Delegated Authority Guidance

The child's Placement Plan should clearly show which areas of the child's health needs the carer has delegated authority to take decisions or give consent. The Placement Plan could be used by carers as evidence of their delegated authority if required.

Routine medicals: Carers should be able to agree to routine medicals and given delegated authority in this area. Whenever possible carers should also be given delegated authority to consent to immunisations. Parents may have concerns about particular immunisations and this should be explored with them at the beginning of the placement.

Non routine treatment: Children should never have to wait for pain relief or emergency treatment as a result of confusion about who has authority to give consent. Situations may arise where children will sustain an injury or require emergency treatment – for example, because they have appendicitis or a broken bone. The Placement Plan should include who can give consent to treatment in these scenarios so as to avoid, as far as possible, situations where it is necessary to contact the local authority's out-of-hours service or to cause an officer from the local authority to have to go to the hospital to sign a consent form.

It should be noted, however, that even where authority has not been delegated, carers can do what is reasonable in an emergency to keep the child safe.

Surgery and other invasive treatments: In some cases children may require invasive medical procedures. These may be planned, or unplanned but predictable – for example, if a child has a long standing medical condition that results in frequent unplanned surgery. In other cases, invasive intervention may be required in an emergency. Carers should not automatically be barred from consenting to such procedures. Delegated authority should be discussed at the outset of the placement and the Placement Plan should make clear what has been delegated.

Dental checks and treatment: Carers should be able to consent to routine examinations and treatment wherever possible. There are no consent forms for routine dental examinations and treatment. The documents signed by adults accompanying children to the dentist are the means by which the dentist claims fees and payments. Presenting the child is assumed consent for the procedures that follow.

Optician checks and treatment: Carers should be able to sign consent for routine eye and sight tests and the provision of glasses.

See also: Supporting the Education and Promoting the Achievement of Children with a Social Worker, Children in Care and Children Previously in Care Procedure.

Choice of school: The choice of an early years setting or school should be discussed and agreed by the holders of Parental Responsibility at the statutory review meeting. The child's social worker should have a discussion with the Virtual School for Looked After Children to ensure that their expertise and knowledge is available to the carers and those with Parental Responsibility in making this decision. The carers should then be able to accept the place and sign any relevant forms.

Changing or moving school: If the foster carer decides to move house or the carer wants the child to attend a different school, this will need to be agreed at a review meeting. The impact on the child should be a significant factor in this discussion and the views of the Virtual School should be sought. The carer should be able to complete the practical steps to implement the agreed actions. When this is being considered for a child or young person about to sit their SATS or a young person in Year 10 or above, agreement to any move must be given by the Designated Officer; for Walsall this is the Assistant Director.

Meeting with school staff: In a medium to long-term placement, the carer should usually be the person to meet school staff to discuss progress and share information that the school needs to know in order to help the child succeed. Between reviews, the carer should ensure that the social worker and, if appropriate, the parent is kept informed about the child's progress at school, particularly if there are any problems. This includes active participation in the child's Personal Education Plan (PEP).

Sex education: Children will receive education about sex and relationships at school, unless parents have decided to withdraw their children from such lessons. However, the arrangements in schools for how sex education is delivered in the curriculum may differ. A child's participation in the school's provision for sex and relationship education should be discussed at the Placement Planning meeting and parents wishes identified and recorded. If it is agreed beforehand that the child attends, the carer should be able to consent on any school documentation. There will also be occasions when issues around sex and relationships arise in the foster or residential home. Unless parents have expressed particular wishes about what they want their child to be told – and how – carers should respond as any reasonable parent would.

School trips: Risk assessments for school trips and outings are the responsibility of schools. Carers should be delegated the task of providing agreements and signatures for these from the outset of a placement, wherever possible. Where this is not delegated, the reason should be made clear.

Longer school trips / trips involving more hazardous activity: Longer school trips at home or abroad that require additional funding from the local authority, and trips which involve potentially hazardous activities, will require carers to consult with the child's social worker. There may also be implications for contact which will need to be resolved. Where consent is necessary from the local authority and/or the parents, it is important that this request is made as early as possible in order to avoid the child missing out on an opportunity. The LA should operate on the general presumption that unless the child is likely to be put at a particular risk of harm which cannot be mitigated, he or she should be allowed to go on the trip. Risk assessments are the responsibility of the school.

Time out of school: We recognise and value the importance of education as a protective factor for all children and children placed with carers are expected to achieve 100% attendance. Time out of school is not an area where authority will be delegated and permission for a child to be taken out of school during term time must always be sought from the Assistant Director for Specialist Services.

Holidays during term time: We recognise the importance of education as a protective factor for all children and children placed with carers are expected to achieve 100% attendance. Permission for holiday during term time is not an area where authority will be delegated and permission will not be given for children to take holiday during term time.

Overnight stays: The Government's intention is that carers should be able to make decisions about overnight stays as if the child was their own child, and act as a protective parent would. The authority delegated to the carer to make decisions on overnight stays should be set out in the Placement Plan, along with any restrictions on overnight stays that may be necessary in exceptional circumstances. Volume 2, chapter 3, of the Children Act 1989 Statutory Guidance covers this matter in the section Shared Responsibilities and Consents.

Visiting friends: As with overnight stays, the statutory guidance concerning visiting friends is clear: unless there is a reason for not delegating authority, the carer should be authorised to act as a good parent in decisions regarding visits to friends. Where this is not delegated, the reason should be made clear.

Personal allowance: Children should be given a personal allowance appropriate to their age and understanding, in line with the element within the care allowances and with what is said within the Placement Plan. Children should be encouraged and supported to save through opening a savings account with WalSave (Walsall Credit Union), a building society or a bank.

Haircuts: This is often not straightforward and can be a fraught area for carers, children and young people. It is sometimes the only area in which birth parents feel they can have their say and it is important that this does not become a battle ground which will impact on the child. It is important as hair care and style may have cultural or religious significance for families. Decisions about the timing of, and arrangements for, haircuts should be delegated to those with whom the child lives, wherever possible. However, the issues need to be fully explored with parents at the outset. Arrangements should be agreed at the Placement Planning meeting and recorded in the Placement Plan; arrangements should be revisited, as necessary, in reviews.

Holidays in the UK: Most holidays will require discussion with the parent and consultation with the local authority for funding and implications for contact arrangements. It is also necessary for the local authority and parents to know the whereabouts of children. Carers should ensure that the local authority is given adequate notice of the intention to take a child on holiday. Consent to take a child out of school during term time will not be delegated or agreed and the key team of professionals should ensure that all parties are aware of this at the first planning meeting.

Holidays abroad: The possibility of children accompanying their carers on a family holiday abroad should be discussed with parents 'in principle' when they become Looked After. The parents' views and concerns should be known at the outset. In all cases, there should be clarity at the outset about consents, passports and the possibility that arrangements can allow for short notice – so the carers can take advantage of a cheap holiday deal or a trip at short notice for personal reasons. Consents and passports are also relevant in the case of school trips abroad. Consent to take a child out of school during term time will not be delegated or agreed and the key team of professionals should ensure that all parties are aware of this at the first planning meeting.

Accessing educational and leisure activities: Looked-after children should have the same opportunities as any child to take full advantage of extra-curricular education initiatives. Carers should be delegated the task of providing agreements and signatures for these from the outset of a placement, wherever possible.

Sports activities/organisations: All children who go to school will participate in physical education – this does not require consent. Carers should be able to give consent to children participating in extra-curricular sports activities and activities, such as scouts or guides. Delegated authority to give such consents should be discussed at the start of the placement and the outcome recorded in the Placement Plan.

Photographs and other media activity: There should be no restrictions on carers taking family pictures of the child in their care, or the child and their friends. The carer does not need consent for this. It is important that children have a record and memories of their childhood and photographs can be a helpful way for children to make sense of their history. Decisions on whether the carer can consent to other types of photographs or media activity can be more problematic, however, as issues of confidentiality and safeguarding can often be present. The issue of the age and competency of a young person to make informed decisions also has to be factored into the considerations of 'who decides what'. It should be assumed that young people over 16 would be very much the 'lead' in these decisions.

School photographs: Carers should be enabled to give consent for formal school photographs. They should be encouraged to ensure children have school and group photographs taken as part of their life history.

Other types of photographs/wider media activity: Many children love to be able to take part in activities that may lead to publicity in the media. Others wish to engage in paid or voluntary activities which drive improvements in care and that may attract media attention. While this should be normally encouraged and celebrated, the issues of 'who consents', needs to be judged in relation to particular known risks to the safety of an individual child. Young people and carers often feel they are struggling with blanket policies in these areas so individual consideration of each case is important. Any restrictions on a child's photograph or name appearing in the media should be based on good explanations and clearly specified in the Placement Plan.

Social Media: Social networking ~ Facebook, Bebo, Myspace and other sites ~ whether on a computer or mobile phone has increasingly become a way in which teenagers and others organise their lives and keep in contact with their friends. It has both advantages and risks which need to be recognised and managed for all children. Concerns about use of social media and how children and young people will be supported to learn about safe use of both the internet and social networking sites should be discussed and included within the Placement Plan. Carers, and foster carers in particular and social workers may wish to refer to 'Social networking and Facebook information for foster carers' or www.thinkuknow.co.uk.

Mobile telephones: This is another area with scope for considerable disagreement. As a general principle, carers with young people in long-term placements should be responsible for making decisions regarding the possession, use and call payment of mobile phones. Any restrictions should be specified at the time of placement or discussed in reviews. Parents may need help to understand that carers who are caring for other children in the household need to be able to operate as consistently as possible with all the children. Carer, and foster carers in particular and social workers may wish to refer to the Fostering Network Pathways Through Fostering book Safer Caring, or to check other resources available from www.fostering.net or www.ceop.police.uk on this topic.

Contact: The principles and practice of the contact need to be established and formalised in the Placement Plan and the statutory review is the place for agreeing any changes in these. It may also be possible for carers, particularly in well established placements, to undertake a degree of decision-making in respect of some contact arrangements if the parameters for this are clear and agreed beforehand. Any task that involves carers, and foster carers in particular, in supervising contact or facilitating contact in the home requires that the carers have received adequate training for these tasks and that the necessary risk assessments have been undertaken.

Body piercings: Given its popularity, this merits discussion between the social workers, parents and carers before the request – or demand – for it arises. In long-term placements of older children, the judgement of the carers should generally prevail: they should be able to weigh up the arguments for and against giving permission and be confident to make decisions which do not accord with the child's wishes (if appropriate). In general, a young person should understand the health and aesthetic implications of piercing. There will be circumstances when social workers, carers or parents disagree, but have to accept that the young person is of an age to make such a decision for themselves. It should be noted that, in English law, it is illegal for under 16s to have their genitals pierced. It is also illegal for females under 16 to have their breasts pierced, although this does not apply to males under 16.