Babysitters, Day Care and Overnight Stays

The Fostering Service recognises that there may be occasions when Foster Carers need to use a babysitter who might be a family member or friend. Any person who babysits should be named as a family support person and might be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Any such arrangement will need to be discussed with your supervising social worker.

It may be helpful to identify as soon as possible anyone who you may consider to be a baby sitter and discuss this with your Supervising Social Worker. This should be included in your Placement Plan and where appropriate recorded as part of the decision with regards to delegated authority.

Looked After Children have often led unsettled lives and usually benefit from being given good notice about staying somewhere different overnight.

A young person may also be asked to babysit; you should talk to your supervising social worker for advice.

Factors for Foster Carers to consider:

• A young person who is fostered must not be used as a babysitter;
• Child / Baby listening services must not be used as a babysitting service. Children and Young People must be appropriately supervised by the Foster Carer at all times;
• Holiday clubs e.g. at hotels / camp sites, should not be used as a babysitting service, for example with the carer going off site and leaving the Child or Young Person with holiday club staff for long protracted period. The Foster Carer must remain within the vicinity to ensure the Child or Young Person is safe;
• Young people in the Foster Carers family and friend’s network under the age of 16 years old must not be considered appropriate to babysit. The use of young people aged 16 and 17 as a babysitter should be discussed with your supervising social worker;
• A male babysitter, babysitting on his own, could be more vulnerable to allegations;
• Any babysitter should be known personally to the foster carer and should be someone with whom the foster has confidence in caring for the young person;
• The child or young person should know this person well and share a positive relationship;
• The individual Safer Caring Plan must be shared with any babysitter and they must agree to act in accordance with this plan. The foster carer must not disclose any confidential information about the child or young person, their background, or their family;
• A foster carers choice of babysitter should take into account the foster carers knowledge of the Child or Young Person’s age, background and behaviour;
• Other children and young people who will be present during the babysitting episode and their needs, must also be considered and any potential risks and matching considerations;
• If a Foster Carer feels unable to leave a child or young person they foster with a babysitter they should contact their supervising social worker to explore other possibilities;
• If a foster carer has any doubts about a person’s suitability to babysit for a child or young person they must not use this person.

Overnight Stays

We also recognise that a child / young person may also want to have overnight stay at some point with friends. It is important that the child’s social worker and the child’s parents reach agreement at the time of the child’s placement as to some of the circumstances in which you can give permission to situations and that this is set out in the Placement Plan and recorded. This is also the case for Family and Friends Carers.

However the general rule is that the child or young person should have the same opportunities to enjoy leisure time activities like sleepovers as any other child of their age unless there is a good reason for this not to happen. Where there are exceptional reasons when you need to seek the permission of the child's social worker, a manager or a parent, or place specific restrictions on permitting a child to stay overnight with friends, this should be because of reasons necessary to safeguard the child's welfare. If there is such a reason, the required arrangements should then be appropriately recorded and these should be explained to the child in an appropriate way.

You should only give agreement for overnight stays if it has been agreed that you have delegated authority to make such decisions. It is your responsibility to find out all that you can about the people the child wishes to visit or stay with.

You should meet the adults, have an address and telephone number and be confident the child will not be at risk of harm.

You should also have a clear idea of how the child is getting there, sleeping arrangements and how and when the child will return.

Where possible overnight stays should be planned to ensure arrangements are made appropriately. Permission for overnight stays will usually be discussed when the child is placed and recorded in the Placement Plan as part of your delegated responsibilities.

You should base your decision on the following:

1. What does the Placement Plan say about babysitters, visits and overnight stays?
2. Would the child struggle with an overnight stays because of their background?
3. Are you worried about the people or the activities they may be taking part in?
4. The age and understanding of the child/young person;
5. Whose idea was the overnight stay and what is the purpose?
6. How well is the friend or family known to the child?

The child should also have your contact details; know the plan for their return and what to do if they decide to come home early.

Depending on the needs of the child, you should discuss with the child if they are old enough what they can tell the people they will be visiting.

You should only give information on a ‘need to know’ basis and record what information they have given in the child’s daily  log..

You may tell them about health care needs of the child, routines and any behaviour issues.

If the child does not want information to be shared, then they need to be told that this could affect whether they can stay overnight.

Record any decisions and the arrangements in the child’s daily log. .

Even if it has been agreed that the child’s social worker does not have to be consulted, you should still inform them as soon as possible afterwards (within 1 working day) and the social worker should inform the parents as appropriate.

If, as part of contact arrangements, the child/young person is due to stay away from placement with family members, the child’s social worker will make all appropriate arrangements.