P2: Outline the arrangements for providing quality care for looked after children and young people
There are many arrangements for providing quality care for looked after children and young people
such as temporary/permanent care, foster care, respite care, residential care, adoption and
placements with extended family. Below I am going to outline the arrangements for providing
quality care for looked after children and young people.
Temporary care/ Permanent care:
Firstly, temporary care is a short-term arrangement of care which is provided for children and young
people due to safeguarding concerns. This can be for many reasons such as parent illness,
bereavement, addictions and many more. Temporary care is subject to an interim care order
(section 38, Children’s Act 1989). It is provided by the court to the local authority who then take on
temporary parental/legal responsibility. Temporary care arrangements are provided by the local
authority using foster care, respite care, residential care and placements with extended family. For
the child or young person, it offers them a recovering break away from their traumatic experiences.
Permanent care is an arrangement much like temporary care but on a long-term basis. It is subject to
a care order (section 31 Children’s Act 1989) provided by the court to the local authority who then
take on permanent parental/legal responsibility. The quality care provision could be with longer care
fostering, adoption and placements with extended family. An example for temporary care could be
put into place if a child’s parents are recovering addicts and the pressure and responsibility of a child
may be too much for them to deal with so the child will be temporarily removed from the
environment to enable the parent/s to focus purely on recovering, if this not achievable the child will
go into a type of permanent care such as foster care.
Foster care:
Foster care is care that is either provided on a long-term or short-term basis, the quality of care
provided is in a safe family home environment. The main role of the foster carer is to provide a safe,
stable environment. This means children and young people within foster care will need to continue
with school routines, good nutrition and inclusion of the children in family activities, making them
feel happy and valued. The foster carers will need to attend meetings about the wellbeing of the
child with social workers. The foster carers need to have spare accommodation for a child or young
person such as spare rooms and beds. The foster carers must be available at all times, as they may
need to take in a child at any time of day and night. The foster carers will need time to provide a
good level of care depending on the individual they are looking after. If the child/children is/are an
infant(s), 24-hour care will need to be provided, whereas older children or teenagers the foster carer
could work outside the home because the children are in school.
If a child suffers from a disability, the foster carer will need to have the right specialised equipment,
comfortable living space as they may have a severe disability that will need 24-hour care from the
carer, so a foster carer may need to give up their career to help a child with a severe disability.
Foster carers will need to have a friendly and welcoming manner, as the children that they may look
after may come from abusive, unstable backgrounds and will need support of the carers to ensure
the children and young people are safe and supported. Overall the foster family do not have
parental responsibility as they are ‘looked after children/child’. This is because the local authority
establishment still has parental responsibility for the ‘looked after child/children’.
There are many arrangements for providing quality care for looked after children and young people
such as temporary/permanent care, foster care, respite care, residential care, adoption and
placements with extended family. Below I am going to outline the arrangements for providing
quality care for looked after children and young people.
Temporary care/ Permanent care:
Firstly, temporary care is a short-term arrangement of care which is provided for children and young
people due to safeguarding concerns. This can be for many reasons such as parent illness,
bereavement, addictions and many more. Temporary care is subject to an interim care order
(section 38, Children’s Act 1989). It is provided by the court to the local authority who then take on
temporary parental/legal responsibility. Temporary care arrangements are provided by the local
authority using foster care, respite care, residential care and placements with extended family. For
the child or young person, it offers them a recovering break away from their traumatic experiences.
Permanent care is an arrangement much like temporary care but on a long-term basis. It is subject to
a care order (section 31 Children’s Act 1989) provided by the court to the local authority who then
take on permanent parental/legal responsibility. The quality care provision could be with longer care
fostering, adoption and placements with extended family. An example for temporary care could be
put into place if a child’s parents are recovering addicts and the pressure and responsibility of a child
may be too much for them to deal with so the child will be temporarily removed from the
environment to enable the parent/s to focus purely on recovering, if this not achievable the child will
go into a type of permanent care such as foster care.
Foster care:
Foster care is care that is either provided on a long-term or short-term basis, the quality of care
provided is in a safe family home environment. The main role of the foster carer is to provide a safe,
stable environment. This means children and young people within foster care will need to continue
with school routines, good nutrition and inclusion of the children in family activities, making them
feel happy and valued. The foster carers will need to attend meetings about the wellbeing of the
child with social workers. The foster carers need to have spare accommodation for a child or young
person such as spare rooms and beds. The foster carers must be available at all times, as they may
need to take in a child at any time of day and night. The foster carers will need time to provide a
good level of care depending on the individual they are looking after. If the child/children is/are an
infant(s), 24-hour care will need to be provided, whereas older children or teenagers the foster carer
could work outside the home because the children are in school.
If a child suffers from a disability, the foster carer will need to have the right specialised equipment,
comfortable living space as they may have a severe disability that will need 24-hour care from the
carer, so a foster carer may need to give up their career to help a child with a severe disability.
Foster carers will need to have a friendly and welcoming manner, as the children that they may look
after may come from abusive, unstable backgrounds and will need support of the carers to ensure
the children and young people are safe and supported. Overall the foster family do not have
parental responsibility as they are ‘looked after children/child’. This is because the local authority
establishment still has parental responsibility for the ‘looked after child/children’.
