Fostering One Minute Guides

Taking your fostering family on holiday

This guide is to help provide some clarity to what and how foster carers need to think about when they would like to take their foster children on holiday in the UK and abroad with them as a family.

In all cases the child’s social worker will need to know:

• Proposed dates and duration of the holiday
• The wishes and feelings of the child
• Address(es)/contact details of the holiday location and what type of holiday
• Insurance details
• Who will be present on the holiday e.g. names of the other children and other adults
• If the holiday involves staying with friends or relatives, their names and addresses
• Emergency contacts
• Any risk assessments that may be required, which should include any health or behaviours the child presents with, as well as the holiday environment itself

Permission

You will need to obtain permission to take a child on holiday, this includes holidays in the UK and abroad. Children must not be taken on holiday during the school term unless there are exceptional circumstances in which case you will also need approval from the Head Teacher and the children’s social worker operational lead.

All holidays need to be approved by the Children’s Social Worker (CSW). If going abroad permission will be also needed from the CSW’s Team Manager and Operational Lead.

Once agreed the carer will be issued a Holiday Approval Letter signed off by the CSW Operational Lead.

Documents

If you are going abroad you will need to take:

• A copy of the Care Order
• Passports
• Holiday Approval Letter signed off by the CSW Operational Lead

Notice period to take children on holiday

As soon as you start thinking about a holiday and have something in mind, inform the CSW so all the information and documentation can be in place in good time.

Lots of children in care don’t cope with transitions and change so getting them involved with the planning can sometimes help them.

Safeguarding

The Safer Caring Plan/Agreement will need updating by the SSW and foster carer to outline safe arrangements for the holiday and include:

• Any information the foster carer feels relevant to make an informed decision
• You need to include sleeping arrangements – discuss with your CSW what a sensible approach will be if the Safer Caring Plan needs to be amended for the holiday period. For example, if you are booked in a family room or a studio apartment/chalet etc.

How to request permission to go on holiday

You should discuss it with your CSW and copy in your supervising social worker. Put all the information in an email to them and ask them to complete the holiday approval form.

Reporting accidents whilst on holiday

Any accidents on holiday should be reported in the normal way on day-to-day recording. If an accident is significant you should inform the CSW about it.

It would be advisable to check any relevant policies of the premises or activity in relation to accident reporting should it affect your insurance policy too.

Risk Assessments

Foster carers have delegation of authority as usual whilst on holiday. As such, you are able to make usual day-to-day decisions about activities. These should be informed both by consideration of the child’s individual needs and the health and safety of the activity. Please note that health and safety planning for activities may not be the same in another country as would be usual in the UK.

Last minute cancellations

A child who has experienced trauma and neglect can find being out of routine difficult. In unusual cases this can mean a holiday may not go ahead as planned. It would be advisable that you discuss and think about these possibilities during the planning stages and consider aids like a Hidden Disability lanyard which most airports and public places recognise.

It is strongly advised that research into travel insurance covers these eventualities as Children’s services will not usually be able to reimburse.

Foster carers need to consider how well they know a child before booking longer stays away from home and it can help build trust by doing short breaks, then progressing to longer ones.