test page: My rights when I’m in care

What kinds of reasons are there?

There are lots of different reasons children come into care. Sometimes parents are finding things really hard, because of their own health, money problems, or difficult things happening at home. Sometimes there are worries about how well a child is being looked after or kept safe. Every situation is different, and yours is unique to you.

Is it my fault?

No, it's not your fault. Whatever the reason you're in care, it's not something you caused, and it's not your job to fix it. Being in care means the adults around you are trying to make things safer and better.

Can I find out more about my own story?

Yes, you have the right to understand why you're in care. This should be explained in a way that makes sense for your age. If nobody's explained it to you, or you still have questions, you can ask your social worker directly. It's OK to ask more than once, or to ask again as you get older and want to know more detail.

What if I don't want to move?

It helps to explain why. Before anything else, make a list of your reasons. Think about things like:

• how long you've been in your current placement
• how you feel about your carers
• how a move would affect school, especially exams like GCSEs or A Levels
• how it would affect seeing your family or friends
• anything else that would make moving difficult for you

What can I do if I don't like my placement?

If you're in care and don't like your placement, it's important to be able to explain what's wrong to your social worker or carers.

Start by making a list of what you don't like, and what would make things better. You might not get everything you want, but it should be possible to sort some things out. You can ask to move if nothing else helps, though it might not always be possible straight away.

You can talk to your carers, who'll usually understand that settling into a new placement takes time, or your social worker, who should visit you in your first week and then at least every six weeks after that. If you don't feel comfortable talking at home, ask your social worker to meet you somewhere else, school can work well for this.

A LAC Review should happen within 20 working days, about four weeks, of you moving somewhere new, and that's a good time to raise problems. If it's hard to talk in the meeting itself, your IRO should meet with you privately beforehand so you can speak freely.

What if I don't feel safe?

Don't wait for your social worker's next visit, contact them straight away. If they're not available when you call, ask to speak to the duty social worker or your social worker's manager instead. Children's Services have to make sure you're safe, so you should always be able to speak to someone when you call.

This section covers your say about a specific placement. For the full complaints process, including who can help and what to do if it's still not sorted, see Making a complaint, which is the same whether you're in care or a care leaver.

Who's there?

Usually it's your social worker, your carer, your IRO, and your parents or whoever has parental responsibility, unless there's a specific reason they can't come. Sometimes other people who know you well, like a teacher, are there too. The numbers are kept as small as possible, so it doesn't feel overwhelming.

Do I have to go?

No, it's your choice. If you don't want to go, your IRO still has to speak to you before the review, usually face to face, so your views are part of it either way.

What if I don't want to speak in the room?

You don't have to talk in front of everyone if that feels too hard. You can ask to meet your IRO separately, before or after the review, to share your views in private. You can also bring someone with you for support, or ask someone you trust, like your social worker or carer, to speak on your behalf.

What actually gets talked about?

Your Care Plan, your health and education, contact with family and friends, how you spend your time, your feelings, and plans for your future. If you're a teenager, it also covers things like independence and career or training plans.

How often does this happen?

Your first review happens within 20 working days of becoming looked after. The second one follows within 3 months. After that, reviews happen at least every 6 months, though they can be brought forward sooner if something important changes.

Who is my social worker?

Your social worker is the person who works most closely with you day to day. They arrange things like contact with your family, help sort out problems, and visit you regularly, at least every six weeks.

Who is my carer?

Your carer is who you live with, whether that's a foster carer, a residential worker, or someone else. They look after your everyday needs and are usually the person you spend the most time with.

Who is my IRO?

Your Independent Reviewing Officer, or IRO, checks that the plans made for you are the right ones. They're independent from your social worker's team, chair your LAC Review, and you can talk to them on your own if you want to.

Who is the Director of Children's Services?

The Director of Children's Services is a senior manager in charge of Children's Services in your area. You won't usually deal with them directly, but some decisions, like ending certain arrangements, have to be made by them specifically.

Who is my Virtual School Head?

Every local authority has a Virtual School Head, whose job is to make sure children in care get the support they need at school, even if you move between schools or areas.

Who is an advocate?

An advocate is independent from Children's Services. Their job is to help your voice be heard, whether that's in a meeting, a complaint, or anywhere else you feel like you're not being listened to. You can find your local advocacy service and ask for one.

Your social worker should do everything they can to help you see your family and friends. Your family isn't just your mum or dad. It also means:

• brothers and sisters
• grandparents
• aunts and uncles
• anyone else who's important to you

Where can I see my family?

You can see your family face to face, somewhere that feels comfortable. This could be where you live, where they live, or somewhere else you both feel OK about. Sometimes a social worker needs to be there too. This is called supervised contact.

You can also stay in touch by text, phone call, or video call. These should be private. Nobody should listen in or read them, unless Children's Services have decided that's not right for you right now.

Why can't I see my family?

Sometimes there are reasons you can't see your family right now:

• Your social worker might be worried about what could happen. If so, they should talk to you about it.
• A judge might have decided it isn't right for you at the moment.
• Your family might not have turned up before.
• A family member might have decided they can't see you right now. This is often not about you at all, and your social worker should explain why.
• If your brothers or sisters have been adopted, their adoptive parents usually decide if contact continues. Your social worker can ask them to keep in touch, but can't make them.

What if I don't want to see my family?

You don't have to. Before you decide, think about a few things:

• Do you want to stop seeing them, or just see them less often?
• Would you rather see them face to face, or find a call or letter easier?
• Would it help to have someone else there with you?

You can choose different things for different people. You might want to see one person a lot and someone else not at all. Tell your social worker what you want. Make sure it's talked about at every LAC Review, a regular meeting about how your care is going. If you still feel like nobody's listening, you can contact your local advocacy service.

Who can I talk to about this?

Your social worker should ask who you want to see and help make it happen. If there's a problem, they should explain it to you and help you find another way to stay in touch, like writing letters.

Your Independent Reviewing Officer, called an IRO for short, checks that the plans made for you are the right ones. This includes plans about seeing your family. If you don't agree with the plan, you can raise it at your LAC Review, or talk to your IRO on your own.

Did you know?

• Children's Services can help pay for travel, so you and your family can afford to see each other.
• Your carers shouldn't cancel a planned visit with your family as a punishment.

Yes, you can see your friends. Children's Services should support that. Your carers usually decide when, since it depends on school, homework, and the rules where you live about going out.

You can also stay overnight, if your carers agree. It's their decision, in the same way it would be for a parent. They might say no if:

• they think you could be unsafe
• you have something important to do, like schoolwork
• you haven't been sticking to the rules about coming home

If you want to stay with friends regularly, this can be written into your care plan. Your carers don't need police checks on your friend's family. They just need to check it's safe, and get their contact details.

If you disagree with a decision, talk to your social worker. They can help you and your carers find something everyone's happy with. You can also raise it at your LAC Review.

What does my social worker have to do?

Your social worker has to talk to you first. They must tell you:

• why they think you need to move
• where you'll be moving to
• how it will affect things like school and seeing your family
• when your LAC Review will happen

You should have the chance to take this in, and share your opinions, before anything is decided. At your LAC Review, your social worker will explain their reasons, show that they've listened to you, and explain why the new placement will be better for you. This is called being in your "best interests".

What does my IRO do?

Your Independent Reviewing Officer, or IRO, has to agree that the move is a good idea. Moving shouldn't get in the way of your GCSEs. If you're in Year 10 or 11, your social worker needs permission from a senior manager first.

Why might I feel unhappy about a move?

Moving to a new place can feel strange at first, even when everything's going well. It's normal to feel unsettled for a little while. Sometimes you might still feel unhappy even after you've had time to settle in. A few reasons come up a lot:

• you don't like your new carers
• you miss people who matter to you, like friends, family, or your old carers
• you've had to change school, or missed some school because of the move

Tell your social worker how you're feeling. It's part of what they need to know.

Why can't I stay where I am?

Usually you can stay where you are. There are only two situations where you might be moved even if you don't want to.

Your social worker always has to keep you safe. If they think you might be harmed where you live, they must move you, and they're allowed to do this quickly, even if you don't agree. They won't always be able to tell you why straight away, but they do have to tell your IRO and other people involved.

Sometimes your foster carer can't have you stay with them anymore. This can happen for all sorts of reasons. Usually there's time to talk about it first, and to have a LAC Review to plan how the move can go as well as possible.

Why am I being moved so far away?

If Children's Services want to move you far away, they need a really good reason. This could be:

• to keep you safe, if they think people near you might hurt you
• because staying close to certain people or places is putting you at risk
• because there's no suitable placement for you nearby
• because you need extra help, for a disability or at school, that your local area can't give you

If you're being moved far away, your social worker has to talk to your family before the decision is made. Your social worker also has to get permission from the Director of Children's Services first.

How long will I be there?

If you go into emergency foster care, you'll usually stay for up to six working days, Monday to Friday. That doesn't mean you have to leave after six days, you might stay longer. Before anything's decided about staying or moving on, your social worker should talk to you about what you want. If there's time, you should be able to visit any new place before you move there.

Children's Services don't have to hold a full LAC Review straight away, but your social worker, your IRO, and anyone else involved should be talking to each other to sort out a plan quickly, so your education and your contact with family aren't disrupted for longer than they need to be.

Who can I talk to about it?

It can be hard, but it matters to talk to people about what you want, especially after an emergency move. Your social worker should already have spoken to you about what's happening. If they haven't, tell them exactly what you want, even if it's hard for them to give you everything.

If your social worker isn't listening, or hasn't been in touch since you moved, you can ask to speak to their manager, once you've tried speaking to your social worker first.

Your IRO is responsible for making sure your social worker is making the right plans for where you'll live next. You can call your IRO directly, or ask them to arrange a LAC Review so everyone can come together to think about what happens. You can also find your local advocacy service and ask for an advocate, who's there to make sure your views are heard.

What does it mean if I'm on a Care Order?

If you're on a Care Order, a court has decided you should be in care, and a judge has given Children's Services parental responsibility for you. This usually means there were serious problems at home, and Children's Services were worried about how you were being looked after.

If things have changed a lot, and your parents can show they can look after you safely, your social worker could agree for you to go home. This doesn't happen very often. If you're missing your family, you can still talk to your social worker about spending more time with them.

A Care Order usually lasts until you turn 18, but it doesn't have to. If you have enough understanding of what it means, you can ask the court to end it early yourself, not just your parents or Children's Services. This is called applying to discharge the Care Order. It's a legal process, so it's worth talking to your social worker, your IRO, or an advocate about what's involved before you decide.

What if I'm accommodated, or "on Section 20"?

If you're accommodated, sometimes called being "on Section 20", it means your parents agreed for you to be in care. Your parents keep parental responsibility, and if you're under 16 they can ask for you to come home.

It's not quite that simple though. Even if you're accommodated, the law says your social worker has to check it's safe for you to go home first. This is called doing an assessment, and it happens even if your mum or dad asks for you back straight away.

If you're 16 or 17, the decision about ending the arrangement is made by the Director of Children's Services, not just by request, and they'll check you're happy with the plan too.

What can I do if I want to go home?

Thinking about going home can be hard. Even if it's possible, it might not happen quickly, and sometimes it might not happen at all. Try to be patient, and remember that being in care isn't your fault. You're in care because of things that happened in your family, and it's the adults who need to make changes, not you.

Start by telling your social worker that you want to live with your family. It can help to ask some questions:

• Why am I in care? Understanding this helps you understand any decisions about going home.
• Am I on a Care Order, or am I accommodated? If a judge decided you need to be in care, it can be harder to go home.
• Will you do an assessment on my family? If your social worker is worried about how you'd be looked after, they might not be willing to do one yet, and it's better to know this than to get your hopes up.

You can also raise wanting to go home at your LAC Review. Your IRO and social worker should talk about where you're living and what's planned for the future at every review, and you have every right to say you think you should go home. You can raise it in the meeting, or talk to your IRO privately beforehand. If you feel like nobody's listening, you can find your local advocacy service and ask for an advocate.

Why can't I always live with a family member or friend?

Sometimes people who care about you want you to live with them, but it isn't possible. This is usually about their circumstances, not about you. They might not have enough space, or they might already be looking after other people. It doesn't mean they don't want you, so it's always worth checking rather than assuming.

How does kinship care work?

Children's Services will check first that it's the right place for you. This is called an assessment. They'll look at things like:

• whether the home is big enough and safe
• how well you know each other, and whether you have a good relationship
• whether they can look after you, including whether they're healthy and have looked after children before
• whether there's any reason this might not be a good idea, like trouble with the police

It should take about 16 weeks, around 4 months. Sometimes it takes up to 8 weeks longer. You can usually live there while this happens.

What happens if it goes well?

If everything goes well, there are two ways this can become long-term:

• Your kinship carer becomes your foster carer. This is called being accommodated under Section 20.
• Your parents agree you live there with support from Children's Services. This is called Section 17 support.

What is a health assessment?

You should have a full health check soon after coming into care, usually within 20 working days, called an initial health assessment. A doctor will talk to you about your health, and check things like your hearing and eyesight.

How often will I be checked after that?

You should get a review health assessment every year if you're 5 or older, or every 6 months if you're under 5. This is usually with a nurse rather than a doctor, and it's a chance to raise anything that's worrying you, not just a physical check.

What about the dentist and optician?

You should be registered with a GP, dentist, and optician wherever you're living, and you should be fully up to date with your immunisations. Your carer or social worker should help you sort this out.

What if I need support with my mental health?

Your feelings matter as much as your physical health. If you're finding things hard, tell your social worker, carer, or someone at your health assessment. They should help you get support, like CAMHS. If you're already waiting for mental health support and you move placement, you shouldn't lose your place on the waiting list.

Can I talk to a doctor on my own?

Depending on your age and how ready you are, you can ask to see the doctor or nurse on your own for some or all of your health assessment. It's your choice to ask for this.

What is a Personal Education Plan?

Every child in care has a Personal Education Plan, called a PEP for short, whether you're in school or not, from age 3 all the way to 18. It's part of your care plan, and it sets out what support you need to do well, based on what matters to you.

How often is my PEP reviewed?

Your PEP should be reviewed every term, usually alongside your LAC Review. You should be involved in your own PEP meetings, and your views about school should be part of the plan, not just what the adults think.

Who's in charge of my education?

Every local authority has a Virtual School Head, whose job is to make sure children in care get the support they need at school, even if you move between schools or areas.

What is Pupil Premium Plus?

Schools get extra government funding, called Pupil Premium Plus, for every child in care on their roll. This money goes to your school, not to you directly, and it's meant to be spent on things that help you specifically, based on what's in your PEP, like extra tuition or equipment. The exact amount depends on your local authority, so ask your PA or social worker what your school gets and how it's being used for you.

Does being in care affect which school I can go to?

Yes, in a good way. Children in care get the highest priority for a place at any state school, even if it's oversubscribed. If you need to change schools, your social worker and Virtual School should help make sure this happens quickly and doesn't disrupt your education more than necessary.

Do I get pocket money?

There's no specific law about pocket money, but there are basic rules that must be followed. If you're in care, Children's Services will arrange weekly pocket money for you. How much you get depends on your age, so ask your carer or social worker if you want to know the amount. The money is given to your carer or residential worker, who then gives it to you.

There might be rules about what you can spend it on, depending on your age and the rules where you live. If you want to save some, you can ask your carer to help set up a savings account.

Carers shouldn't stop your pocket money as a punishment, though they can use some of it to help pay for damage you've caused. No matter how much you get, it shouldn't be used to cover things your carers are supposed to provide anyway, like food, clothes, and toiletries.

What about savings?

If you've been in care for more than 12 months, you should have a Junior Savings Account, which the government pays into. You can't access this money until you're over 18. Your carers might also set up a separate savings account for you, one you can add to and take from when you need to. Ask your carer about the rules for using this money.

What about birthdays, festivals and clothes?

You may get money for birthdays, religious festivals like Christmas or Eid, and clothes, but this depends on the rules where you live and sometimes your age. Some Children's Services set a fixed amount for this, but sometimes it's your carers who decide. When you're younger, this money usually goes to your carer to spend on you. As you get older, you might be given it to manage yourself. Either way, you should always have enough clothes and shoes that are in good condition and right for the season, and a school uniform. If you've just come into care and have very few clothes, your carers can ask Children's Services for extra money to get what you need.

Who can I talk to if something's wrong?

If you don't think you're getting the right amount of money, there are people who can help.

Your carers can explain the rules about pocket money and clothing, and know if you have a savings account. They usually have the biggest say over what you spend it on, so they're a good place to start.

Your social worker can tell you what your Children's Services' rules actually say, and can talk to your carers if something's not right.

Your Independent Reviewing Officer, or IRO, can help you raise it at your LAC Review if you're unhappy.

If you still feel like nobody's listening, you can find your local advocacy service and they can help you get it sorted.