Supervised Family Time Guidance

A local authority has a duty to endeavour to promote contact between children who are Looked After by them and their families under Schedule 2 Children Act 1989 unless it is not practicable or it is not consistent with the child's welfare.

In addition the Human Rights Act 1998 Section 8 defines the right to family life, and a failure to promote family time at the correct level both in terms of frequency and level of support provided could be argued as contrary to this, if it was disproportionate and without good reason.

In some situations, in order to promote family time consistent with a child's welfare it must be supervised.

Supervised Family time should be planned with a purpose. It needs to take into account the capacity of the people involved to cope emotionally with the arrangements.

It is essential that supervised family time arrangements are dynamic and flexible so that they can develop in response to changing plans for a child's future. When the child's plan and circumstances change, family time arrangements should be reviewed and never allowed to drift.

It should be acknowledged that any supervision of family time, however skillfully done, can be intrusive for families and careful consideration needs to be given to the level of supervision required. The level and intrusion of supervision will depend on its purpose.

For example, the supervision may be to prevent immediate harm to the child, to prevent oral messages being passed to the child, to see that the child does not become upset in family time, or to form part of an assessment of the relationship between child and parent. In the first two examples close supervision, perhaps by more than one member of staff, will be required. In the latter two examples the supervision may be more like discreet monitoring.

As with frequency of family time, the level of supervision required should be regularly reviewed to ensure that what is provided continues to meet a child's needs. The following should be regarded as general guidance as the correct level and frequency will only be determined by consideration of a child's individual needs taking the full circumstances of the case into account.

Supervised family time is delivered by Swan Family, a commissioned provider, who will arrange supervised family time, safe transportation of children to sessions where needed, produce observational reports and coordinate 3-monthly reviews.

Referrals for supervised family time should be made using the ‘Supervised Contact’ form on Liquid Logic.

The provider will acknowledge referrals,  make contact with the social worker and allocate to a supervised family time worker within 5 working days. A priority system is in place for referrals that require a more timely response, for example new born babies.  

Frequency of family time will vary from child to child. It must be acknowledged that some children are involved in multiple family time arrangements which if not carefully managed allow them little time for anything else.

Frequency and duration will be informed by:

1. Previous level of family time with child (non resident parent /extended family);
2. Purpose of family time i.e. assessments;
3. Emotional capability of the child and parent to cope with the family time;
4. Views of the child;
5. The potential disruption and stress to the child caused by the family time arrangements;
6. Ages of children;
7. Previous parental engagement with supervised family time provider.

With regard to children in court proceedings, in most cases family time three times a week of 90 minutes duration would be an appropriate starting point. This would allow a child to balance family time with other social commitments. In considering overall family time arrangements, in general all children should have at least 2 days per week when they are free to enjoy normal social activities within placement.

• If parents are presenting separately and each wishes to be assessed as a sole carer for the child a level of two times per week with each parent may be appropriate even though this is slightly more intrusive;
• Parental family time with newly-born babies and infants may be higher, particularly if mother is breastfeeding, though sessions may be of shorter duration. Nevertheless the courts have indicated that daily family time (7 days a week) will be exceptionally unusual. There is increasing evidence that even 5 times a week is disruptive and stressful for the baby or infant and that such frequent contacts should be avoided to allow the child to settle in its new placement;
• In considering frequency of family time, the primary consideration will be the interests of the child but resources are not a wholly irrelevant consideration and impact on foster carers may be relevant as this may in turn have an impact on the child.

Those having family time should be advised by the Case Holder of proposed changes and unless the changes to be made are urgent, parents must be given the opportunity to take advice and make representations in respect of any changes to arrangements.

If necessary proposals may be placed before the court for a decision. Unless agreed or the welfare of the child is seriously prejudiced, no alterations to court-ordered family time, or that implied by a court approved Care Plan, should be made without the approval of the court.

When a potential carer is ruled out either through withdrawal from assessment or through the court process, this will automatically trigger a review. In most cases this will lead to a reduction in the level of family time offered.

Any proposed changes to family time arrangements (including reduction in level of family time) are subject to the same process as making new referrals. Social workers are required to update the existing referral, discuss all proposed changes to family time arrangements with their Team Manager and subsequently forwarded their Service Manager for approval. Each family member will require a separate referral and will be processed accordingly.

In instances where a child who is subject to supervised family time arrangements is being taken on holiday by their carer, is unwell or where the parent or child has appointments and is not able to attend family time etc, it is the responsibility of the Social Worker to inform the Supervised Family time provider in advance. (Minimum 7 days notice for holidays and 24 hours notice for children who are sick.) This will avoid the Local Authority incurring unnecessary expenses.

Prior to the commencement of supervised family time, a planning meeting will take place between the allocated Family time Supervisor, and the adult(s) involved in the family time sessions. The family time supervisor will aim to meet and introduce themselves to the child, foster carer and school/nursery.

The supervised family time written agreement will outline, dates, times, venues, expectations of family members attending family time etc. This agreement will clearly outline the consequences of failed or negative family times, and should be attached as an appendix to any court Care Plan.

Once completed and signed by the parent(s) the written agreement will be forwarded to the social worker for their endorsement. The social worker will then send out the signed copy to the parents with a covering letter.

1. When a family time session is missed by a parent or other relative the social worker will be informed as soon as possible, (the provider is expected to report missed or negative family times on a daily basis to the case holder) the social worker will then discuss the reasons for the missed family time with the family and feedback to supervised family time service;
2. In the event of two missed family times without satisfactory explanation or family time being cut short for reasons of parental lateness or leaving before end of the scheduled session or a pattern of missed sessions family time will be held in abeyance. The supervised Family time provider will notify the case holder of all dates of non-attendance. The Case Holder will then write to the family or their solicitor saying family time will not continue until the family family time / meet with the Case Holder to discuss their reasons for not attending as their actions are detrimental to their child's needs;
3. An urgent meeting will be held with adults involved to consider whether the level and duration of family time is appropriate and in the child's interests. Supervised Family time Coordinator will be notified that the meeting has taken place and a copy of the amended written agreement forwarded. Supervised Family time Coordinator will require 48 hours to reinstate the sessions;
4. Regular incidents where the case is held in abeyance must result in the family time being subject to a review. This meeting will be coordinated by the Supervised Family time Coordinator;
5. The parent(s) will be aware of this procedure through the initial letter from their social worker and their Supervised Family time Contract, which will clearly outline the agreed frequency of family time, time, venue etc and will be reminded of it at the time;
6. If it is considered to be in the child's interests it may be proposed that family time will be reduced to a level that the parent can sustain in line with the terms of the contract, and the parents should be informed of this by the case holder, and allowed to make representations, if necessary to a court;
7. Parental lateness (15minutes or more, without communication) will be reported and the child will be returned to the carer. No family time will take place. Parents may be asked to telephone to confirm that they will attend, particularly for new babies. This prevents unnecessary disruption to the child.

Sibling family time and family time for other family members and significant people in the child's life should follow the same procedure and general principles outlined above. However there is less of a priority to promote family time than there is with parents.

In considering overall family time arrangements, in general all children should have at least 2 days per week when they are free to enjoy normal social activities within placement.

Where family time arrangements are changed through no fault of the parents, such as due to the unavailability of family time providers, if possible a replacement session will be arranged. The responsibility to make new / alternative arrangements lies with the relevant personnel involved, ensuring details regarding the new arrangements are shared with all parties.

It is important that regular reviews of arrangements take place in order to consider progress and/or issues. The supervised family time provider will review the contact plan every three months  and agree any amendments with the child’s social worker, parents and carers..

The Family time provider will provide a written report in relation to the quality and frequency of family time prior to each LAC review.

The Family time Supervisor can be requested to attend the LAC review following consultation with the Child's Social Worker and IRO.

External agencies will also complete reviews via telephone calls, e-mail or meetings with Social Worker and provide written reports to LAC reviews.

Problematic family times including external cases will be reviewed by Supervised Family time Service.

• All social worker's, TL's, SM's and Supervised Family time services should demonstrate their commitment to undertaking reviews of family time arrangements on a regular basis;
• The Supervised Family time Service will request and undertake reviews of difficult, problematic or high costing supervised family time where necessary. These will be chaired by a Team Manager from Parenting and Family Support;
• All other supervised family times will be reviewed every three months. For cases that are not problematic, the Supervised Family time Worker will review the case with the Social Worker;
• The review document will then be e-mailed to the Supervised Family time mailbox in order to advise of any changes to family time arrangements or amendments to details held;
• Reviews should consider:
1. Quality of family time;
2. Volume/Frequency of current arrangements;
3. Child's life balance;
4. Parents commitment;
5. Child's Care Plan at that stage.

Supervised family time often carries an element of risk and therefore careful planning is required. It is the responsibility of the case holder to complete the risk assessment as part of the referral document in the first instance. Where the risk is deemed high in the first instance the Family time Supervisor will access information from Capita, followed by a professionals planning meeting prior to family time commencing, if required.

In circumstances where there is a disagreement as to the perceived level of risk there will be a Team Manager to Team Manager discussion to agree what safeguards are necessary to protect children, parents and staff.

Whilst we try to respond to emergency requests as quickly as possible, it is vital that all risks are considered in full.

A further, more detailed risk assessment will be completed by supervised family time which considers the details of the family time session, transportation and venue to be used.

Where risk levels change, this should be recorded and shared with all parties.

It is very important that when significant decisions are made about current and future plans for the children, the Supervised Family time Service is family timeed by the Social Worker to ensure that joint consideration of the impact this might have on the child and parent takes place.

During each supervised family time session, observational reports are completed. These reports are spaced into 15 minute intervals and also capture any information before and after the session that may be deemed relevant.

Observations are led by the original areas for observation as highlighted by the case holder at the point of referral. These reports are then completed electronically and attached onto Capita systems.

An email will be sent alerting the case holder to any specific areas for them to consider.

In cases where community/activity based sessions are deemed more suitable by all parties a facilitated family time report is completed. This is an overview and record of the session.

In cases where support is being provided to improve the quality of family time further records will be kept.

The Supervised Family time Service is committed to seeking the views of service users in relation to the quality of the service we provide and how we can make changes/improvements where appropriate. The service requests formal feedback through questionnaires every 3 months with both children and parents.

In respect of the overall monitoring and assessment of the case the social worker/IRO will seek the views of the child/ren involved in family time. This information will form part of the supervised family time reviewing process whether as part of a LAC Review or a three monthly review of family time.