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What does looked after children mean?
The term looked after children (LAC) refers to children who are in the care of the local authority. The term has a specific legal meaning based on the Children Act 1989. These children and young people may also be known as a child in care.
Children can become looked after at any age from birth up to 18 years old.
Children who are looked after fall into 5 main groups:
- Accommodated under a voluntary agreement with their parents (section 20 of the Children Act 1989 status).
- Subject to a care order, interim care order or supervision order staying with birth family or other legal orders (section 31 of the Children Act 1989).
- Subject of emergency orders for the protection of the child.
- Compulsorily accommodated, this includes children remanded to the local authority or subject to a youth rehabilitation order with a residence requirement.
- In respite or short breaks who are subject to the same statutory reviews as looked after children.
They may have been placed in care voluntarily by parents struggling to cope, or by children’s social care who may have intervened because they were identified as being at significant risk of harm, neglect or exploitation.
Children who have been looked after by a local authority for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and have left care at the age of 16 years old are known as care leavers up to the age of 25 and are entitled to additional services and prioritised support.
Children who are looked after may be living:
- with foster parents
- at home with their parents under the supervision of children’s social care
- in residential children’s homes
- in other residential settings, for example schools or secure units.
- away from home on a planned basis for short breaks or respite care
- with supported lodging carer’s if aged 16 years or older
- in semi-independent accommodation if aged 16 years or older
- in independent accommodation if aged 16 years or older
Our looked after children duties
NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly is required, under section 10 of the Children Act 2004 to ensure the timely and effective delivery of health services to looked after children and care leavers. To support us in this role, a designated nurse and doctor are employed as strategic leads to assist and advise health commissioners and the local authorities in fulfilling their responsibilities to improve the health of looked after children and care leavers.
The Health and Social Care Act 2012 places a legal duty on integrated care boards (ICBs) to work with local authorities to promote the integration of health and social care services.
The mandate to NHS England, statutory guidance on joint strategic needs assessments and joint health and wellbeing strategies, (2013), and the NHS Constitution for England (2015), make clear the responsibilities of ICBs and NHS England to looked after children (and, by extension, to care leavers). In fulfilling those responsibilities, the NHS contributes to meeting the health needs of looked after children in 3 ways:
- Commissioning effective services.
- Delivering through provider organisations.
- Through individual practitioners providing coordinated care for each child.
Looked after children designated professionals
The designated nurse and doctor for looked after children and care leavers are the strategic health leads for looked after children in Cornwall. They have a critical role in promoting the health and wellbeing of looked after children by:
- assisting the ICB and other health service commissioners in service planning and development
- advising the ICB on fulfilling their responsibilities to improve the health of children in care and care leavers
- leading and supporting all activities necessary to ensure organisations within the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly health community (both commissioner and provider) meet their responsibilities for children in care and care leavers
- providing expert advice and support (including case focused support and supervision) to health staff at all levels who are delivering health services to children in care and care leavers
- representing the health needs of children in care and care leavers at a number of single and multi-agency operational and strategic meetings and boards including the corporate parenting board
The designated nurse can be contacted on 07919 995189, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Email non-urgent enquiries.
Looked after children commissioned provider
NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly commissions a specialist children in care health team through Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust and mental health services through Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Local authority public health nurses also provide services to looked after children.
The children in care health team facilitates the delivery of relevant health services to all Cornwall and Isles of Scilly looked after children and young people and those children and young people who are living in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly from other local authority areas in accordance with their health care plan. This team also provides statutory initial and review health assessments, and arranges assessments, when required, from providers outside of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust also provides the designated doctor and medical adviser adoption and fostering and medical services to deliver both statutory initial health assessment and adoption medical reviews. They also provide the adoption medical advisor to the statutory adoption panel.
Contact the looked after children’s team
Important
- All requests for health assessments should be emailed to the team. Please do not send any requests for health assessments direct to individual practitioners.
The children in care health team can be contacted Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Email the team or call 01872 245590
All children in care living in Cornwall should be registered with a:
- local GP (find a GP)
- dentist (call 0333 006 3300 for advice about how to access dental care)
- optician (find an optician)
All children in care will have access to public health nursing services, health visiting and school nursing (if attending a local school).
Useful information
Page last reviewed: 6 July 2022