Looked after children support - Print version

Have your say

While you are in our care we want to help you reach your full potential and give you the same opportunities in life as your friends. The Council and the agencies we work with, have made a set of promises, called the Coventry Pledge [/info/840/advice_and_support_for_children_in_care/777/coventry_pledge], to all looked after children and care leavers.

Here are some other ways to have your say

Join the Voices of Care Council [/voc].  This group includes looked after children and young people as well as care leavers. It's a great opportunity for you to influence important people in the Council and to make sure we know what your views and concerns are.

The Participation Team [/participation] will also keep in touch with you and share any relevant information with you. 

Here are some other people you can talk to and other ways of telling us how you are feeling.

• Review meetings. You can contact your Reviewing Officer by phone or e-mail before your review.
• Talk to an advocate: a person who will help you say what you want to say or speak on your behalf.
• Independent visitor (or IV): this is a befriender, in other words an adult friend. They are not social workers they are volunteers, if you want they can support you at meetings and reviews.
• Comments, compliments & complaints (3Cs): if you are happy, have a comment or if you are not happy with how you have been treated, you can contact the Children's Complaints Officer [/info/2000678/complaints-social_care/625/young_peoples_guide_to_making_a_social_care_complaint/3].

Don't forget that you can also talk to your foster carer, residential children's worker, social worker, independent visitor or after care worker about any of the above.

If you are looked after by Coventry City Council

Coventry Social Care tries to make sure that as far as possible families stay together.  However, sometimes this is not possible because of family problems or other reasons and this may mean you need to become 'looked after' by the Council.

We understand that living away from home isn't easy, especially if you have never done it before. So it's normal to feel anxious or worried or maybe a bit scared. When you become 'looked after' a care plan will be written and this will involve all the people who will be looking after you and you will also be able to have your say.

If you have to go and live with foster carers or a children's home, it will take time getting used to it and whoever you live with needs to get used to having someone new living with them. So everyone has a part to play in making things work.

What you want makes a huge difference. We know that if you want your placement to work, then it's more likely to be successful for you if you talk to those who could help. This may be your carer, social worker or advocate. We can't always fix everything but if you are positive and talk about things regularly, with any of the above, this will help.

If you are a looked after child this doesn't mean that you love your own family or friends any less. Although living away from home can be hard, sometimes it is just as hard when the time comes for you to leave your carer(s). You may be moving to a new placement or moving back in with your own family. This is another change to cope with which can be difficult. Remember the end of a placement doesn't always mean the end of a relationship. Talk to your carers and your social worker about what will happen and about maybe keeping in touch with anyone who has looked after you.

Social Care Neighbourhood Offices

If you would like to talk to someone or want some advice, please contact your nearest Social Care Neighbourhood office.

Out of hours - emergency services

An out of hours service is available for emergencies after 5pm Monday - Thursday and after 4.30 pm Friday and over the weekend by telephoning: 024 7683 2222.

Jargon buster

It is not always easy to understand some words that people use when they talk to you whilst you are being 'looked after'. An explanation of these can help you to understand what they mean a lot more clearly.

Here is a list of the most common words and phrases that may be used while you are in looked after care, and what they actually mean:

Accommodated

This is another word for being looked after by Social Care.

Advocacy

An advocate is a person who can support what you have to say. For example, if you want an adult to be with you when you make a complaint and talk on your behalf.

Aftercare

This is when you leave either the residential or foster home and move to a place of your own. There is an aftercare worker who will help you with this and they are called personal advisers.

Allowances

This is the money you are allowed. You will get pocket money every week, plus a certain amount on your birthday, at Christmas and for other religious festivals.

Assessment

Social Care will collect information about you and your family circumstances and write a report on who they feel should care for you. Other professionals such as school teachers may also add information and you can tell your social worker if you wish to have your views included in the report.

Care order

This is a legal order made by the court that gives Social Care permission to look after you.

Care plan

A care plan is a written document that says how and where you are going to live and be looked after. If you have any special needs such as for health reasons or have a special diet, this will all be recorded on your care plan. Your care plan may also include details of any clubs you are part of or other activities that you like to do on a regular basis, as well as detailing which school you go to and details of contact with family, relatives and friends.

Children's rights

The children's rights service can help make sure that you have the rights that you deserve and can act as an Advocate if you want them to.

Children's guardian

In some court proceedings relating to children the court appoints a children's guardian. The children's guardian will appoint a solicitor who will represent you in court.

Complaints

Social Care has a legal duty to have a procedure to deal with complaints. If you are unhappy about your treatment by Social Care or you feel that they have not done what they should have, then you have the right to make a complaint and to have it investigated. You should have been given a leaflet on making a complaint, if not ask your social worker for one.

Complaints officer

A complaints officer works for the complaints department at Social Care. They are the people who will contact you if you make a complaint to Social Care.

Contact

This is the word used to describe when and how you see your family and relatives.

Duty officer

This is a social worker who is available to speak to when your social worker is out of the office or on holiday.

EDT (Emergency Duty team)

These are social workers who are available to talk to, out of office hours, for emergency situations.

Foster care

This is when you are 'looked after' within a family situation by foster carers.

In care

This is when you are cared for by Social Care (see 'looked after').

Independent visitor

This is someone who is not part of Social Care and who you can talk to about things.

Link worker

This is a member of staff in a children's home who has special responsibility for your care.

Looked after

This means that Social Care helps out with looking after and caring for you, this can be alongside or instead of your parents.

Personal Education Plan (PEP)

This is a plan of your education whilst you are looked after by Social Care, this is a very important document, which helps you to achieve your goals.

Regulation 33 visitors

This is a person from the Council who visits each residential home every month to make sure that everything is okay for both the young people and the staff there. They talk to staff and young people, make notes and then write a report that goes to the manager of the residential home. This is to make sure that you are being well cared for.

Review

Every young person will have a review from time to time. This is where your social worker and other professionals will talk to you and your family and see if anything has changed since they first assessed you or wrote your care plan. If things have changed then new agreements may be made. You will be fully involved in the review and it is important that you have your say.

Social worker

This person is employed by Social Care, each young person will have a named social worker who will be responsible for their care.

About social workers

Social worker

Your social worker should visit you at least once every four weeks and spend time with you making sure that everything is okay and that you are happy with the way you are being cared for. Your social worker will attend your review meetings and other important meetings. You can phone or email your social worker and ask them to visit you if you need to talk to them about something. If you are really unhappy with your social worker you should talk to someone about it (such as your carer, children's rights worker, complaints officer) to see if they can help you to sort out the problem. If you really cannot work it out and problems continue, as a last resort it may be possible to change your social worker.

Reviewing officer

You will have a reviewing officer who is independent of your social worker, a reviewing officer is there to check that there is a clear plan for your future and that people are doing what they should to make this plan work. They are in charge of making sure that your review meeting takes place when it should and that your views are listened to. You might only see them around the time of your review but they should make time to talk to you in private if you want this.

Children's guardian

If your family is involved with the courts and important decisions are being made about where you should live you may have someone called a children's guardian. This is someone who is asked by the courts to look after your best interests.

Regulation 33 visitor

If you live in a children's home you may hear people talk about a Regulation 33 visitor. This person is employed by the Council and will visit the home each month to make sure that the home is a safe place for children to live. The visitor will make time to talk to you in private if you want to do this and will include your views in their report.

Registration and inspection officer

If you live in a children's home you may hear people talk about a registration and inspection officer who are employed by the Government. The person will visit the home twice a year to make sure that the home is a safe place to live and that your needs are being met. The officer will make time to talk to you in private if you want to do this and include your views in their report on the inspection.

Placing LAC within the boundaries of Coventry City Council

Other authorities sometimes place their looked after children in foster homes or children’s homes within Coventry City. Whenever another Local Authority does this they must inform us. All notifications of looked after children placed in Coventry must be sent to QualityAssurance@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:QualityAssurance@coventry.gov.uk].

We are keen to support looked after children from other authorities where we can.

Useful contacts

Details for social workers and authorities placing children in Coventry.

School Admissions [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/admissions]

Comprehensive information on all our schools, admissions and applications.

Virtual Headteacher for LAC [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/virtualschool]

To support education of Looked After Children.

Special Educational Needs [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/sendsupport]

To provide for pupils who have Special Educational Needs or Disabilities.

Family Information Service [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/fis]

Comprehensive information on services for young people and their carers and support. Details of early years providers.

Coventry Guide to Fostering Service

This booklet will help you understand what fostering means for you. You can read this booklet to yourself or your social worker or foster carer can read it to you. It will tell you about living with a foster family and about the other people who will help you while you are in foster care. If you do not understand any part of this booklet please ask your social worker or foster carer to explain it to you.

Coventry Guide to Fostering Service [/downloads/file/17067/a_childrens_guide_to_coventry_fostering_service].