1. Launch Event 9 March 2018 www.scra.gov.uk
A partnership aimed at improving and changing legislation, policy and practice

2. Welcome to the event
Dr Chris Jones - Senior Lecturer, School of Social Work and Social Policy, University of Strathclyde - welcomes you all to the Stand Up For Siblings event – the first of its kind

3. A short film by Dionne about sibling contact
Dionne’s story
A short film by Dionne about sibling contact

4. An introduction to the day
Dr Chris Jones

5. Stand Up For Siblings partners

6. Care Review
Fiona Duncan,
Chair of Independent
Care Review

7. Set out by Bruce Adamson, Children and Young People’s Commissioner
The context of children’s rights
Set out by Bruce Adamson, Children and Young People’s Commissioner

8. Separating and reconnecting - Testimony from young people
Helen Johnston, Thomas Timlin & Rosie McKean

9. Testimony from young people

10. Roundtable discussion
Part 1: Key challenges
Part 2: Current good practice
Discuss in your groups

11. One thing that could be implemented to make positive changes?
Roundtable discussion feedback
Led by Neil Hunter:
One thing that could be implemented to make positive changes?

12. Lunch will be served from 12.25pm – 1.05pm
Lunchtime
Lunch will be served from 12.25pm – 1.05pm
Don’t forget to pledge!

13. Welcome back!
We hope you enjoyed
your lunch!

14. With Sara Lurie, The Fostering Network
Growing up with siblings
Amy’s experience
With Sara Lurie, The Fostering Network

15. Supporting sibling relationships
Inspiring practice
Karen Morrison, STAR
Supporting sibling relationships

17. How Star Began *Motivation*

18. How Star Began *The Journey*

19. How Star Began *Current Role*

20. The Practicalities Who is STAR for Care Inspectorate Health and Safety
Charitable status

21. Volunteers Recruiting Volunteers Statutory Checks Training/Shadowing
Roles/ratio during contacts
Volunteers/Background – who are they?

22. Sibling Groups Who are the children Risk assessments
Why are children separated in the care system?
Why do many children not have regular and quality contact?

23. STAR Contacts What are the aims/focus of contact
How are contacts structured
Challenges
What works?

24. Where now?
Over 200 children and young adults have passed through STAR.
STAR currently has over 40 volunteers.
STAR is in the process of looking into relocating.

27. Scott Dunbar, The City of Edinburgh Council
Inspiring practice
Scott Dunbar, The City of Edinburgh Council
Promoting positive contact

28. Managing Contact for Looked After Children
Scott Dunbar
Senior Manager
City of Edinburgh Council

29. The Keeping in Touch project
Who was involved?
Practice teams, early years workers, reviewing officers, family placement workers, residential workers…
Why?
To provide practical guidance to help deal with the complex challenges involved in managing contact.

30. An approach to contact that puts the child at the centre
The child’s needs, age and stage of development
and
the purpose of contact
informs
3 the nature and frequency of contact

31. A range of resources The Book The DVD
Materials for recording observations and impact of contact
Online toolkit

32. Benefits An agreed and consistent way of planning and managing contact
Consistent advice and guidance on key themes in relation to contact
Consistent tools and resources to record observation(s) and impact of contact

33. Appendices
Guidelines for staff observation, support and supervision of contact
Normal child development 0 -12
Risk and resilience
Social Work Scotland and SCRA joint protocol on the management of contact arrangements
Contact for looked after children – rights and views

34. Contact guiding principles
The wellbeing and safety of the child
The child’s needs are the central consideration
Attachment-focused
Provides context for all aspects of children’s development
Evidence based
Informed by current research, practice evidence and policy
Transparent
Provides clarity on why particular recommendations are made

35. Safe contact Key considerations The quality of contact for the child
The level of risk which contact presents
Whether contact would reawaken the trauma of abuse

36. The child’s needs Key considerations
How contact contributes to the child’s safety and wellbeing
How contact meets both short and long term needs

37. The Purpose of Contact in the context of Child’s Plan
Initial Assessment: Quality of relationships and parenting capacity
Rehabilitation: Maintaining and building relationships and building on parenting capacity
Permanence: Maintaining relationships and promoting a coherent story

38. Questions?

39. Programme Exploring the Guidance Questions Contact and the law
Planning for children’s hearings
Setting up contact
Planning for different ages and stages
Gathering and recording observations
Questions

40. Contact and the Law
When a child is looked after, the local authority has a duty under section 17(1)(c) of the 1995 Act to take steps "to promote on a regular basis, personal relations and direct contact between the child and any person with parental responsibilities".
However, this is not an absolute duty.
It is qualified, because a local authority should make arrangements so far as they are practicable and appropriate, and taking account of their duty to safeguard and protect the child's welfare as their paramount concern.

41. “Overarching principles” underpinning child care decisions in Scotland
Welfare of the child throughout childhood
Obtaining the views of children and taking account of these
Minimum necessary intervention, that is, not making orders unless it is better for children to make an order than not
Consideration of the child’s religious persuasion and racial origin and cultural and linguistic background
European Convention Human Rights:
Article 6 – right to a fair hearing in decisions about civil and criminal rights;
Article 8 – right to respect for private and family life.

42. A Child/Young Person's Legal Status and Contact:
Whenever possible all attempts to make contact arrangements without a legal order with birth parents and relevant others must be exhausted even when there are compulsory measures of care.

43. The orders Section 25 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995:
Compulsory Supervision Orders of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011
Permanence orders and permanence orders with authority for adoption (POs and POAs) of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007
Child protection orders (CPOs) of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011
Child assessment orders (CAOs) of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011

44. Varying Contact
You must request a Children’s Hearing and present your recommendation. Only in EXCEPTIONAL circumstances can you vary or suspend any condition of contact attached to an order.

45. Varying Contact Exceptional Circumstances
“On the day” issues:
parents turning up drunk or behaving in a violent or abusive way.
child is too sick to attend contact or is so overtly distressed by the prospect of contact that it would be harmful to their wellbeing to force them to attend.
In such cases, professional judgement should be applied by a local manager on the day, and a decision taken based on the child’s wellbeing and the respective rights of those involved. If the view is that further contact should be suspended beyond that one occasion, the protocol should then be applied.

46. Varying Contact Exceptional Circumstances
Appendix 4
In exceptional circumstances where the child’s safety or wellbeing is at immediate risk a local manager in the practice team will take a view on whether this threshold is met and should refer to the Service Manager who will undertake a management review and take a decision on non-implementation.

47. Preparing reports and recommendations for Children’s Hearings
Use the ten key questions. Have you/are you able to provide evidence based answers?

48. 10 key questions for social work report writers for children’s hearings
Do the parents understand the purpose of contact and what is being expected of them?
Have you evidence of how the parents anticipate the needs of the child and how well they respond to the child during contact?
If contact is supervised, are there ongoing concerns about the well-being and safety of the child?
What feedback is there from carers, school or others who know the child well, about the benefits or the impact of contact on the child?
Does the frequency or nature of contact affect the child’s security or care?

49. Do any aspects of the current arrangements need to be fine-tuned to improve the experience for the child?
How will you set out the child’s views for the hearing, including when the child is very young or is unable, for whatever reason, to express a view or has been given permission not to attend the hearing?
Is there a need to arrange separate contact with each parent, between siblings, other family members or other relevant people?
Have you a sufficient range and quality of evidence to support any recommendation to make or vary contact arrangements?
If the child’s plan is for permanence, has consideration been given to exchanging information to help the child in later life?

50. contact agreement
This will provide clarity of expectations for all involved.

51. Key considerations which should be included within the Contact Agreement
Who will be involved in the contact
Expectations re: punctuality, behaviour
When contact starts/finishes
• Venues/ Appropriate activities
Transport
Finances

52. Assessing Contact: Promoting safety and wellbeing
Get the Evidence: Know your child development and related theory Recording, analysing and sharing information

53. Reviewing Contact
Reviewing contact should be a shared responsibility; at the very least you and your line manager
Other venues; Laac Review, Core Groups or Care Planning Meetings
Remember any view to changing an order of contact must be referred to the Children’s Hearing

54. Clan Childlaw Promoting children’s rights
Inspiring practice
Laura Porter,
Clan Childlaw Promoting children’s rights

55. Discussion, thoughts, reflection and questions led by Fiona Duncan…
Reflections on the day
Discussion, thoughts, reflection and questions led by Fiona Duncan…

56. Take time to pledge
If you haven’t already made a pledge, please take time to do so before you leave

57. Thank you for coming today. We hope you enjoyed it.
Closing remarks
Thank you for coming today. We hope you enjoyed it.
Have a safe journey home.

58. Visit our new website