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Contents

1. Holidays for Children Accommodated under S.20 of the Children Act 1989
2. Holidays for Children on Care Orders under S.31
3. Holidays for Unaccompanied Asylum Seekers
4. Holidays for Children on Residence Orders
5. Holidays where the Circumstances are Unusual
6. When the Court's Permission is Required
7. Insurance
8. Obtaining a Passport
9. Arrangements for taking Children and Young People on Day Trips and Organised Holidays

1. Holidays for Children Accommodated Under S.20 of the Children Act 1989

For children on Care Orders, see Section 2, Holidays for children on Care Orders under S.31.

Arrangements for notifying and consulting the social worker about holiday plans should be agreed in the child's Placement Information Record.

The consent of a parent(s) or person with Parental Responsibility must be obtained, preferably in writing; and the following should be included:

• address where holiday is taken
• responsible adult(s) accompanying the child including adult/child ratio if group holiday
• if the child is going with a family or person who is not known to Children's Services, whether they have been checked as holiday foster carers;
• dates of holiday
• views of the child
• if any cost to the authority, including insurance
• any additional information

Procedures in Children's Transport and Activities Procedure should be taking into account when planning trips/holidays.

NB Children must not be taken on holiday during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances - see Holidays in Term Time for Looked After Children - Policy and  Holidays in Term Time for Looked After Children - Procedure.

2. Holidays for Children on Care Orders under S.31

The procedure is the same as for those Accommodated under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989 (see Section 1, Holidays for children Accommodated under S.20 of the Children Act 1989) except that the consent of parents or person having Parental Responsibility is not required but should be obtained wherever practicable or possible. Any objections by the parent(s) should be recorded on the file.

The social worker should ensure that arrangements are in place through the Placement Plan/Placement Information Record to be notified well in advance of any plans for holidays abroad in order to obtain consent from parents or a Person with Parental Responsibility.

If the holiday is likely to be for more than one month, the Courts authority must be sought. See Section 6, When the Courts Permission is Required

NB Children must not be taken on holiday during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances - see Holidays in Term Time for Looked After Children - Policy and  Holidays in Term Time for Looked After Children - Procedure.

3. Holidays for Unaccompanied Asylum Seekers

The procedure is the same as for those Accommodated under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989 (see Section 1, Holidays for children Accommodated under S.20 of the Children Act 1989) except that:

• approval is unlikely if the child wishes to go on their own and/or to a destination which could call into question the integrity of their original claim for asylum.
• the Designated Manager (School or Educational Trips/Holidays Abroad) must endorse the holiday by signing the consent form.

4. Holidays for Children on Residence Orders

For children on Residence Orders, the procedure is the same as for those Accommodated under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989 (see Section 1, Holidays for Children Accommodated under S.20 of the Children Act 1989) except that the written consent of every person with Parental Responsibility for the child is required, or else the leave of the court before the child can be taken out of the country. The person in whose favour the Residence Order is made may take the child out of the country for a period of less than one month without the above consent or leave of the court.

5. Holidays where the Circumstances are Unusual

If it is proposed to arrange a holiday to a destination where the child may be at risk, for example, where there is political unrest, concern that the child may not return as planned or other circumstances which may make it unsafe for the child, it may be necessary to seek the approval of members.

In these circumstances, the social worker should seek approval from the Designated Manager (School or Educational Trips/Holidays Abroad). When seeking approval, the social worker should address the following matters:

1. The name of the person(s) with whom the child is going on holiday and their relationship to the child;
2. Holiday address;
3. Dates of the holiday;
4. The views of the child;
5. The views of the parent(s) and their consent to the proposed holiday. Where the parental consent is not obtained, details should be recorded;
6. If a report from Children and Families Across Borders has been obtained, a summary should be included. It this has been requested and not yet received, the committee may agree to the holiday taking place, subject to a satisfactory report from CAB;
7. Cost to the council, if any. The necessary approval of expenditure should be attached.
8. If applicable, a recent update from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the proposed country of visit (available on-line)

6. When the Court's Permission is Required

If the child is the subject of a Care Order and the holiday abroad is for more than one month, an application must also be made to the appropriate Court for the Court's permission to allow the child to go abroad if the parent's written agreement is not obtained.

Where a Court Order is required, the social worker should contact Legal Services as soon as possible for the necessary application to be made and advise the parents of the intended application. This should be incorporated into the care planning and reviewing process.

7. Insurance

7.1 Medical Treatment during visits to EEC countries

Children travelling within EU/EEA countries and Switzerland will be covered for medical treatment through a European Health Insurance Card. An application form can be downloaded from the Department of Health website or be collected from the post office. DH also provides health advice for travellers. For children under 16 years old, the form needs to be completed by the parent(s) or foster carer(s) and be submitted as a family application. Young people over 16 can apply for a European Health Insurance Card in their own name.

7.2 Private Medical Insurance Cover or Insurance Cover for Holidays

In situations were medical cover is required at short notice, it is suggested that private insurance cover is taken out.

The insurance referred to in section 7.1 above only covers a child for medical treatment and not for loss of luggage, cover for cancellation of the holiday etc. Therefore a private insurance policy is needed for a child travelling abroad.

8. Obtaining a Passport

The whole of this section was amended in April 2010.

See also Summary Process for Passport Applications

It is the Directorate of Children's Service's policy to ensure that all Dudley's looked after children and young people placed within either foster care or residential placements have a passport when they become accommodated, or as soon as possible after placement. Applying for a passport at the earliest opportunity avoids any potential distress to all concerned, especially the child and carers who may as a result of a late application have their holiday plans delayed or cancelled because the child does not have a passport.

Passport Applications

Please see 'Guidance Notes for Social Services Departments when applying for passports on behalf of looked after children' issued by the Home Office, Identity and Passport Service, which should be read in conjunction with the key points outlined below. If there are any issues of citizenship for children born after 1.1.83, you should also refer to 'Passport Policy - General information and application types' also issued by the Home office.

Key Actions

In addition to complying with the guidance outlined by the Identity & Passport Service (IPS), social workers must undertake the following:

1. When a child becomes accommodated, the social worker completes a Placement Information Record with the child, carer, and parent (if appropriate). As part of the placement planning process, the child's social worker will record if the carers have any future plans to travel abroad.
2. Where an intention to travel abroad has been identified/notified, the child's social worker will immediately commence the process of obtaining a passport for the child irrespective of the plan for the child to be with the carers at the time they intend to travel. This is to ensure that if the child remains in placement longer than initially planned s/he will be able to take advantage of the opportunity to travel with their carers. If they are no longer in this placement then they will at least have the benefit of having a valid passport in readiness for any future travel.
3. The social worker must obtain a copy of the child's birth certificate for the file and ascertain if the child has a valid passport in his or her own right, or whether they are included on an adult passport (see IPS guidance for further details).
4. It may also be necessary in accordance with the IPS guidance to establish that a child born in the UK is a British Citizen and if necessary seek documentary evidence from their parents.
5. If a child has not had a passport previously the social worker will advise the parent or anyone with Parental Responsibility, that in accordance with the Directorate's policy on obtaining passports in respect of all looked after children in fostering or residential placements, one must be obtained and should any travel be planned, appropriate consent will be obtained from the parents or those with Parental Responsibility.
6. If the child already has a passport of his or her own and this is provided to the social worker, the passport will be retained and given to the carer for safekeeping. The social worker must make a note of the passport number on the child's file for future reference.
7. The social worker in accordance with the IPS guidance is responsible for completing the Passport Application Form and for seeking the appropriate authorisation and signatures.
8. The social worker will give the completed Passport Application Form, supporting documentation, correspondence and signed photographs, to the Administrative Assistant to post and follow up returns.
9. On receipt of the new passport and after noting the passport number on the child's file, the social worker will deliver it by hand to the carer. 
10. It is the responsibility of the child's social worker to ensure that the child's Care Plan and Placement Information Record is reviewed in line with Looked After Reviews Procedure and the Placement Plan/Placement Information Record is updated with the carer's intentions.
11. It is the carer's responsibility to advise the child's social worker and their supervising social worker, of any intention to travel abroad, outside of any travel already identified in the Care Plan.
12. The supervising social worker will ensure the carers are aware of this responsibility. 
13. Upon notification of any intention to travel abroad the social worker must complete a Change of Circumstances Form, update the Placement Information Record and pass the necessary documentation to the administrative assistant for filing and inputting onto SWIFT.
14. The administrative assistant will provide reminders to the child's social worker and/or the operational manager/senior manager as agreed/necessary.
15. The child's social worker and/or administrative assistant must report any problems experienced or envisaged at the earliest opportunity to the operational manager/senior manager as appropriate.

9. Arrangements for taking Children and Young People on Day Trips and Organised Holidays

Procedures in Children's Transport and Activities Procedure should be taking into account when planning trips/holidays, but the following should be considered:

• communicating with parents/carers; ensuring that consent has been provided, contact details during the trip etc.
• preparing children for the daytrip/holiday
• planning transport
• risk assessment and contingency planning (a set of checklists are provided)
• insurance
• supervision of activities (swimming, climbing, walking etc.)
• planning visits abroad
• emergency procedures

It is essential that there is back up office support in place and a senior officer or manager is contactable out of office hours. Two sets of folders with essential information need to be available at all times; one that is kept by the group leader during the trip and one left behind in the office, containing the following:

• group leader's contact details
• consent forms that contains information about the child's health needs, parent/carer contact details etc.
• insurance details
• transport plans, including contact to coach company, tour operator etc.
• itinerary/programme of visit and contact details at places of accommodation
• emergency procedures

End