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Current location: Social care and health > Children's social care > Looked after children > A-Z Guide

Contact

Mail :	Plymouth Fostercare Children's Services Plymouth City Council Plymouth PL1 2AA
Phone :	0800 085 8034
Email :	fostering@plymouth.gov.uk

A-Z Guide for Looked After Children and Young People

This section has been written to let children and young people know what their rights are when they are looked after by Plymouth City Council. A printed copy of this information lives in a yellow folder in your foster home.

Many of your rights are written down in the Children Act 1989 and the Adoption and Children Act 2002. These Acts are the main laws that we must follow when we look after children. This section lets you know about the law on matters which may affect you, and what your rights are within the law.

Apart from your legal rights, we believe you have general basic rights which must be acted on while you are looked after by Plymouth City Council.

This includes:

being treated fairly by staff and carers, and not being discriminated against.
being allowed a private space in your new home in which you can keep your personal belongings.
generally having your feelings and views about your care respected.

The book therefore also includes details of our policy relating to general rights, as well as your rights under the law. It also tells you what you can do if you need to use your rights, and where to get help. Sometimes this help can be given by your carer or your social worker.

Some children and young people will be able to read this book by themselves. Others will need to ask their carer or a member of their family to help. If you are able to read it yourself but need any help in understanding some parts of the book, or if you just want to talk about some of the things the book includes, your carer or your social worker will be happy to help.

The Contacts page in this section gives you the details of various organisations who can offer help on various subjects. Often, these are there in case you feel you cannot talk to your social worker or foster carer about something. We hope you will find this section helpful.