9.3.1 Consultation (Participation and Involvement) |
Contents
1. Context
The Children Act 1989 and the National Minimum Standards for Children's Homes, 2011 stress the importance and indeed the imperative to consult with and involve, children and young people and, where appropriate, their families about the decisions that affect their lives.
2. Scope
Both pieces of legislation also stress the importance of supporting, helping and encouraging the participation and involvement of children and young people, not only at the individual level but also at the group level about how the home is run.
The National Minimum Standards set out the need to ascertain the views of parents and families, where appropriate, with respect to the following areas:
- Children and young people’s care at the Home
- The adequacy of the staff looking after children & young people
- The adequacy of space and furnishings in young person’s bedrooms
- The privacy of washing facilities and sense of personal space
- The facilities for contacting significant people in a young person’s life
3. Procedure
| 1.0 | Children and young people and, where appropriate, their families should be consulted and involved in the decisions that affects their lives. Consultation and decision-making processes should be recorded within the young person’s Daily Living File and this may be in the Placement Plan and/or the SS4 recordings. |
| 1.1 | There needs to be a variety of ways or systems in which consultation, participation and involvement can take place. These will include written agreements, individual interviews, key worker sessions; young people meetings or house/ group meetings. |
| 1.2 | The ways in which young people are helped to participate should take account of their background. Particular attention should be given to gender, ethnicity, religion, language and culture and the needs that may arise from these dimensions within a young person’s life. |
| 1.3 | All consultation, participation and involvement systems and processes need to take place at regular and frequent intervals and it should not be taken for granted that young people’s views are known already or indeed, that they are not important, or relevant. For instance, staff need to use the systems, as set out in 1.1 above, these include young people ‘s group meetings and one to one sessions. Further, staff need to ensure young people are aware and able to access an advocate through the Barnado’s Advocacy Scheme. |
| 1.4 | Routine practices should not develop in the home, which result in the assumption that young people no longer need to be consulted or involved. |
| 1.5 | If and when any changes and developments are being planned young people must be consulted about these. |
| 1.6 | All significant views, discussions and decisions should be recorded accurately and promptly within young people’s individual daily living files and/or minutes from young people’s group meetings. |
| 1.7 | There should be appropriate and regular systems in place for feeding back from consultation processes to young people and their families. These will include the young people’s group meeting, family meetings, individual meetings with young people and any particular consultation sessions set up for particular purposes (e.g.: service developments, interview panels for new staff). The person(s) providing feedback will vary according to content and context but this should be decided and agreed at the start of the consultation process. |
| 1.8 | When it is not appropriate to involve and consult with a young person’s family (for instance because this compromises the welfare of a young person) the reason for this should be explained to the young person and a record of this should be placed within the confidential section on the young person’s RAISE Documentation. The social worker for the young person should advise staff about exactly what information needs to be included and how this is recorded. All staff need to be made aware of such decisions. |
End