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Adoption
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The local authority attempts to find adoptive homes
for children who are no longer able to live in their
own homes. The authority reviews applications from
prospective adoptive parents to assess suitability.
Ongoing support is provided for adopted children and
their new families.
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Advice
and support for children in care
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A local authority monitors the educational progress
of all children in its care and offers advice and
support to both children and carers. Where required
any special needs will be considered when making
educational arrangements for looked after children.
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Baby-sitting
service
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Provision of a list of registered childminders. Some
childminders may be willing to do some evening or
weekend babysitting. There may be a subsidy available
for those who qualify for financial assistance, are
aged 16-19 and are studying full-time or part-time.
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Birth
- registering
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Every birth in England or Wales must be registered in
the district in which it takes place within 42 days
of the date of birth. A registrar from the local
authority completes the registration in the presence
of a parent or guardian and issues a birth
certificate. In Scotland any birth which occurs must
be registered within twenty one days by the Registrar
of Births, Deaths and Marriages. The law requires the
birth to be registered either in the registration
district where the birth took place or in the
registration district where the mother of the child
lived (the district of "usual residence", which for
this purpose means the address of the parental home
in Scotland, not a temporary address at which the
mother may reside for a short period before and after
the birth, e.g. her own mother's home).
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Chaperone
service
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A child taking part in a performance, which can
include TV or filming, theatre, sporting activities
or modelling, will require chaperoning. Chaperones
employed by the local education authority should have
Enhanced Disclosure Certificates
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Child
protection
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The child protection scheme takes measures to
safeguard vulnerable children and young people at
risk or suffering from physical, emotional or sexual
abuse. This involves investigating reports of
suspected abuse and where appropriate applying for a
Child Assessment Order, Care Order, Supervision Order
or Emergency Protection Order.
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Children and
young people - immunisation
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All children in the UK are offered vaccination
against certain diseases such as diphtheria, measles,
mumps, rubella etc. as part of the childhood
immunisation schedule.
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Children and
young people - maintenance payments
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Child maintenance is paid for children who live away
from one or both of their parents. It is an amount of
money paid regularly by the non-resident parent for
the child. The Child Support Agency calculates and
collects child maintenance for parents and children
who normally live in the UK
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Children and
young people - parental custody
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Decisions on arrangements for children taken as part
of divorce proceedings. The court generally considers
arrangements concerning where a child will live,
their day to day care, their health and education,
financial support and whether the other parent will
see the child and how often.
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Children and
young people - registration of responsibilities
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Registration of parental responsibility for a child
other than when a birth is first registered. Parental
responsibility gives the parent legal rights in
respect of the child. Parental responsibility other
than at birth is most commonly acquired by the
partner of an unmarried mother or of a currently
responsible parent.
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Children and
young people - respite care
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Respite care is a form of short-term substitute care
provided by someone other than the parents or usual
carers for a child. Respite care is a key support to
families and is organised to suit the needs of the
particular child and family. It can take place in a
hospital, residential setting or in the child's own
home.It gives parents free time to give them a rest,
to spend time with their other children or in an
emergency.
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Children's
hearings
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A Children’s Hearing is a lay tribunal of three
members. It must not be wholly male or female and
aims to have a balance of age and experience. One of
the three panel members will chair the hearing. The
hearing considers and makes decisions on the welfare
of the child.
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Children's
hearings - supervision
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If a Children’s Hearing thinks compulsory measures of
supervision are appropriate it will impose a
supervision requirement, which may be renewed
annually until the child becomes 18. The hearing has
a wide scope to insert any condition in a Supervision
Requirement, and the local authority is responsible
for ensuring that it is implemented. In most cases
the child will continue to live at home but will be
under the supervision of a social worker. In some
cases the hearing will decide that the child should
live away from his home with relatives or foster
parents, or in one of several establishments managed
by local authority or voluntary organisations, such
as children's homes, residential schools or secure
accommodation. A hearing does not have power to fine
the child or young person or his parents. All
decisions made by hearings are legally binding on
that child or young person.
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Children's
panel recruitment
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The local authority provides information about how to
become a children's panel member. The Children's
Hearings system relies on the involvement of around
2,500 volunteers in Scotland who give their time and
commitment to training and serving as children's
panel members.
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Common
assessment framework
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The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) for Children
and Young People is a key part of the strategy to
shift the focus from dealing with the consequences of
difficulties in children's lives to preventing things
from going wrong in the first place. It is a
nationally standardised approach to conducting an
assessment of the needs of a child or young person
and deciding how those needs should be met.
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Fostering
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Fostering provides homes for children who are
temporarily unable to live with their own families
but who wish to maintain contact. Fostering may
provide respite care or shared care for children with
disabilities. Support is provided for the children,
the foster carers and the family of the fostered
children.
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Grants
- supporting families
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A grant available to organisations which support and
develop activities which enable families to get
access to the information, help and advice they want
at the time they need it.
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Hospice care
for children
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Children's hospices provide respite and terminal care
for children suffering from life-limiting conditions
in a home-from-home environment. Care is provided for
the child and their family at no cost to them for as
long as is necessary, including post bereavement
support.
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Naming
ceremonies
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A Naming ceremony is a formal and dignified
non-religious ceremony to celebrate the birth of a
child or to welcome an adopted child or stepchild
into a new family. The child or children can be of
any age. Naming ceremonies have no legal status.
ceremonies can usually be arranged at a Register
Office or other approved venues.
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Out of
hours social services support
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Social Services will have an 'out of hours' team who
will deal with emergencies (child protection issues,
homelessness, mental health assessment etc.) which
occur outside normal working hours. Details of how to
contact the out of hours team should be published.
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Parks
and open spaces - outdoor facilities
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The local authority is responsible for managing play
facilities such as playgrounds, outdoor and indoor
play areas catering for age groups ranging from four
years to twelve years.
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Residential
care for children
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Provision of residential accommodation for children
and young people who cannot live with their natural
families. Prior to a placement in residential
accommodation there will be assessment of need
undertaken in conjunction with the young person (and
their family if appropriate), social workers and
residential staff.
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School
- health promotion
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Promotion of a healthy living environment for pupils
and staff. Health promotion addresses issues such as
exercise, substances, emotional health and
well-being, safety, sexual health and relationships
and nutrition.
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School
- teenage pregnancy
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Schools and the LEA should provide information and
advice aimed at getting more teenage parents into
education, training or employment, to reduce the risk
of long term social exclusion.
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Shared
care for children
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The Shared Care Scheme aims to provide regular short
term breaks for children and young people with
disabilities, by linking them with approved carers
who look after them for short periods of time. This
can be from a few hours to a weekend a month.
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Support for
children with HIV
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Social Services and a number of voluntary
organisations work with families where a child is HIV
positive to deal with any immediate problems, and to
help the family plan for the long term care of
children.
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Support groups
for children, young people and families
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Information and advice about organisations in the
local area who may be able to provide support to
children and their families.
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Supporting
young people leaving care
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The local authority provides support for young people
in the care of the council to prepare for their
future. The council will work alongside the young
person to prepare a plan for their future up until
the age of 21 (or 24 if in further education). The
plan should cover finance, education and employment,
accommodation, health and emotional welfare.
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Travelling
people - support for children
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The traveller service has teachers and home or school
support staff who can help with attendance issues and
supporting gypsy or traveller children whilst they
are in schools.
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Vetting of
contract and supplier staff
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The CRB has access to personal records held by the
Police, the Department of Health, and the Department
for Education and Skills ensuring the best possible
scrutiny of applicants. In Scotland Disclosure
Scotland provides a valuable service protecting the
vulnerable people in our society by helping
organisations make safer recruitment decisions when
duties involve contact with children or adults at
risk. Disclosure Scotland in conjunction with the
Scottish Criminal Records Office (SCRO) run checks
against the Scottish Criminal History System (CHS)
and the UK wide Police National Computer system (PNC)
in order to ensure the best possible scrutiny of
applicants . Disclosure certificates contain details
about an applicants' criminal convictions and
Enhanced Disclosure Certificates can, in certain
circumstances, contain non-conviction information.
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Young
carers - support and advice
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The local authority Social Services team offer young
carers and their families support information and
advice. The service provides recreational respite,
advocacy, a befriending service and therapeutic
support to young people who have caring
responsibilities for a relative with a long-term
illness or disability.
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Young
people - information and advice
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Integrated advice, guidance and access to personal
development opportunities for young people aged
between 13 and 19 to help them make a smooth
transition to adulthood and working life
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