Key Carer Guidance

Being there each morning (or making sure someone is doing it for you); checking that the bedroom is tidy, that there are clean and properly ironed clothes to wear, that they have had a wash, brushed their hair and are fully equipped, as required, for the day ahead.

Talking to the child to make sure that they understand what is planned for the day; issues to concentrate on, how best to deal with potential problems etc.

If there are meetings or Court appearances planned, talk through how these will go, possible issues etc. Raise any risks or concerns with your Line Manager or supervisor.

Being there during the day by taking a regular interest in the child's health needs, including - dentist, doctors, and opticians. These need booking and ensuring that regular check-ups occur.

Make sure the child has adequate clothing - bought, cleaned, dried and ironed. Ensure that your child is clean and presentable. It shows that we care and helps improve their self-esteem.

Bedrooms should be kept clean, personalised (the child should have an input into the personalisation of their room), in good state of repair and well equipped, there should be adequate facility for personal belongings and clothes to be stored away and kept safe.

Bathroom - should be clean and in good repair, toiletries provided/replaced and child should be taught and encouraged to maintain a good standard of personal hygiene.

Safety - Children often give the impression that they are 'cool', that they are not bothered or that they can cope, but the reverse is usually the case. Children can feel vulnerable and frightened. Some are bullied or abused or live in fear of it. Most fear for the future. Your job is to understand and 'be there' for them. Don't wait to be told by your key child that they are afraid; you need to ensure that you are aware that it is the case and do all you can to make them feel safe and supported.

Know your key child, their file, background and family details; know their interests and hobbies; encourage them to take part, join clubs etc. what makes them happy, sad and angry?; what frightens or worries them? Then try to ease or reduce their concerns by offering advice, guidance or direction. If necessary get help but don't leave the child alone.

Plan at least one individual session with your Key child each week (see Section 4, Planning and Recording a Key Carer Session) use this as an opportunity for you to talk about how they are doing, issues to address, possible ways to behave differently, planning for the short and medium term etc.

Being there at night:

Bed or night times are potentially the worst time for all children, not just Children in Care. Bedtime can be the time where children will reflect and show anxiety about what has happened that day or in the past, or when children will show anxiety about what lies ahead in the morning or in plans for the future. You must spend time with your key child helping them to identify and come to terms with their feelings and emotions. You must do what you can to ease or reduce fears or worries by talking to the child - in a positive and supportive way and also by alerting colleagues to the child’s feelings, identifying how this might affect the child's behaviour and give advice about how to deal with potential problems.

When settling down for bed it is also useful for doing practical things like making sure they have clean clothes for the next day, toiletries and a clean towel, that they know what is happening on the next day and any plans that have been put in place for the short term.

Being there day-to-day:

Plan for the future by remembering birthdays and anniversaries and making them special for the child.

Help the child to maintain positive links with their family, significant people in their lives and friends by planning ahead for important dates that may have a relevance to the child such as birthdays, anniversaries and other significant events in their lives.

Keep all the other staff informed and up to speed about what is happening in the child's life.

Advocate on your child's behalf.

Get to know the Independent Reviewing Officer who is allocated to the child.

Keep your key child informed about what changes are happening in their lives, here at the home, in education, in their overall plan, with the social worker and at home with their family.

You are responsible for the child even when you aren't there! If issues need to be dealt with when you are off duty make sure you inform the Home's Manager or colleagues. If you are likely to be away on leave plan ahead; don't leave the child alone wondering what is going to happen in your absence.

The Key Carer must actively promote the health care of each child and enable the child to learn about healthy living.

In doing so they should liaise with key health professionals, including the Clinical Nurse specialist, the child's GP and dental practitioner.

The Key Carer should ensure that the physical, emotional and health needs of the child are identified and appropriate action is taken to ensure the medical, dental and other health services needed to meet them are in place.

Children should be provided with guidance, advice and support on health and personal care issues appropriate to their age, needs and wishes, e.g. see:

• Sexual Health and Relationships Procedure.

The Key Carer must ensure that relevant health care procedures in this manual are adhered to, in particular, that the child is registered with a GP and has access to a Dentist; and that the child has an up to date Health Care Plan. See the following procedures:

• Health Care Assessments and Plans Procedure;
• Health and Wellbeing, Health Notifications and Access to Services Procedure.

The Key Carer must be responsible for promoting the educational achievement of the child and liaising with key professionals See the following chapter:

• Education Procedure.

This may include ensuring that the child is:

• Provided with facilities conducive to study and to homework and actively encouraged and supported in doing so;
• Given help with homework if they wish;
• Provided with reading support where needed;
• Encouraged to participate in extra-curricular activities;
• Encouraged to discuss any problems they may have at school in privacy;
• Encourage attendance.

This may include attending parent's evenings and other school events with or without the child. The Key Carer should ensure that they are receiving all the necessary information and literature regarding events that effect the child’s education. These duties should be carried out with the purpose of strengthening home/school links and improving the child’s educational outcomes in the absence of the child's parents.

Key Carers need to keep themselves and their key child in touch with interested parties outside the home.

Family contact - Are there restrictions on contact who they call or the frequency of calls? Is the child calling or writing to their family? Build a relationship with the family where appropriate.

Home visits - Are there restrictions? Should they be planned/accompanied?

Social Workers - keep them regularly (weekly) informed of good news as well as bad and build up a working relationship. Ensure social workers visit frequently (see Social Worker Visits Procedure).

Education - even when this is in the home it should be seen as an external relationship needing your attention. They need to be informed and aware of issues and you should be equally aware of how the child is getting on at school (also see Section 3.3, Educational Achievement).

Specialist/expert support and guidance: If the key child needs additional support or guidance from specialists or experts (e.g. on drug misuse, budgeting, sexual health), talk to your supervisor/manager or the social worker about how it can be obtained. When support has been identified the Key Carer needs to ensure that arrangements are made for the support to be introduced to the child and for the relevant support to be sustained and monitored. It is the Key Carer’s role where necessary to ensure a review takes place and to ensure any changes to the child’s care are agreed with relevant others and to make the necessary amendments to the child’s records.

The Key Carer must ensure the child understands how the complaints procedures work, that they have a copy of the authority's complaints procedure and are confident enough to use the procedures if necessary.

Also it is the Key Carer's responsibility to ensure the key child has an up to date copy of the Children's Guide and other information produced by the home for children; ensure the child is fully conversant with the Fire Precautions and is aware of fire exits. If there are particular requirements/needs emanating from the key child's Care Plan, Health Care record or Placement Plan (e.g.: information on drug misuse, budgeting, sexual health), make sure this is obtained and provided - in a form which is accessible and understandable to the child.

Ensure that records and the children's files are current and well organised. Although many other people will have input to the paperwork overall responsibility lies with the Key Carer.

Make sure the child's Individual Placement Care Plan is kept up to date and relevant to the child's interests and needs; make sure the child has a copy.

The Key Carer must ensure that the child's file is kept up to date, in particular, that relevant/up to date copies of the following records are contained in it:

• Care Plan and Pathway Plan;
• The home's Individual Placement Care Plan;
• Chronology;
• Health Care Assessment/Health Care Plan;
• Education, Health and Care Plan*, Personal Education Plan and SEN Support Plan;
• Risk Assessment Safe Care Plan;
• Any specialist health care or educational reports or plans.

_{*These records do not apply to all children.}

The role of the Key Carer is to support a young person in their daily routine and prepare them to lead an independent life as you would in any homely environment. The Key Carer should promote positive attitudes and, above all, nurture that young person in all aspects of their life during their stay at the home. A Key Carer approach has to be non-judgemental towards the young person's situation. As a Key Carer it is necessary for you to build and maintain a positive relationship with young people based on mutual trust and respect. You are, above all, their voice and should be willing to advocate on their behalf.

Key Carers are part of a key team and are responsible for co-ordinating the care of their young person during their stay in the home. Key Carers work under the principle that all young people in our care should be loved, nurtured, happy, healthy, and safe and encouraged to develop to their full potential.

As main and co-Key Carers, as well as being members of a key team it is important that you have a vast knowledge of all the young people in your home, this is something that is expected of the whole staff team. As main Key Carers it falls to you to understand the history of your young person and share this information within the team and be the drive in ensuring their needs are met, this may include challenging local authority and partner agencies (see Regulation 5 – Engaging with the Wider System to Ensure Each Child’s Needs are Met) when this deems to be in the best interest of young people. We are corporate parents and as such you will be expected to act as a parent would when fighting for the rights to meet a child’s needs. Both main and co-Key Carers have the responsibility to “step into each other’s shoes” when either is absent from the home and ensure duties are carried out.

A Key Carer should have a good understanding of the home’s Statement of Purpose, Young Person's Booklet and all DCC policies and procedures relevant to the work we do with the young people, with the aim to provide the best outcome to individual young people. Important references / reading material include:

• Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the Quality Standards April 2015: The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015;
• Working Together to Safeguard Children;
• Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures;
• Derby and Derbyshire Runaway and Missing from Home and Care (RMFHC) Protocol.

All of these can be accessed via the icon in your desktop.

A Key Carer is required to work as a member of a multi-agency team in partnership with all the other professionals involved in the care of their young person. These might be the young person’s social worker, the parents, health and education professionals, CAMHS or Horizon workers, youth offending workers, Police, managers, residential team workers etc. These responsibilities are set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children, which includes attending the young person’s planning meetings, reviews and any Child Protection Conferences as well as encouraging their attendance and participation in their future plans and any decisions made about them. It also includes, supporting and acting as an Advocate for them when needed, in line with The Children Act (1989) and Regulation 5 – Engaging with the Wider System to Ensure Each Child’s Needs are Met.

When it is not possible for the Key Carer to attend these meetings due to annual leave or other reasons, it is expected that they will nominate a backup key team member to attend in their absence, it is imperative that the Key Carer or member of the key team are available to attend any meeting concerning the young person and these meetings should be booked around the Key Carer and when necessary the young person’s availability.

It is also expected that the Key Carer or member of key team liaise regularly with the social worker, schools and the residential team to update them on the young person's progress.

The principle of working together is that a home working alone will never be able to meet each child’s needs.

The Key Carer is responsible for writing a report for their young person’s statutory review; they should seek the young person's views on the report prior to their review meeting. Review reports (which need to be written in a child friendly manner e.g. creative and made interesting) are to be made available 5 working days prior to the review to ensure the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) has sufficient time to read the report before the review. This in turn will make the review more enjoyable to the young person as it will reduce reading time during reviews. The latest copy of statutory review with an action plan has to be in the young person’s file.

The Key Carer also needs to ensure they support the young person to complete a consultation booklet prior to their review. This will enable them to record their feelings around the service they have received since their admission to the home or since their last review. The Key Carer should also fill out a consultation booklet on behalf of the home. Young people should be given the option of inviting their advocate.

Key and co-Key Carers are responsible for completing a minimum of 4 key sessions with their young person on a monthly basis. These sessions are to provide regular communication between Key Carer and young person on a weekly basis. Issues for discussion might be daily and weekly plans, incentives, care plans, countering bullying, education, employment etc. These sessions should be recorded and copies kept in the young person’s file and a copy uploaded on Mosaic with an alert to relevant agencies working with that young person if necessary.

It is important that Key Carers see their young person on a weekly basis in a Key Carer session, to see how they are getting on and offer support and to address any issues that they have and that you may have as well as celebrating progress.

A week can be a long time in a teenager life and there might be things they need to discuss. Key sessions do not always need to be done in house and can be undertaken in the community, in a car while going out with the Key Carer. Any member of staff can undertake a Key Carer session with any young person; it does not need to be the Key or co-Key Carer.

The Key Carer may not be the person the young person can talk to about everything, and there may be personal issues that they may want to talk to another member of staff of their choice. The Key Carer should not see this as a failure on their part and it is good practice to acknowledge the young person’s wishes and choices. It is also good to note that at home young people have a preference to whom they talk with and what they talk about, it is a natural behaviour of teenagers.

Key Carers are responsible for writing a monthly summary on their young person and this should be with the managers by the end of each month (or as your home requires). A copy should also be kept in the young person’s file. The young person should read and sign their monthly summary before this is placed in the file or sent to managers. Monthly summaries are beneficial to the Key Carer to track a young person’s progress. Then when they come to write their young person’s review report, it is much easier to gain the information needed, which saves time going through files, diaries and logs.

It is imperative that Key Carers allocate time to complete monthly summaries, specifically if a Key Carer is away. In this case it is expected that the Key Carer will either complete the summaries earlier or nominate another team member to complete this. The monthly summaries should generate the key sessions for the following month and a specific session to discuss the current summary progress and any other issues raised from it. Key Carers are to nominate which key session each team member will complete.

A Key Carer is responsible for providing an Individual Placement Care Plan for their young person. This is to be written in partnership with the young person. Working in partnership with young people helps to build and strengthen the relationship as well as making young people feel valued and listened to. It is important that when writing a young person’s IPCP, that Key Carers use as guidance the legal Care Plan provided by the social worker and try to involve the social worker in the process. Individual Placement Care Plans are to be kept in the young person’s main office file and a copy to be uploaded to Mosaic once all signatures are in place. IPCPs are to be reviewed on a monthly basis however, there may be no need for any update but it should be reviewed and recorded by a Key Carer. It is good practice to discuss the IPCP within staff team meetings. Discussions should be led by each individual Key Carer to inform the team where each individual young person is at and to encourage good communication and partnership working. It is imperative that all Individual Placement Care Plans have an Equality and Diversity Plan (which contains the child’s background information, including their own culture / heritage). Initially this will sit alongside the IPCP, but should eventually be integrated into the IPCP so that it is seamless. The Equality and Diversity Plan should be used as a prompt for carers to think about the young person’s diversity on admission to the home and integrated into the IPCP.

It is important that the key team are aware of family and friend’s birthdays and help and encourage young people to send birthday/festivities cards. It is expected that a Key Carer will organise the young person’s birthday parties, Christmas etc.

It is the responsibility of the Key Carer to ensure that a Safe Care Plan is written when the young person first comes into the care of the home.

It is good practice to start to undertake the first Safe Care Plan alongside the social worker prior to admission. This should include any risks the child may present to themselves or others. The matching process also considers other young people in the placement; comparisons must be made to consider the impact on the young person and to the current group dynamics. Information via Mosaic should be kept under review until you know the young person well and are able to identify the risks or any further risks. The Key Carer is to ensure these are shared with social worker and other professionals involved. The Safe Care Plan should be updated as and when required and must be reviewed at least monthly.

The Safe Care Plan is kept in the young person’s file. It is important to record risks to the young person, staff and other young people in the home and others in the community. These might be risks of violent behaviour, criminal exploitation, sexual exploitation, gang or drug related activity, inappropriate contacts and any other issues that present as a risk (see Derby and Derbyshire CRE Risk Assessment Toolkit in the Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures, Documents Library). Risks are evaluated on a scale of Low, Medium or High. The assessment should also include an agreement on when and under what circumstances the young person should be reported as missing, should they fail to return to the home as per the Runaway and Missing from Home and Care Protocol (see the Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures, Documents Library). Key Carers have the responsibility to ensure that an Advocate visits their key young person in the event of a missing episode and that there is evidence attached to the Incident form as part of the file audit.

Key Carers should review/update their young people's Safe Care Plans on a monthly basis and when new incidents have taken place or there have been changes in the young person’s behaviour. The Safe Care Plan should be shared with the social worker and once it’s all signed then placed on file and uploaded to Mosaic.

Key Carers have a responsibility to make up a file on their young person when they are admitted to the home, also to keep the file in good working order, including keeping it up to date. The file must include all of the necessary information and have a medical consent form. In some cases the young person may already have a file if they have been in the care of the local authority previously. It is good practice to make sure this is in good order and kept up to date. Any paper files must be kept in a locked filing cabinet within the main office for reasons of confidentiality (Data Protection Act 2018). Key Carers are required to complete weekly audits of their key young person’s file. They are responsible for managing their own time audit their key team files, the files are to be signed and state what updates have been done.

Please see file on H-drive for relevant forms and file index.

There is no reason why a male member of staff cannot be a Key Carer to a female young person, if the young person is happy with this. However we need to consider the background history of that young person.

Female young people with male Key Carers should be given the opportunity to speak to a female member of staff about more personal issues, as should male young people be given the opportunity to talk to male members of staff about more personal issues.

It is expected for Key Carers to have an awareness of their young person’s clothing allowance. If the young person needs new clothing then the Key Carer should order through the Registered Manager, 2 weeks’ notice should be given, unless in cases of emergency. Please be sensible as clothes allowances are spent on a needs basis and young people need to learn to shop realistically as part of learning life skills.

It is good practice for a Key Carer to keep a record of their young person’s clothing allowance, calculated on a weekly basis, to keep a check on their entitlement. However clothing allowance should only be spent when the young person needs clothing and not as a matter of “the money is there so it must be spent”. Key Carers need to be realistic and not to set up young people and their parents with unrealistic expectations of clothing costs.

Key Carers should also check that when clothing has been bought for their young person that it has been recorded properly and itemised on the clothing record sheet kept in the young person’s file. This is in the finance part of the file and is audited by DCC on a regular basis.

All young people are entitled to an education (for more information, please see Promoting the Education of Looked After and Previously Looked After Children, Department for Education).

The home’s ethos is to promote and support the education of our young people throughout the time they live with us. This includes supporting the young people by ensuring they are sent to school on time and with the necessary equipment. Key Carers should be actively planning for their young person’s education.

It is expected that Key Carers will liaise with their young person’s school, college, work placement, apprenticeship and Virtual school on a regular basis at least weekly. This should include attending parent’s evenings when possible and any other school meetings. If this is not possible, it is the Key Carer’s responsibility to ensure they nominate another team member to attend.

It is also good practice to regularly contact school/college/work placement to enquire how things are going and if there are any problems, again at least weekly. The young person should be consulted as to why this is being done and the outcome of the liaison recorded. Good communication is emphasised in Working Together to Safeguard Children and Regulation 5 – Engaging with the Wider System to Ensure Each Child’s Needs are Met.

Key Carers should also ensure that their young person has school transport if needed and should liaise with their social worker or education transport section to arrange this.

A Key Carer should work in partnership with Virtual school, if their young person is experiencing difficulties in school, or if they have been excluded from school and are in need of a school placement. They should also work in partnership with the Virtual school worker attached to the home, to obtain further support for the young person as and when necessary.

It is the Key Carer’s responsibility to ensure young people’s PEP meetings are attended, current and recorded minutes on file.

Key Carers are responsible for promoting their young person’s visits with family and friends (when appropriate) and being involved in planning their contact arrangements. This should be arranged during the initial planning meeting and clearly communicated with the staff team. A child’s right to contact is part of The Children Act (1989 section 34). See also The Positive Relationships Standard - Regulation 11.

The Key Carer is responsible for recording dates and times of visits in the Home's Diary so that staff and the young people know when the visits should take place.

A Key Carer session should take place when the young person returns from visits to ensure there has been no issues.

Key Carers are also responsible for making arrangements for transport in partnership with the young person’s social worker, their family and others.

Records should also be made in the young person’s daily logs and the staff communication book. Staff should have clear and factual records of the young person’s commitments for the day and their whereabouts. These arrangements should be incorporated into the young person’s Individual Placement Care Plan and their weekly plan.

It is staff responsibility to read the communication book and diary as part of their handover period so not to miss any information.

Children should live in a healthy environment and their health needs should be identified as early as possible. Outside services should be sought if necessary. The ethos of our home is to encourage and promote young people to look after their own health.

The Key Carer is responsible for monitoring their young person’s health on a daily basis, which includes, checking that dates of GP visits, hospital visits, height and weight and any medication given has been recorded in the appropriate form and book, in line with the First Aid, Household Remedies and Medication Procedure.

A copy of an up to date health assessment should be on file including an action plan based on the outcomes.

The Key Carer is also responsible for making appointments for GP’s, dental and eye checks when needed, and for recording them in the Home's Diary. Staff need to ensure that the outcome is recorded in the young person’s file and logs. However, it is far more practical for the person taking the young person to appointment to make the entry into their file as this promotes good team work. It is also expected that clear information of medical appointments are recorded in the communication book and entered in the medical folder sheet if it applies.

Key Carers are also responsible for registering their young person with a local GP, Dentist and Optician on their admission to the home.

Any changes in the young person’s health should be recorded in the young person’s IPCP and if necessary in the Safe Care Plan.

Where there are concerns for a young person’s mental health, a Key Carer should seek advice from CAMHS and/or the Horizons Clinical Psychologist attached to the home, in discussion with social worker and request for a referral to be completed. It is expected that the key team have regular consultation with our Horizons allocated worker about their key young person.

It is good practice when a young person is receiving help from CAMHS or Horizons to ask the worker to attend the young person’s reviews and planning meetings as part of multi-agency working in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children and Regulation 5 – Engaging with the Wider System to Ensure Each Child’s Needs are Met.

However, the young person has to give permission for this to happen.

Key Carers should monitor their young people’s progress while they remain in the care of the home. This includes reading their young person’s and other young people’s logs on a regular basis, by doing this Key Carers will pick up if there have been any problems or concerns. Logs should be clear, factual and written for the child not about the child.

Jargon is forbidden in all our young people’s logs and written in a way that a young person can understand.

A Key Carer is responsible for their young person’s cultural needs while they are living in our home. A child’s cultural and religious needs should be incorporated into their IPCP and part of the equality and diversity plan.

Religious and Cultural needs might include the following:

• Promoting and providing different dietary needs;
• Arranging access to different places of worship;
• Obtaining equipment that might be needed for prayer;
• Helping a young person to obtain hair and skin care;
• Providing the necessary cultural clothing that might be needed.

Interpreters can be accessed through the National Interpreting Service on 0800 169 5996. An interpreter might be needed if the young person has difficulties communicating due to language barriers.

Children should receive care, which helps to prepare them for and support them into adulthood (This plan should begin on admission re preparing for independence and life skills). The Key Carer should work in partnership with the social worker, the leaving care team, the young person and where possible their parents to devise a Pathway Plan for the young person. (This plan should be in place when the young person reaches 15.5 years old.)

The Key Carer should start to use our life skill programme and independent living section of the young person’s file for their young person as soon as they move into the home. This will be part of developing their skills as we would with our own child at home using basic skills. The emphasis will be “to do” with the young person rather than doing it for them.

This must also include:

• Planning how the young person might be able to live independently in the home, in preparation for independent living in the community;
• Cooking for themselves with housekeepers or member of staff, at a time when it does not interfere with the cooks own duties;
• Budgeting skills;
• Teaching them to shop independently;
• Encouraging them to keep their own room clean;
• Laundering clothes/ironing;
• Personal Hygiene;
• Health and wellbeing.

The young person will have a Leaving Care Worker who will assist them in planning for their future and who will keep in contact with them when they leave the home and go into independence in the community. The Key Carer should know and understand their role and responsibility within the Pathway/leaving care plan.

It is good practice for Key Carers to devise a weekly plan for their young person on a weekly basis. Doing this and keeping a copy in front of the young person’s file helps staff to remember the times when they should get up, times of school transport or other forms of education, contact times and times when young person should return to the home. This informs staff of the whereabouts of the young people, which is part of safeguarding but also to teach them to plan their week which is a good skill to have once they leave us.

Having a weekly plan is part of safeguarding young people’s whereabouts, which is in line with the Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures.

Key Carers are responsible to go through the Home's Children and Young Persons Guide with their key young person and ensure they have a good understanding of the homes ethos and boundaries etc.

It is also the Key Carer’s responsibility when a young person is admitted to the home to talk to the young person about how the pocket money and clothing money works.

They should look at an area of the young person’s behaviour that needs to be improved upon in partnership with the young person. This is for the young person’s personal improvement. Examples might be:

• Going to bed on time;
• Bathing and washing;
• Coming in on time;
• Helping to stop swearing etc.

Using a restorative and social pedagogical approach does support changing behaviour.

Young people should be able to access their particular interests, develop confidence in their skills and be supported and encouraged to take part in leisure activities. Key Carers and young people should have a Derbyshire County Council Pass to enable them to use the local leisure centre.

The Key Carer is responsible for talking to the young person about their interests and hobbies. Once established, to follow this up in discussion re available finances with the Home's Manager and social workers to facilitate opportunities for their young person to have sufficient activities of the young person’s choice. Leisure activities also help young people with their social skills, improve self-esteem. This can also alleviate boredom, which can sometime result in aggressive and dangerous behaviour. This behaviour can be prevented by planning activities within the home as well as taking a young person out on paid activities. Home activities help to build, strengthen and maintain positive relationship.