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S

Secure accommodation

Secure accommodation means:

• accommodation where a young person’s room is kept locked and/or the home in which they are staying is also locked.
• a young person is not allowed to leave the premises. This is either for their own protection or to protect other people.

In some special cases, we may decide that a young person needs to be kept in secure accommodation. This can happen if the young person has a history of running away, is likely to run away again and in running away is likely to suffer serious harm. It can also happen if a young person was likely to injure her/himself or injure others if they were not kept in secure accommodation.

If we decided to place you in secure accommodation:

• we can only do so for up to a total of 72 hours in a 28-day period.
• we have to go to court and get a Court Order if it feels you need to be in secure accommodation for a longer period.

If you are accommodated, and not on a Care Order, we will need your parents' permission before placing you in secure accommodation.

If we go to court and the court agrees that you should be kept in secure accommodation, then it can make an initial order for up to three months. After this first period, the court can make an Order for up to 6-month periods at a time. We have to keep going back to court to get the Order extended.

If a child is under 13 years, then we cannot place them in secure accommodation without the permission of the Department for Education and Skills, which is a Government Department.

Secure accommodation placements cannot be made for children on Child Assessment Orders who are living away from home, or for young people aged 16 years and over who are accommodated in a local Council’s Children’s Home.

Secure accommodation placements can sometimes be considered by the court when they are remanding a young person into Plymouth City Council accommodation (see Remanded/Detained).

If we apply to the court for an order to place you in secure accommodation, the court must take account of your wishes and feelings as well as those of your parents. A solicitor will be appointed by the court to help you and you will normally be given a Guardian.

If you are to be placed in secure accommodation, you can appeal against the court’s decision and ask permission for the High Court to listen to your case. You will need a solicitor to help you with this.

If you are in secure accommodation, we must hold a review meeting one month from the start of your placement and within three-month periods after that. We must appoint three people to undertake such reviews, and one of these people must not be employed by Plymouth City Council.

If you are accommodated by Plymouth City Council, your parents have the right to remove you from secure accommodation at any time, even after a court has agreed to our request. If this happened, and we felt you were at risk of serious harm, we might consider asking the court for an Emergency Protection Order or a Care Order so that we could have some responsibility for looking after you and protecting your welfare.

Secure accommodation must never be used as a means of punishing you.

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Sexism

Sexism is the word used when boys and girls are treated unequally from each other because of their sex. It is wrong if this happens because girls and boys are equal and should be treated the same.

Sexism is involved in certain situations:

• the word sexism or sexist is sometimes used when girls are told they are not allowed or cannot do something which boys are allowed to do, for example, if girls want to do woodwork, play football or learn how to become a plumber, an engineer or a Bank Manager they should not be told they are not capable just because they are female. It is sexist if girls are told this. These activities and jobs should be open to girls and boys.
• boys should also have a chance to learn how to sew and cook or train to be a nurse or a secretary without being told these are women’s areas of work. This is not the case and boys have an equal right to learn these skills.
• it is also sexism if girls always have to do the washing up and housework if the boys don’t do their share. Whoever lives in a house should help with all the work.

If you feel you are not being allowed to do certain things or feel you are being treated differently because of your sex, you should talk about it with your carer or your social worker.

If you feel the issue has not been solved, then you should contact the Complaints Officer.

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Sexual relationships

Sexual relationships are about people who like or love each other agreeing to get physically close to each other. Choosing to have a sexual relationship with somebody is normal and healthy when you feel ready for it. Choosing not to have a sexual relationship with somebody is also normal and healthy. What is important is that you choose whether or not to have a sexual relationship with someone at a particular time.

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Sexual Offences Act (2003)

In England and Wales, the law on Sexual Offences has been updated. Under this law, the legal age for young people to consent to have sex is still 16, whether you are straight, gay or bisexual.

The aim of the law is to protect the safety and rights of young people and make it easier to prosecute people who pressure or force others into having sex they don’t want. Forcing someone to have sex is a crime.

Although the age of consent is 16, it is not intended that the law should be used to prosecute mutually agreed teenage sexual activity between two young people of a similar age, unless it involves abuse or exploitation.

Under the Sexual Offences Act you still have the right to confidential advice on contraception, condoms, pregnancy and abortion, even if you are under 16.

But remember, whatever your age, you shouldn't have sex until you feel ready.

For more information about sex and relationships visit the R U thinking about it website.

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Getting information on sexual matters

It is important that you find out correct information about sexual matters. Your school should have lessons about sex education and your carer and social worker should be able to answer any questions you might want to ask. If it is difficult to talk to your carer or social worker, you can get in touch with one of the organisations on the Contact page of this section, either to find out general information or to talk privately about your feelings.

Without correct information on sex, there is a very strong risk of you getting a sexual disease, a virus like HIV, or getting pregnant/getting a girlfriend pregnant. You must know about contraception and about safer sex. Safer sex is about using a condom not only to stop pregnancy, but also to stop you getting any diseases or viruses. You can make sex safer by using a condom.

It is also important that you are aware of possible emotional risks. Sexual relationships can be exciting and enjoyable but can sometimes leave you feeling hurt and used. This is why it is important that you think very carefully about whether you are really ready to start a sexual relationship and whether you can cope with the emotional feelings it will have on you.

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Pregnancy

If you do start a sexual relationship, and think you might be pregnant, you should not keep the worry all to yourself. You must get help and advice as soon as possible. You should tell your foster carer and/or your social worker so that they can give you help and support. You will also need to see a doctor to confirm the pregnancy.

If it is difficult to talk to your foster carer or your social worker, then you must get in touch with someone else who can help you. This might be a member of your family. However, if you would prefer to talk to someone who is not so close to you, you can contact one of the organisations listed on the Contact page of this section.

If you are pregnant, you will need to decide whether to have the baby, whether to bring the baby up yourself, or whether to have the baby fostered or adopted.

If you decide you want to have a termination (an abortion), you will need to discuss this with your doctor. If you are over 16 years, you are old enough to make your own decisions. If a doctor does not agree with a termination, you will need advice. Your social worker can help you with this or you can get in touch with one of the organisations on the Contact page of this section.

Your social worker will also talk to you about your feelings about getting the baby’s father involved and what help, if any, you might want him to give you. The social worker will help you think about the help your parents or carers might be able to give.

The most important thing is your wellbeing and the well being of the baby and this is why you must talk to someone who can help you as soon as you think you might be pregnant.

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Social workers

Social workers are employed by Plymouth City Council to work with children and their families.

When you are looked after, you should be allocated (given) a social worker who can take a particular interest in your welfare and care. Sometimes you might have a Social Work assistant instead who will make sure you are ok.

It is your social worker’s job to:

• help us make plans for your care and to make sure you are looked after properly.
• try and make plans with you and your parents for you to return home if possible, or to find you a permanent family to live with.
• visit you while you are looked after, and it is their job to help you sort out any difficulties you might have.
• help you to be involved in plans being made for you. This includes talking to you about what you want to see happen and listening to your view. You might not be able to get everything you want but your wishes and feelings must be taken into account. Your social worker should also explain to you all decisions taken about your care.

You should be given your social worker’s office telephone number so that you can contact them if you have any matters you want to talk to them about.

If you are not happy with some of the decisions being made about you or the way you are being cared for, then you should let your social worker know. You can ask a friend or someone else you trust to help you. Your social worker will try and solve the problem for you.  If you are unhappy with your social worker then you can talk to your foster carer, advocate, reviewing officer or the complaints officer. The Complaints Officer can help you by either talking to the social worker’s Manager to see if she or he can help, or the Complaints Officer can help you if you want to make a complaint.

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Social worker visits

Your social worker should visit you while you are being looked after to see how you are getting on. They will wish to talk to your foster carer or the staff if you are in a Children’s Home but they must also talk to you.

When your social worker should visit you:

• during the first week of your placement to make sure you are settling in, then, during the first year of your placement, they should visit you at least once every six weeks, sometimes they might visit you more often but this will depend on how much help your social worker needs to give you.
• once you have been in your placement for a year, your social worker should visit you at least once every three months. Again, if you need extra support, it might be more often than this.
• if you are staying with friends or relatives that have not had their assessment yet, then the social worker should visit weekly.

If you or your carer needs your social worker to make a special visit for a particular reason which cannot wait until their next visit, then you or your carer should contact your social worker to request this. They will then need to find out what the problems are so they know whether they need to make an urgent visit or whether they can plan a visit in the near future.

On some of their visits, your social worker should talk to you in private, without your carers being in the room, so that they can listen to how you feel. Sometimes they might take you out somewhere for a while so that you can have a longer chat.

If you do want to talk to your social worker alone but didn’t have the chance when they visited, you should write to them or telephone them. You should be given your social worker’s telephone number in case you want to get in touch with them.

If you still have not seen your social worker on your own then you can make a complaint about this.

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Social work files

Each child and young person who is looked after by us has a case file.

Your file will consist of:

• various information which includes general details about you, like how old you are, what school you go to, the name of your doctor, etc as well as details about your family.
• detailed information about your care needs and will have a copy of your care plan, and details about your review meetings.
• details about any views you have given or written down about what you think should happen about your future care.
• decisions taken at review meetings.
• notes written by your social worker about meetings she or he has had with you, your family, your carer, or other people who might be helping with your care plan like your teacher, or someone from the Health Service.

You can also put things on your file if you wish to. For example, you can ask your social worker to put copies of your school certificates or photographs or any written work onto your file. Any personal materials like these that you put on your file should be marked ‘For Return’ and they should be handed back to you when you stop being looked after.

Your case file is confidential which means it is private and it will only be seen by those people who need to see it as part of their job. You have the right to see what is written on your social work file since 1 April 1989 if we think you will understand what is written when you see it.

However, they will not let you see anything which they think will put you at risk of serious harm. Also, you will not be able to see anything that is written about other people, unless the other people agree. If your file information is kept on a computer then you have the same right to see it.

If you want to see your file you should let your social worker know and they will tell you what needs to be done for this to be arranged. If you do look at your file and think something has been written down wrongly, you can ask your social worker to put it right. You should try to keep a photocopy of anything you write.

While you are looked after, your social worker will keep your case file locked up in the office. Once you have stopped being looked after, we will keep your file locked away in a safe place usually for 75 years from the date you are no longer looked after by Plymouth City Council.

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Solicitors

If you are in court relating to your care and welfare, you should have a solicitor.

They are there to represent you and let the court know what you think. A solicitor will usually be given to you by the court if someone else is bringing the court case. For example, if we are applying for a Care Order. Your solicitor is there to represent you and to let the court know your views. This means you must tell your solicitor what you want to see happen and what you want her or him to tell the court.

If you decide you want to apply to the court for permission to get a case heard in court, you will need to contact a solicitor yourself, or get a friend to help you. You might for example, want to apply for the removal of a Care Order or Supervision Order, or you might disagree with an Order the court made and want to appeal against the decision. You might also want to go to court to increase or stop the contact you have with a member of your family.

If you are on a Care Order and were happy with the solicitor you had during the care proceedings, you might want to get her or him to represent you again. Or, you might want to find a new one.  If you are accommodated and have not been involved in a court case, then you will not have had a solicitor.

If you do need a solicitor, you should contact the Law Society’s Children Panel who can give you names and addresses of solicitors who deal with children’s cases. More details are given in the Contacts page in this section. If you ask a solicitor to help you, they will need to make sure that you understand what you are asking them to do. Your solicitor will need to show the court that you have enough understanding when she or he is asking the court’s permission to hear your case.

If you have to attend court for criminal proceedings, you will also be given a solicitor by the Youth Court which hears criminal matters. However, if you need a different solicitor for any reason, you can also ask the Children Panel to help you find one, or you can ask the Children’s Legal Centre (See Contacts Section) for advice.

Using solicitors costs money. However, someone who has very little money can apply to the Legal Aid Board to ask for their solicitor’s costs and charges to be paid for by the Board. This is called getting legal aid. Your solicitor can help you fill in a form to apply for a legal aid. However, if you want to go to court regarding your Care Order or a Supervision Order, because you might want it removed, then you don’t need to fill in this form. You are allowed to be given legal aid to pay for your solicitor in these instances.

It is slightly different though if you want to appeal against a Care Order or Supervision Order when they are first made by the court. You are allowed to have legal aid for an appeal provided that you can satisfy the Law Society that you have a good reason to appeal. Your solicitor must let the Law Society know the reason(s) and if the Society agree that your reasons are good, you will be given legal aid.

For other types of court cases, you should talk to your solicitor about whether you are automatically entitled to legal aid or whether you have to apply and be considered for it. For example, you are automatically entitled to legal aid regarding any applications made to the court about you being placed in secure accommodation. However, you would have to be considered for legal aid if you wanted to go to the court about having contact with a member of your family increased or reduced.

If you were being considered for legal aid to pay for your solicitor, then the Legal Aid Board would only look at how much money you had.  If the person you were living with had a lot of money, this doesn’t count. The Legal Aid Board are only interested in whether you yourself can afford to pay for a solicitor. If you can’t, then they will decide whether to pay it for you.

If you want to find out more details about your legal rights before you decide you want to go to court, or if you just want general legal information or advice, you can contact and talk to the Children’s Legal Centre. Further details are on the Contacts page in this section.

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Specific Issue Order

A Specific Issue Order is an Order made by the court that tells someone like one of your parents what they must do on a particular matter that concerns you. For example, if your parents disagreed with each other about your education and, say, your father wanted you to change schools, but your mother didn’t, then your father could go to court and ask for a Specific Issue Order. In this case your education would be the specific issue that the court would be looking at.

If the court made such an Order, the Order might say which of your parents should make the main decisions about your schooling and it might say whether you should  change schools. The court would want the best for you and would want to know your views.

Specific Issue can be about different things that your parents (or other people who have responsibility for your care) disagree about. Things like what religion you should follow or about what medical treatment you should have.

If you are looked after by us and are on a Care Order, then the court cannot make a Specific Issue Order relating to you. However, if there were any major disagreements between say Plymouth City Council and your parents whilst you were on a Care Order, then we or someone like a doctor could go to court to get a court’s decision on the disagreement.

This might happen for example, if Plymouth City Council and doctors believed you needed to have an operation, which involved having a blood transfusion and your parents disagreed because it was against your religion. The court would listen to what everyone has to say about it, including you, and could then make a Specific Issue Order to decide the matter.

If you are accommodated by us, without a Care Order, then your parent(s) still have full parental responsibility for you. If they disagreed between themselves about a specific issue to do with your care, then one of them could apply for a Specific Issue Order.

Unless there were special circumstances a Specific Issue Order would stop operating once you were 16 years old because you can make many of your own decisions by that age.

If you are under 16 years old and accommodated by us, you do have a right to ask the court for permission to apply yourself for a Specific Issue Order. You would have to show the court that you understood what you were doing. You might want to apply for the Order, for example, if you had strong feelings about your education or your religion and your parents disagreed with you about it.

We could also apply for a Specific Issue Order if they accommodate you. This could happen for example if you needed an operation and we could not find your parents to get their permission.

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Supervision Order

If we have concerns about your welfare when you are living at home, we can ask the court to make a Supervision Order instead of a Care Order. However, the court will make whichever Order they think is best for you.

A Care Order means that you would become looked after by us and a care plan would be written about your care.

A Supervision Order means you could still live with your parents but the court would say what sort of planned activities should happen to you while you were on the Order. The court would listen to the worries people had about your welfare before deciding what was best for you. They would also listen to your wishes and feelings.

Planned activities on a Supervision Order could include things like medical examinations and treatment, it might include psychiatric help. Only the court can decide that you should have such examinations or treatment and any such requirements should be stated in the Order, unless you or your solicitor disagrees in court. You can refuse to give your consent if you can show that you have enough understanding to make you own decisions, or if you are over 16 years. You should talk to your solicitor about this. The supervision Order could also include other planned activities such as attending school, getting involved in a particular community project and may also tell you where you should be living. It may also tell you to meet particular people on specified days.

If a court makes a Supervision Order:

• it will then tell a social worker or a probation officer to act as your supervisor.
• it will be the supervisor’s job to advise and assist you and help you do what the court says should happen.
• sometimes, the court will give general statements on some of the activities you should do and leave it to the Supervisor to work out the plans. The court will also ask either your parents or whoever you will be living with to agree that they will also help you to do as the court wants.

A Supervision Order lasts for one year but we can apply to the court and ask for the Order to be extended for up to three years.

Your supervisor must visit you while you are on a Supervision Order. If your supervisor finds that you or your family try to avoid or stop these visits happening then it is possible that we may go back to court and ask for a Care Order if we can show that you are at risk of serious harm. If a Care Order were made, then the Supervision Order would stop.

During the period of the Supervision Order your supervisor can go back to court and ask that the Order be varied (changed a bit) or removed. This may happen if a doctor who is treating you tells us that you need a different type of treatment, you need more treatment, or that no further treatment is required.

You or your parents also have the right to ask the court to remove a Supervision Order and you should ask a solicitor to advise you if you want to do this.

Sometimes, courts will make Interim Supervision Orders. These are a bit like Interim Care Orders and are made while everyone is preparing a case for a full Supervision Order.

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Criminal Supervision Order

If a young person commits a criminal offence, then the Youth Court who listens to criminal cases can make a Criminal Supervision Order, which is different than the Care Supervision Order talked about above. If a Criminal Supervision Order is made and you have already had such an Order made against you before, then the Youth Court can order you to live somewhere provided by Plymouth City Council. This could happen if the crime you committed was serious, and if it had been committed by someone over 21 years, they would have been sent to prison. You would need to have a solicitor to represent you when the court was making a decision about Plymouth City Council providing you with accommodation.

If we did have to find you accommodation, then you would become looked after by Plymouth City Council. If the Youth Court did make a condition that you had to be looked after by us, then this condition would last for up to six months at a time. This means that while you were on a Criminal Supervision Order the court would need to decide every six months whether you should remain accommodated by us.

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