3.5.1 Islington Contact Service |
SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER
This chapter should be read in conjunction with Contact with Parents / Adults and Siblings Procedure
If you are looking for any standard templates to use that are listed in these procedures, please click on this link below as this will take you to the Children's Social Care area of Izzi (the council's intranet).
NB: This is only possible if you are logged into the Council's network.
There are a lot of template documents there but if there is any thing you cannot find, please contact the relevant Team or Operational Manager for the area of practice concerned.
Click here to access Izzi
Contents
- Introduction
- Gate Keeping Form/ Placement Request Form
- Referral Process
- Venue
- Contact Reports
- On-Going Review
1. Introduction
The information outlines the services offered by Grosvenor Avenue Contact Centre in relation to contact.
The document is intended for all social workers within Children's Social Care who wish to make a referral to the service.
2. Gate Keeping Form/ Placement Request Form
Social workers are required to outline in the Gate Keeping Form and in their placement request papers, what contact is likely to be required, taking into account the child's age and needs. This will allow the placement team to address the issue of contact when exploring the location of a foster placement. It will also allow the placement team the opportunity to discuss how the carer will transport the child(ren) to and from contact, or whether it is safe for contact to take place in the home.
3. Referral Process
The social worker will complete a Contact Referral Form, which also incorporates a risk assessment and contact details of the family and professionals involved.
Contact will not be arranged without a planning meeting.
The social worker will contact Grosvenor to arrange a Planning Meeting, which will cover details of the contact with the parents/others having contact. An agreement with the parents will also be incorporated within the minutes of the meeting.
A written copy of the planning Meeting will be sent to the social worker and will be uploaded onto Framework. The social worker is responsible for providing the parents/other with a copy of the meeting.
4. Venue
The contact service is currently working with various venues throughout the borough. The planning meeting will take into account the travel arrangements for the child, the risk involved and will then decide where contact should take place.
5. Contact Reports
Contact will be supervised and a written copy of the session will be recorded on ICS within five working days.
A standard format of recording the session is used by all workers.
A standard form will also be used to record contact that has been cancelled, outlining who cancelled and why.
Contact reports can be used to assess the quality of contact within court proceedings. In these instances the social worker is responsible for submitting the reports to the legal department on the specified dates.
If the contact worker is required to give evidence in court then the allocated social worker should inform the management of Grosvenor as soon as possible to ensure that the workers can make arrangements to attend.
6. On-Going Review
A review of how contact is going will take place on a regular basis. The social worker will be expected to attend with the family.
A review can be booked at any time if there are concerns about the contact or if changes need to be made.
Children and families will also have the opportunity to discuss any concerns they have in the meeting.
End