Staying together and connected: getting it right for sisters and brothers: national practice guidance

18. Exceptional circumstances

Only in exceptional circumstances will it be right for more than three unrelated children to live with the same foster carer(s) for longer than four weeks. As is currently the case, care planning for each individual child must pay close attention to the risks to children's wellbeing of entering into a short-term placement arrangement which may not be appropriate to continue beyond four weeks. It is only in exceptional circumstances that it will be in all the children's best interests for such placements to continue longer-term, and it must not be assumed that all emergency placements of this type can (or will) become permanent arrangements. Assessment of the risks to the child of potentially introducing an additional placement move must be balanced with the risks of not making an emergency placement at all, and with making a different placement entirely.

All children need the same core care components to thrive: a stable home, the right support, and consistent loving relationships. Each child who is living in foster care has their own distinct and complex history, and consequently their own unique needs from those caring for them. For foster carers to provide each child in their home with the care they require to thrive involves considerable attention, energy, time and dedication. This becomes harder to provide with more children, and where more than three unrelated children are living with them, this could result in foster carers becoming overburdened in trying to respond to and meet all of their needs in a therapeutic and trauma-skilled way. To meet the needs of children, foster carers must be supported and enabled to care without being over-burdened and experiencing excessive stress or pressure. Any assessment and care planning for children must take this into account as a matter of priority.

With this in mind, there are nonetheless circumstances where more than three unrelated children can live together in foster care placements which are stable, where all the children's needs can be met, and the foster carer(s) have the resources and support in place to ensure they do not become overwhelmed. These circumstances will be rare, and so are the exception, rather than the norm. In individual situations, where robust assessment during the initial four weeks demonstrates that the welfare of all the children involved will be safeguarded and promoted by continuing such a placement beyond four weeks, these circumstances are exceptional, and a referral to the fostering panel should be made to consider the continuation of the arrangement.

To ensure robust assessment is made and the best care planning decisions are taken, the following aspects are especially important when considering exceptional circumstances:

• Needs of children. The needs of each child must be fully and holistically assessed in order to ascertain whether the continuation of the placement is most appropriate to safeguard and support each child's welfare. Whilst the needs of each child will have been assessed prior to the initial placement being made, in emergency situations or for short-term arrangements, assessments may be less detailed and robust than is required to establish their longer-term continuation. The relationships between all the children in the household are an important part of this assessment, as well as their individual needs and whether these can be met living in a busy household with several other children. In addition to children's needs in the here and now, consideration must be given to how these may be likely to change over time as each child grows and develops. Information pertaining to assessing relationships, planning and decision making, and supporting relationships is provided in Part 2 of this guidance. Whilst written from the perspective of considerations for brothers and sisters, this information will also be helpful to inform approaches taken in this context.
• Views of children, and of families. Children's views must be taken into consideration in all decisions which affect them.^[141] Listening to the wishes, feelings, worries and needs of children when decisions are being made about their care is fundamental to upholding their rights. This includes the views of all children living with the foster carer(s), including any birth children of the foster carer(s). Detailed information to support practitioners in listening and talking with children can be found in Part 1: Chapter 7 of this guidance. In addition to considering children's views, the views of their family are also key considerations, and must be taken into account. Under Sections 17(3)(a) and 17(4)(a) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, there are legal requirements for the local authority to (as far as practicable) ascertain and give regard to the views of the child, their parents, and their siblings before making decisions about a child's care. The views of other important family members should also be listened to, valued, and taken into account.
• Views and needs of foster carer(s). In determining whether placements resulting in more than three unrelated children living together with a carer should continue for longer than four weeks, it is essential to listen to and fully consider the views of the foster carer(s). Foster carers must be sensitively and carefully supported to explore and express their views. They should feel safe and assured that they will be listened to and respected to ensure that they do not experience feelings of guilt, or perceive pressure upon them to continue with arrangements that are unmanageable. Consideration should be given to practicalities and resources that may be identified as potential barriers to a child being cared for longer‑term. Full and thorough assessment of the foster carer's(s') skills and capacity to meet the needs of every child in their care must be given detailed attention, as individuals but importantly, as a group. As for all placements, robust matching is essential to ensure carers can provide the care that each child needs. Each situation will be unique and will be strongly influenced by the assessment of the needs of each child, and the care and support they require as individuals, and as a group of children living together. Where assessment identifies (as it is likely to do) that additional supports for carers are required to enable such placements to continue, these must be provided. These can include (but are not limited to) practical help, for example, access to a large enough car to transport the household; domestic support; financial assistance, for example, to make changes to the home to ensure everyone has enough space; peer support; and ensuring time for carers to pay attention to their own wellbeing, for example by going out to meet a friend, which may require additional adults as approved helpers. Further information about supporting families, including foster carer families, can be found in Section 8, Part 1 of this guidance.
• The Team Around the Child, joint and multiagency working. In order to make thorough and robust assessments of children's needs and determine if exceptional circumstances exist such that it is in the best interests of all the children involved to continue a foster care placement involving more than three unrelated children, it is essential for the Team Around each Child to work together in a coordinated way. In most cases, it is probable that the children involved will have different social workers, who must work closely together and with the foster carer's(s') supervising social worker to make an assessment. There may also be other parents and carers (foster, kinship and residential) whose views (and the views of whose supervising social workers, where applicable) should be considered, for example, those looking after any siblings of the children in other households. The professional opinions and observations of health, education, and other specialist practitioners (e.g. psychologists, play therapists, early years practitioners) are also required to inform a holistic and multidisciplinary assessment. All those involved in the assessment should be mindful of the potential impact on the children and foster carer(s) of numerous visits and meetings with professionals while assessments are undertaken. Ensuring the participation of children and foster carer(s) is essential but must be coordinated and planned in agreement with all involved and undertaken in a manner which does not overly disrupt day-to-day life. Further information regarding joint working can be found in Section 8, Part 1 of this guidance.
• Implications for all children and young people involved. As well as the views and needs of the children who are formally 'looked after' by the local authority , the views and needs of any other children in the household (such as any birth or adopted children of the foster carer(s)) must form a crucial part of any assessment. Children may require additional support to navigate and develop these new relationships, and for placements to be successful this support must be made available (for further information, please see Part 2: Chapter 13 of this guidance). Furthermore, the needs and views of any young people who are part of the foster carer's(s') family or household should be considered. This could include any young person living in the household in a Continuing Care arrangement, or a young person who was previously 'looked after' by the foster carer(s) and now visits and/or stays in the household regularly. The holistic family and household picture is critical to bring out in assessment, in order to make the right care planning decisions to safeguard and promote children's welfare.
• Alternative options. In every circumstance, robust assessment must evidence that the continuation of a placement of more than three unrelated children with a foster carer serves the needs of all the children in the household and the foster carer has the capacity and support to manage this in the longer term. An important part of this assessment is consideration of the alternative options, and whether these would better safeguard and promote the welfare of the children involved.
• Facilitating quality care. In making an assessment, practitioners should consider the extent to which continuing a placement of more than three unrelated children in one foster care placement enables children's experiences of care to be aligned with the Health and Social Care Standards.^[142] Consideration of the relevant quality indicators contained in the Care Inspectorate's Quality Framework for Fostering, Adoption and Adult Placement Services^[143] will be particularly useful.