as is reasonably practicable, the wishes and feelings of the parents and the child's carers must be considered before a decision about family time arrangements is made.

Recommendations made in any assessment of family time should be consistent with the child's Care Plan; which, itself, must take account of any Child Protection Plan or Child Arrangements Order that may be in force.

There is a presumption that continued family time between the child and their family while the child is in care will continue, unless it is not reasonably practicable or consistent with the child's welfare.

Direct and indirect family time arrangements should always be clearly detailed, setting out how family time will take place, the venue, the frequency and how the arrangements will be reviewed. The use of mobile communication should also be considered.

Family time between children and their parents, siblings or relevant others may only be permitted if previously agreed by the social worker and should be set out in the child's Placement Plan.

Independent Reviewing Officers (IRO) should ensure that Child in Care Reviews consider whether family time arrangements, including sibling family time in Care Plans, has been implemented and that the child is happy with the arrangements – both its frequency and its quality. The IRO should inform the child that they can access Advocacy Services if they have a complaint.

Where family time is extended as part of a plan to gradually return the child to the parents' care, the Placements with Parents Policy should be followed.

For foster carers providing short breaks, the foster carer must maintain family time as agreed in the Short Break Plan.

2. Different Types of Family Time

Face to face meetings and visits will generally be the best way of maintaining relationships, but other means such as letters, mobile communication, skype, text and photograph exchanges etc. should be borne in mind. It may be that a variety of methods are used for children to keep in contact depending on the nature of the relationship between the child and their relative, siblings, friend etc or other factors such as the location or capacity to manage the options available. It may be useful to encourage young people to share details of how they communicate with others (this may include mobile phones or other social networking sites and apps and consoles such as Xbox or Play Station) and an agreement reached between the young person, social worker and foster carer about how safely to do this.

Social workers and carers should work together to explore how electronic media, including social media, can support positive relationships for children. Children should be supported to ensure they are safe online by following the regional guidance: E-Safety: Children Exposed to Abuse through the Digital Media rather than this method being avoided.

3. Supervised Family Time

The need to supervise family time should be considered as part of the assessment and planning process by the social worker and his/her 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 Family Time Service Worker's Handbook clarifies their role and code of conduct and also contains guidance on how to conduct a quality Family Time and contribute to a child's Life Story Book.

Every family time supervisor should have an appropriate DBS check.

The primary focus for the assessment of supervised family time should be the safety and welfare of the child. The list of family time forms and when to use them can be found in Family Time Practice Guidance.

Where supervised family time is deemed necessary, the reasons should be clearly recorded and the role of the supervisor or supervisors clearly defined. Where possible, those supervising family time should be known to the child and the family before the supervised family time takes place.

The Supervised Family Time Service is unable to provide a service on Bank holidays.

Family time can be organised for children and parents on birthdays and special occasions through negotiations with the Social Worker and family time supervisor, if directed by the court.

A written risk assessment must be completed by the social worker before supervised family time begins.

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 co-operate 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
7. The travel needs of the child e.g. travel sickness;
8. The parent's learning, mental health or physical health needs;
9. Any language difficulties or barriers.

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 signed written agreement between Birmingham Children's Trust, the parents and other relevant parties having supervised family time, 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 the following:

• Who will be allowed to attend for supervised family time;
• Where the family time must take place and whether any flexibility is allowed for activity or movements within or away from the agreed location;
• Whether the person(s) having family time are permitted to give the child food, drinks, gifts or money during the family time;
• The circumstances in which family time will be terminated;
• Who can be contacted in the event of problems emerging and what details they will need to share;
• When and how visits are ended. i.e. 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;
• Key dates in the care planning or care proceedings timetable such as significant changes to Care Plans, court proceedings and/or decisions made about the frequency of future contact. These are all likely to be potential tension points so extra vigilance should apply for any family time sessions 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.

The supervisor's observations of the family time must be clearly recorded in the child's record and shared with the parents.

The supervisor must immediately report to the social worker any concerns about the child or parents' conduct during the family time session. Any significant reactions that the child has to family time should also be reported to the child's social worker and those caring for the child such as foster carers and residential staff by those observing the family time. The social worker in consultation with his/her Manager should consider the need to review the risk assessment and/or the Family Time arrangements in light of the concerns expressed.

See Section 5, Review of Family Time Arrangements.

4. Family Time Venues

Family Time should take place in an appropriate building, where a risk assessment has been completed by the Social worker or family time Provider.

When booking the venue, care should be taken to ensure that it is in a location that is convenient for all parties.

Where the family time has been agreed to take place in the community or activity base the social worker should ensure the risk assessment is provided and updated.

Venues should all be maintained to a minimum set standard to ensure that a quality family time can be supported. Click here for guidance on maintaining family time venue standards.

5. Review of Family Time Arrangements

The social worker and his/her Manager should keep family time arrangements, including the continuing need for supervision, under regular review. Information gained from the child and those he/she has family time with, their carers, family time supervisors and their reports should all help to inform the ongoing suitability of the arrangements.

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.

The family time arrangements should also be reviewed in any Placement Planning Meeting and at the Child in Care Review.

Feedback will be sought from service users about the quality of family time and if there are any suggestions or feedback for improvements. The Social workers will obtain this feedback before any Child in Care Review meeting takes place.

Social workers will also seek feedback from the child(ren), parents and anyone else involved in the family time by recording this information on the Family Time Service Feedback Form on the back page of the Supervised Family Time Session Monitoring Sheet. This will be uploaded alongside the Family Time report onto the child's electronic record and shared with the social worker in order to improve the service.

Any proposed changes to family time should be discussed with all relevant parties and plans updated accordingly once decisions are reached. Where a Child Arrangements Order is in force and it is considered that the contact 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.

6. Cancellation, Suspension or Termination of Family Time

Family Time should take place in accordance with the child's Placement Plan, Court Order and any Court Directions and 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, family time staff or the carer should consult the child's social worker in advance if they consider there is a good reason to cancel the family time.

Note: Withdrawing family time as a sanction imposed on the child is not considered an appropriate reason for cancellation. The child's social worker will make the decision on whether the reasons set out are valid enough to cancel the planned session.

If family time is cancelled, the social worker or, if the social worker is not available, the staff/carer must ensure that the child and, as far as practicable, the parent and/or relevant adult(s) are informed in advance and that the reason for the decision explained. The social worker or staff/carer should arrange an alternative family time session as soon as is practicable.

If family time does not take place and consultation has not been possible with the social worker, the staff/carer must inform the child's social worker as soon as possible and confirm in writing the decision to cancel and the reason.

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.

6.1 Where Family Time is Provided by a Contracted Service Provider

If family time has been cancelled by a contracted service provider immediate steps should be taken to accommodate the Family Time from within the service. If this is not possible, the social worker should ensure that the child and parent, or relevant adult, is informed straight away and the reason explained to them.

The social worker or staff/carer should arrange an alternative family time session as soon as possible with the same service provider.

Service providers are bound by agreed terms and conditions which are contained in the Family Time Service Worker's Handbook and are required to ensure that adequate advance notice is conveyed to the Family Time team for all cancellations. Where there are concerns around contractual non-compliance or the quality of family time provided this should be brought to the attention of the Team Manager who is responsible for raising this directly with procurement services so that any concerns can be resolved.

6.2 Suspending or Terminating Family Time

Any proposal to suspend or terminate family time should be considered as part of the Child in Care Review. Any such proposal should be made in the context of the overall aims and objectives of the Care Plan.

The Social worker will be contacted by the family time service provider should the parents/relatives not engage with the agreed family time arrangements. If family time is not in the best interests of the child(ren) the arrangements should be reviewed.

Where it is not possible to hold a Child in Care Review because of the urgency of the situation, the social worker must be consulted and the reasons for the proposal must be explained to the parents and to the child, and their agreement obtained if possible. The social worker should seek legal advice where family time has been suspended.

Where the proposal is to suspend family time, the length and purpose of the suspension, together with the basis on which family time will be reinstated, must be made clear.

The proposal is to suspend the family time, the length and purpose of the suspension, together with the basis on which family time will be reinstated, must be made clear. If there is a plan to suspend family time for more than 7 days, where the child is the subject of an Emergency Protection Order, Interim Care Order or full Care Order, an application to the Court for authority to terminate the family time will always be necessary. As soon as such a decision is made, Legal Services should be contacted as a matter of urgency so that the necessary court action can be initiated. Written confirmation of the decision made and, where relevant, the intended court application, together with the reasons, must be sent to the parents/relevant parties, child (depending on age) and any other relevant person (for example the child's advocate, an Independent Visitor or Children's Guardian). Staff/carers and other agencies involved with the child's care must also be informed.