Visitors to the Home

1. General

Visitors to the home may fall into several categories and can include social workers; parents / carers and relatives or friends of children and young people; 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 admission to the home and contact with children or young people is permitted.

The following applies to all visitors who are likely to remain in the home or come into contact with children and young people:

Visits should normally be planned in advance and agreed by the manager or staff (e.g. for social worker visits). Visits to children and young people 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 enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Checks must not be left alone with a child or young person at any point;
• The visit must be recorded in the individual child or young person’s Daily Record, where relevant.

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

2. Parents, Relatives and Friends

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

If parents or relatives arrive without prior agreement, staff should politely and sensitively explain that they cannot allow contact or family time until the manager/social worker has been consulted. If there appear to be any immediate risks to the child, young person 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 they enter the home. If the person is unable to prove their identity, 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.

3. Maintenance Workers and Contractors

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 young people.

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

4. Officials (e.g. Social Workers, Independent Visitors, Regulatory Authority)

See: Section 1, General.

Independent Visitors or Advocates who are likely to require unsupervised contact with children and young people 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 the Regulatory Authority will not be required to provide details of Disclosure and Barring Service Checks.

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

5. Employees and Children from other Homes

See: Section 1, General.

Staff and children or young people 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.

6. Neighbours

Neighbours may not have unsupervised contact with children or young people.

• Where possible the locations of homes are chosen to ensure that any potentially 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 otherwise emanate;
• Staff in our homes 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 can be of assistance if difficulties do arise. It is important for our children and young people to feel part of their community;
• Neighbours should be given practical advice on any interactions with  our children and young people 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 neighbours may appear aggressive. A manager should call back as soon as possible and, if at all possible and deemed to be safe and necessary, arrange a visit to the neighbour. If the neighbour wishes to make a complaint, the manager should refer to the Representations and Complaints Procedure.