P1 - Outline why children and young people may need to be looked after away from
their families.
In this assignment, I will be outlining why children and young people may need to be looked after away from their
families. I will discuss four reasons as case studies; two child reasons and two parent reasons. The reasons I will be
discussing are has committed an offence, parents may have had a serious accident, mental health issues, and drug
abuse.
Looked after children: This term refers to a child who has had a care order placed on them by the court. This
happens with the parents’ permission.
Child reasons:
Has committed an offence: The first case study I will be discussing is about Tom, a 15-year-old boy who got
involved in criminal activity. He lives in a single parent household with his mother. His father has never been
a part of his life which was the main reason for why he got involved in criminal activity, because he never
had that male figure to guide him in the right direction. Tom’s mother struggles financially, she works a 9-5
job and earns minimum wage. This has also affected Tom’s mental health because the lack of money
stressed him out, and he worried about whether his mother would be able to afford food or be able to pay
the bills. Furthermore, his mother was never able to buy him the latest toys, technology or clothes which
made him stand out from other children, and also meant he was bullied. This massively lowered his self-
esteem. He decided to help out his mother because he was tired of the financial problems, but he isn’t able
to get a job at 15 years old so he got involved in drug dealing with his friends. One of his neighbours saw the
young boys so they contacted the police. The state has decided to detain the boys from society for their own
safety and the safety of others, so nobody else would take the drugs. The boys have been placed in a youth
offender institution.
Parents may have had a serious accident: The second case study I will be discussing is about Amy, a 3-year-
old girl whose parents got into a car accident. While Amy was at school her mum and dad went to visit her
grandparents, who live 2 hours away. They lost track of time and forgot they had to pick her up from school.
They were rushing to get back and collided with another car on the motorway, they both died instantly. This
left Amy with nobody to care for her so the state had to decide what would happen to her next. During the
time that the decision was being made, Amy was put into foster care. The state assessed Amy’s
grandparents under section 31 and decided they were not suitable to care for her due to their age. Her
godparents will have custody over Amy after also being assessed by the state, because they were next of kin.
Amy was very close with her godparents so this decision was very good for her well-being. A social worker
would regularly check on Amy in her new home to see how she’s doing, and how the godparents were
coping with the situation. Amy was doing good because she is only 3 years old so she doesn’t fully
understand the situation, and she isn’t able to comprehend that her parents died. Furthermore, the
godparents were taking good care of Amy and they were able to meet all her needs.
Parent reasons:
Mental health issues: The first case study I will be discussing is about Jessica, a 15-year-old girl who lived
with her bipolar father. His mental illness meant that his moods would swing from one extreme to another.
One moment he could be happy and the next he could get angry unexpectedly. This put Jessica under a lot of
stress as she never knew what to expect from her father while she was at home. He would also get abusive
towards Jessica, she was too scared to talk about it but her school teacher saw bruises on her arms. She
decided to report this and the state looked into the situation. Social services turned up at Jessica’s house and
questioned her father about the bruises. He denied ever putting his hands on Jessica but social services
noticed that he wasn’t mentally stable, as his mood swings were obvious. They decided he was a danger to
Unit 10
their families.
In this assignment, I will be outlining why children and young people may need to be looked after away from their
families. I will discuss four reasons as case studies; two child reasons and two parent reasons. The reasons I will be
discussing are has committed an offence, parents may have had a serious accident, mental health issues, and drug
abuse.
Looked after children: This term refers to a child who has had a care order placed on them by the court. This
happens with the parents’ permission.
Child reasons:
Has committed an offence: The first case study I will be discussing is about Tom, a 15-year-old boy who got
involved in criminal activity. He lives in a single parent household with his mother. His father has never been
a part of his life which was the main reason for why he got involved in criminal activity, because he never
had that male figure to guide him in the right direction. Tom’s mother struggles financially, she works a 9-5
job and earns minimum wage. This has also affected Tom’s mental health because the lack of money
stressed him out, and he worried about whether his mother would be able to afford food or be able to pay
the bills. Furthermore, his mother was never able to buy him the latest toys, technology or clothes which
made him stand out from other children, and also meant he was bullied. This massively lowered his self-
esteem. He decided to help out his mother because he was tired of the financial problems, but he isn’t able
to get a job at 15 years old so he got involved in drug dealing with his friends. One of his neighbours saw the
young boys so they contacted the police. The state has decided to detain the boys from society for their own
safety and the safety of others, so nobody else would take the drugs. The boys have been placed in a youth
offender institution.
Parents may have had a serious accident: The second case study I will be discussing is about Amy, a 3-year-
old girl whose parents got into a car accident. While Amy was at school her mum and dad went to visit her
grandparents, who live 2 hours away. They lost track of time and forgot they had to pick her up from school.
They were rushing to get back and collided with another car on the motorway, they both died instantly. This
left Amy with nobody to care for her so the state had to decide what would happen to her next. During the
time that the decision was being made, Amy was put into foster care. The state assessed Amy’s
grandparents under section 31 and decided they were not suitable to care for her due to their age. Her
godparents will have custody over Amy after also being assessed by the state, because they were next of kin.
Amy was very close with her godparents so this decision was very good for her well-being. A social worker
would regularly check on Amy in her new home to see how she’s doing, and how the godparents were
coping with the situation. Amy was doing good because she is only 3 years old so she doesn’t fully
understand the situation, and she isn’t able to comprehend that her parents died. Furthermore, the
godparents were taking good care of Amy and they were able to meet all her needs.
Parent reasons:
Mental health issues: The first case study I will be discussing is about Jessica, a 15-year-old girl who lived
with her bipolar father. His mental illness meant that his moods would swing from one extreme to another.
One moment he could be happy and the next he could get angry unexpectedly. This put Jessica under a lot of
stress as she never knew what to expect from her father while she was at home. He would also get abusive
towards Jessica, she was too scared to talk about it but her school teacher saw bruises on her arms. She
decided to report this and the state looked into the situation. Social services turned up at Jessica’s house and
questioned her father about the bruises. He denied ever putting his hands on Jessica but social services
noticed that he wasn’t mentally stable, as his mood swings were obvious. They decided he was a danger to
Unit 10
