A Child's Stay may be Ending Unexpectedly

When a child’s stay with you ends in an unplanned way this nearly always leaves all those concerned feeling emotional. Your Supervising Social Worker will want to work with you to make sure that everything is done to support you, the children, and young people living with you and to manage difficulties that arise at the time or after a child has left your care.

If you are struggling with a child’s care, or the child is expressing a view that they don’t want to continue to live with you, you should raise this with your supervising social worker, or the child’s social worker as soon as possible. You should also use your support mechanisms to help you to find a way forward. The Surrey County Fostering Association may also be able to provide ‘lived experience’ support during this difficult time.

A ‘lifeboat’ meeting may be held if concerns are emerging. This is a meeting with you, the team around the child, and the child (if appropriate) to consider what concerns you or the child have about the future of your time together, what action could be taken to address those concerns, and what is needed to sustain and strengthen the child’s placement with you into the future. If the meeting agrees that the child’s time with you should end, then it will plan how to ensure the ending is as positive as possible.

Sadly, not all foster care placements work out. Disruption is the word used to describe a placement that ends before it was anticipated or planned for.

A disruption can also occur when Children’s Social Care feel the household is no longer meeting the child’s needs or you decide that you are no longer able to care for a child or the child decides they do not want to stay in the fostering family home.

It is vital that for whatever reason the stay has ended, you make the move for the child as positive as possible. When endings are unplanned, the welfare and well-being of the child remains a priority within your role and your Fostering Service will support you to act at all times with this in mind. It is also important that the needs and feelings of other children living in your home are taken into account.

A Looked After Review should also be arranged to consider the child’s care plan, and what action is needed in respect of a move to another home.

A Disruption Meeting will be arranged by a social worker. More information about these meetings can be found in the Surrey Children's Services Procedures, Placement Planning and Disruption Meetings Procedure.

These meetings may be held a little while after the child has left as this gives everyone the best chance to reflect when some of the immediate feelings of upset have passed.  

Service colleagues will consider all circumstances in an attempt to understand what happened. Disruption Meetings can sometimes feel threatening, but it is important to recognise that their purpose is to identify and acknowledge a better understanding of events.  Most carers who have been through a placement breakdown have found the Disruption Meeting helpful. 

The Chair of the meeting should ensure that the circumstances that led to the disruption are reviewed and that everyone has the opportunity to express their views in order to:

• Find out how and why the disruption happened;
• Learn from what happened and consider if there is anything needed to avoid the same thing happening again - for the child/others in your home;
• Identify the positive work and good experiences for all amongst the difficulties;
• Support all parties involved;
• Contribute to the future planning for the child;
• Identify work to be done for all and who will do it.

The Chair will make sure minutes are sent to all those involved. The report of the Disruption Meeting may be presented to the fostering panel.

A review may be held to look at your approval terms. If a disruption meeting has been held the review should consider the outcomes, recommendations, and agreed actions from the meeting.