Visitors to the Home

Visitors to the Home may fall into several categories and can include social workers; parents / carers and relatives or friends of children; prospective employees; inspectors; neighbours or maintenance workers, delivery drivers, meter readers etc.

Staff should be vigilant when allowing visitors into the Home, ensuring identification is always authenticated and the Visitors’ Book is signed on arrival and departure. If the visitor is unable to prove their identity, the manager must be consulted and give approval before contact is permitted. Visitors must be informed of any health and safety risks to them on their arrival to the home and share whether there is a planned fire drill, assembly points and nearest exits.

Children/young people have the right to a normal family home environment, and we promote this as much as we reasonably can. We support children/young people to have contact with their friends and families in line with the contact arrangements outlined in their placement plans. The duration, mode and frequency of visits are also pre-determined at the placement meetings. If this changes, the social worker must inform the home in writing and relevant plans will be updated accordingly.

There may be times when it is not appropriate for friends to be in the home. Staff will have to weigh this with the circumstances at the time. It is not unreasonable to ask friends or visitors to leave if there are circumstances which require the home to do so, such as unacceptable behaviour or visits that take place out of normal acceptable times.

The following applies to all visitors who are likely to remain in the Home or come into contact with children:

• Visits should normally be planned in advance and agreed by the manager or staff (e.g. for social worker visits). Visits to children by parents, relatives and friends must be planned as set out in Section 2, Parents, Relatives and Friends. As part of the placement planning process, a risk assessment must be undertaken in relation to contact with family and friends;
• Visitors should be welcomed by a member of staff on duty, who should act as a reference person for them during visit. The member of staff should ensure that the visitor's identity is authenticated as described above;
• The visitor should be briefed on practical matters such as fire precautions, the location of toilets, mealtimes, etc.
• Any regular visitors (such as contractors or maintenance workers) who have not had Disclosure and Barring Service Checks must not be left alone with a child at any point;
• The visit must be recorded in the individual child’s Daily Record.

If staff are concerned in any way following a visit to a child they should raise this with the manager and speak to the child’s social worker as soon as is reasonably practicable.

Any contact between children and their parents, siblings, relatives or friends should be consistent with arrangements outlined in the child’s Care Plan.

If parents or relatives arrive without prior agreement, staff should politely and sensitively explain that they cannot allow contact until the manager/social worker has been consulted. If there appear to be any immediate risks to the child or others, staff should seek guidance and support from a manager or, in exceptional circumstances, the police.

Staff should take reasonable precautions to prove the identity of parents, relatives or friends before entering the Home. If the person is unable to do so or there is any doubt or concerns on the part of staff, they may not come into the Home and should be politely referred to a manager.

Friends and visitors are allowed within the communal areas of the home but will not be into the bedroom’s areas. Parents are allowed to see the bedroom of their children. Any other person allowed to do this must be agreed by the child’s social worker. The home manager may also allow this at their discretion. For example, a professional or a mentor who is a positive influence may want to see the child’s bedroom.

See also Contact with Parents/Carers, Siblings and Others Procedure.

See: Section 1, General.

Before contractors are permitted to undertake work in the Home, the manager must ensure that they are properly briefed on the purpose and function of the Home, and that any parameters are agreed, preferably in writing e.g. which parts of the Home they may access, safe management of tools/equipment.

Staff must ask the visitor to prove their identity before entering the Home. If the person is unable to do so or there is any doubt or concerns on the part of staff, they may not come into the Home and should be politely referred to a manager.

Under no circumstances may contractors have unsupervised contact with children and must be chaperoned whilst in the home or on the grounds of the home.

All arrivals and departures must be recorded in the Daily Log and Visitors Book, any concerns raised by the workers or by staff within the Home must immediately be brought to the attention of the manager.

See: Section 1, General.

Independent Visitors or Advocates who are likely to require unsupervised contact with children must firstly satisfy the manager of the Home that they have up to date Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Checks.

Social workers, the police and representatives of Regulatory Authority will not be required to provide details of Disclosure and Barring Service Checks.

Should such visitors require unsupervised contact with children, this is acceptable but they should not be alone with children in their bedrooms.

See: Section 1, General.

Staff  and children not working/living at the Home must be treated as visitors; their arrival and departure must be recorded in the Daily Log and Visitors Book.

Should family members of employees visit the Home, they must not be allowed to have unsupervised contact with children.

Neighbours may not have unsupervised contact with children.

• Where possible the locations of the Homes is chosen to ensure that any adverse impact on local residents is minimised but, where this is not possible, physical measures are taken such as the erection of substantial fences or the double glazing of windows from which a noise nuisance might emanate;
• The Home should discourage behaviour patterns, which are likely to cause difficulties e.g. noisy activities or loud music in close proximity to neighbours' property;
• In new locations, contact should be made with neighbours at the earliest opportunity and regular contact after that should be maintained. All efforts should be made to build up goodwill and understanding as they are of assistance if difficulties do arise;
• Neighbours should be given practical advice on dealing with our children which might include not inviting them into their homes, not lending money or offering cigarettes, etc.

If an incident occurs, it must be taken seriously. All phone calls or visits should be dealt with calmly and politely, even if aggressive. A manager should call back as soon as possible and if at all possible, arrange a visit to the neighbour. If the neighbour wishes to make a complaint, the manager should refer to the relevant Complaints Procedure.

The visitors book should have the following record of visitors to the home:

• Name of Visitor;
• Reason for Visit;
• Name of Organisation, if applicable;
• Time in;
• Time out;
• Signature of the visitor;
• ID checked by (name of staff member);
• Staff signature.