Placements in Secure Accommodation

1. Secure Accommodation Criteria

1.1 Placement on Welfare Grounds

Section 25 of the Children Act 1989 sets out the 'welfare' criteria which must be met before a child Looked After by the local authority may be placed in secure accommodation. 

The 'Welfare' criteria are:

• That the child has a history of absconding (see note below) and is likely to abscond from any other description of accommodation; and
• If the child absconds, s/he is likely to suffer Significant Harm, or that;
• If the child is kept in any other description of accommodation s/he is likely to injure her/himself or others.

The use of secure accommodation should be for the minimum period necessary, following an assessment of likely risk to the child, others and public safety.

A child must not continue to have his/her liberty restricted once the criteria cease to apply, even if there is a Court Order currently in existence.

The Director can approve such placements for up to 72 hours in an emergency. Only a Court can grant permission for placements beyond 72 hours.

A Child Looked After who meets the above criteria may be placed in secure accommodation for a maximum period of 72 hours in any 28 day period, without Court authority (except where the 72 hour period expires on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday when the period can be extended to the next working day).

A Court may authorise a child to be kept in secure accommodation for a maximum period of:

• 3 months on the first application to the Court;
• 6 months on subsequent applications to the Court.

A Child Looked After may not be placed in secure accommodation when:

• Under the age of 13, unless the Secretary of State gives prior specific approval;
• Over 16 and has asked to be accommodated;
• Accommodation would be or is being provided on a voluntary basis and a parent objects to a secure placement.

2. Decision to Place in Secure Accommodation on Welfare Grounds

2.1 Consultation

At the point that it is determined that a placement in secure accommodation on welfare grounds may be required, and throughout the subsequent process of identification, planning and placement, the social worker must consult and take account of the views of the following people:

1. The child;
2. The child's parents;
3. Anyone who is not a parent but has been caring for or looking after the child;
4. Other members of the child's family who are significant to the child;
5. The child's school or education authority;
6. The Youth Offending Service, if the child is known to them;
7. The child's Independent Visitor if appointed;
8. The Local Authority managing the Secure Accommodation in which the child is placed if that Authority is not the Authority with responsibility for looking after the child.

2.2 Approvals

Any decision to place a child in a secure placement on welfare grounds can only be made with the specific approval of the Director and, if made, must be notified to those consulted and the child's Independent Visitor. Where the child does not have an Independent Visitor, arrangements must be made for such an appointment as soon as practicable.

To seek the approval of the Designated Manager (Secure Accommodation), the child's social worker must prepare a written report addressing the following areas:

• Name, address, date of birth, ethnicity, school, names of those with parental responsibility;
• Grounds/concerns/criteria/aims of proposed secure placement;
• Evidence that the criteria are met;
• What alternatives have been tried/considered and the outcomes;
• The view of the child and the parents;
• The comments of the Children's Social Care Manager.

The Director will only approve a request to place a child in secure accommodation where:

• The Criteria for Secure Placements (as set out above) are met;
• Secure accommodation is the only appropriate method of dealing with the child;
• Alternatives have been comprehensively considered and rejected;
• There is a clear view of the aims and objectives of such a placement.

Where the Director agrees that a secure placement on welfare grounds is appropriate, the social worker must contact Legal Services as a matter of urgency regarding the application for a Secure Accommodation Order. 

In relation to a child under 13, the approval of the Secretary of State will also be required and, after the approval of the Designated Manager Director has been obtained, a written request should immediately be sent to the Secretary of State containing the same information as in the report to the Designated Manager - see Section 2.4, Where the Secretary of State's Approval is Required.

2.3 Court Application

The child's social worker must liaise with Legal Services regarding the preparation of evidence to support the application including a Care Plan with the aims and objectives of the placement set out and details of the intended plan to return the child to open conditions.

The social worker should prepare the child for the Court hearing, by explaining the procedure and the possible outcomes, and by advising him or her of the right and supporting them to be legally represented at the hearing.

The social worker should also book a secure escort for the hearing.

Where the placement is required before there is time to obtain a Secure Accommodation Order, the Director can authorise the placement for up to 72 hours. Such a placement will be regarded as an Emergency Placement and the Emergency Placement Procedures - to follow must be followed.

2.4 Where the Secretary of State's Approval is Required

The case should first be discussed with the Department for Education Children Looked After Division Duty Officer. Some initial information will be taken over the phone, such as the name and date of birth of the child concerned, and written documentation will be requested. This should be submitted without delay, where possible, by e-mail or by fax.

This written documentation will include the following:

• A full written history/chronology of the child and whether the child is with the local authority or absent;
• A view of the likelihood that a court would find that the criteria for restriction of liberty are satisfied and an indication of when the local authority is intending to go to court to obtain a secure order;
• An explanation of why secure accommodation is the only appropriate method of dealing with the child and whether a bed in secure children's home has been secured;
• An indication of the alternatives to secure accommodation that have been considered and why these have been rejected;
• The aims and objectives of the secure placement;
• A copy of a contemporary Care Plan which includes a prospective exit strategy from secure accommodation; and
• A written agreement - signed by the Director - to seek the Secretary of State's approval.

The Department for Education will discuss this information with appropriate inspectors at the Regulatory Authority, who will make a recommendation as to whether the Secretary of State's approval should be given.

The Department for Education will then consider and advise the local authority of the Secretary of State's decision.

Local authorities should ensure that, in order to expedite early decisions, applications for the Secretary of State's approval are made during office hours.

However, where in exceptional circumstances this is not possible, the local authority should telephone the Department for Education out of hours telephone number and ask for the Children Looked After Division Duty Officer.

3. Planned Placements

3.1 Definition of Planned Placement

A Planned Placement in secure accommodation is the placement of a Child Looked After following an assessment and planning process whereby, at the time of the placement, a Care Plan and Placement Plan are in place and a Secure Accommodation Order has been made.

All planned secure placements will have been discussed and be recommended by the Accommodation Panel and will be require the approval of the Director.

Where the placement is made with the authority of the Director but no Court Order, the placement is deemed to be an Emergency. 

See Emergency Placement Procedures - to follow.

The planning, review, supervision and contact requirements in respect of the child in secure accommodation are the same as those for any other child Looked After.

3.2 Placement Request and Identification

Where the child's social worker considers that a child requires a secure placement, the procedure for obtaining a placement is the same as for all residential placements.

3.3 Placement Planning

Each secure unit will have its own placement planning procedure and therefore the social worker should liaise direct with the provider to establish this.

Before the child is placed, the child's social worker will liaise with the manager of the home to arrange a Placement Planning Meeting. If this is not possible prior to the placement, it must take place within 24 hours of the placement.

The child, parents and any other significant family members and relevant professionals should also be invited. 

The purpose of the meeting is to share information about the child and the Care Plan, complete/update the necessary documentation about the child plan the timing of the placement and ensure that a Placement Plan recorded is drawn up.

The Placement Plan and associated arrangements should cover the same issues as those for a child placed in residential care.

Following the meeting, the child's social worker will complete and arrange for the circulation of the RIR and Care Plan to the child, parents, IRO and home manager. The child's social worker and manager of the home will arrange for the Placement Plan recorded to be drawn up.

The social worker should ensure that any Children's Guide, accommodation pack or other information about the placement that is available for the child is obtained and given to him/her.

The social worker must also ensure that the child is provided with information on using the authority's Complaints Procedure.

In all cases, the child should be accompanied to the placement by the social worker and helped to settle in.

3.4 Notification of Placement

The child's social worker will notify the LAC Nurse, the Educational Support Team and the child's GP. If the placement is outside the Borough, the administrative staff must also notify the Children's Social Care Services and the local education service for the area where the child is placed.

The notifications must advise of the placement decision, the name and address of the new carers, details relating to the child's contact with parents and the arrangements related to the care and welfare of the child.

Notification of the placement must also be sent by the child's social worker to all family members consulted and involved in the decision-making process. The notification should be before the start of the placement or within 5 working days.

The social worker must also ensure that the child is registered with a GP, Dentist and Optician; and that a Health Care Assessment takes place as necessary.

The social worker must also confirm the placement within 24 hours by e-mail to the Designated Manager (Secure Accommodation). 

The Administrative staff must also notify the child's Independent Reviewing Officer, and make arrangements for a review meeting within 28 days - see Secure Accommodation (Criteria) Reviews Procedure - to follow.

4. Support, Monitoring and Ending of Placements

4.1 Support and Monitoring of Placements

The child's social worker must visit the child in the placement within one week of the placement and then at every six weeks; see procedures in Social Worker Visits to Cared For Children Procedure.

4.2 Ending of Placements

The social worker must update ICS and inform the Commissioning Manager that the placement has ended to ensure that the placement fees cease.

5. Use of Inherent Jurisdiction to Authorise a Placement Involving a Deprivation of Liberty

The Supreme Court has held that the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court can be used to authorise the placement of a child where the prescribed statutory requirements cannot be met and there is no practical alternative but to place the child in other accommodation.

In this situation, legal advice must be sought as a matter of urgency.

Where a local authority cannot apply for a Secure Accommodation Order under section 25 Children Act 1989 because one or more of the relevant criteria are not satisfied, it may be able to apply for leave to apply for an order depriving the child of liberty under the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court if there is reasonable cause to believe that the child is likely to suffer significant harm if the order is not granted (s.100 (4)) Children Act 1989).

It may be that section 25 does not apply because the criteria set out in section 25(1)(a) and (b) are not met.  For example, a child who has no history, so far, of absconding, and who is not likely actually to injure themselves or anyone else, so does not satisfy section 25(1)(a) or (b), but who, for other good reasons to do with their own welfare, needs to be kept in confined circumstances.

Section 25 may not apply where the application is to place a child into accommodation which is not classed as 'secure accommodation' for the purposes of section 25, not being registered as such.

Revised Practice Guidance on the Court’s Approach to Unregistered Placements (October 2023) provides that the Court’s role in deprivation of liberty (‘DoL’) applications, is to exercise its inherent jurisdiction to ensure that any deprivation of liberty is not itself unlawful, whether as an unlawful detention under the common law, or a breach of Article 5 of the ECHR.

The Courts, when considering a DoL application, should enquire into whether the proposed placement is registered or unregistered. If it is unregistered it should enquire as to why the local authority considers an unregistered placement is in the best interests of the child.

The Court may order the local authority to inform Ofsted/CIW within 7 days if it is placing a child in an unregistered placement.

From April 2023, supported accommodation settings for 16 and 17 year olds are required to be registered with Ofsted in accordance with the Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023.

Guidance - Placing Children: Deprivation of Liberty Orders (Ofsted) - guidance for providers, social workers and placement commissioners on placing children, subject to a deprivation of liberty order (DoL), in unregistered setting, provides that:

A local authority placing a child should check whether the placement is registered with Ofsted in England or CIW In Wales.

It is a legal requirement that:

• A children's home in England registers with Ofsted;
• A care home service in Wales registers with the CIW.

It is an offence to operate or manage a children's home or care home service placement if you are not registered.

A children's home is a setting in England that provides care and accommodation, 'wholly or mainly' for children.

A care home service is a setting in Wales that provides care and accommodation to a child because of their vulnerability or need.

An unregistered provider providing a placement for a child with a deprivation of liberty must:

• Register with Ofsted or CIW immediately - it is an offence to operate without registration.

Private providers must:

• Inform the local authority who has placed the child about the steps taken to register;
• Keep the local authority informed of the progress of the registration application at all times - the registration status may be used by the court when making decisions on continuing the deprivation of liberty.

Application for registration can be made through Ofsted's 'priority application' process Registering Children's Homes in an Emergency: Priority Applications or through the CIW's online application process in Wales.

Where a local authority has placed a child in an unregistered setting, Ofsted/CIW will keep the local authority informed about any relevant application to register received. Local authorities can also contact the local Senior His Majesty's Inspector (SHMI) or regulatory inspection manager to ask for an update. In Wales they can contact CIW's registration team for advice and support.

The court may refuse to authorise a deprivation of liberty order if the placement provider will not apply to register.

Revised National Listing Protocol for Applications that Seek Deprivation of Liberty Orders Relating to Children under the Inherent Jurisdiction (trix please link https://www.judiciary.uk/guidance-and-resources/revised-national-listing-protocol-for-applications-that-seek-deprivation-of-liberty-orders-relating-to-children-under-the-inherent-jurisdiction/) sets out the process for the organisation and listing of deprivation of liberty orders relating to children under the inherent jurisdiction.

All initial applications will be dealt with as part of the National DoL List (‘NDL’), as part of the Family Division of the High Court.

All first applications will be listed in the High Court (Royal Courts of Justice) in the NDL before a NDL judge. This will be the default position unless the local authority is requesting an immediate transfer out to the local Family Court for the first hearing.

The NDL judge will make the first order and fix the review date.

The expectation will be that, where there are, or will be, parallel public law proceedings concerning the same child/young person and/or where there has been prior judicial involvement at a local level, the case will be sent back to the local court for further reviews. In effect, the presumption will be that local Family Courts are better placed to deal with the continuation and/or regulation of the terms of a DoL order which affects a child or young person who is the subject of ongoing care or related proceedings.

If the child or young person is 16 or 17 years old and there is reason to believe they may lack capacity and would be likely to be transferred to the Court of Protection at the age of 18 years, then the court should transfer the case to the Court of Protection in accordance with the guidelines.

At the first hearing in the High Court the judge must:

1. Consider whether the order sought amounts to a deprivation of liberty within the meaning of Article 5 ECHR;
2. Consider the extent to which the restrictions sought are necessary and proportionate in relation to the perceived risks to the child or others;
3. Consider the nature of the placement and its suitability to meet the needs of the child concerned. The provision of ongoing education is crucial. It will only be in exceptional circumstances that a child will be subject to a DoLs order without education.

Where the application is being made on an urgent basis on short notice in circumstances where the local authority has not yet identified a suitable longer-term placement for the child, the judge must give careful consideration to the conditions under which the child’s liberty will be restricted in the short term pending an urgent review hearing.

Any initial directions given at the first hearing in the High Court may include the following matters:

1. Directions for the listing of any urgent hearing on transfer back to the local court including the provision of notice to other persons or parties to ongoing care proceedings;
2. The filing of further evidence;
3. Joinder of the child as a party to the proceedings allocated to a Children’s Guardian in the local area where the child lives;
4. Whether there are any particular reasons why the proceedings should remain in the High Court for the next review hearing (for example the unavailability of a suitable judge in the local court if the next review is urgent).

The draft order made at the first hearing in the RCJ (“the first order”) should cover:

1. The scope of the DoL restrictions;
2. The name/identity of the placement;
3. Any specific requirements or pre-conditions;
4. Notification to Ofsted if placement is unregulated;
5. Contact;
6. Education;
7. Appointment of Guardian;
8. Review / next hearing and before whom? (i.e. where possible the judge to whom the case has been/will be allocated in the local court should be identified in the first directions order).

Further Information

Legislation, Statutory and Government Non-Statutory, Guidance

Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the Quality Standards ANNEX B: Additional Information for Secure Children's Homes

DfE, Secure Children's Homes: How to Place a Child Aged Under 13

Guidance - Placing Children: Deprivation of Liberty Orders (Ofsted) - guidance for providers, social workers and placement commissioners on placing children, subject to a deprivation of liberty order (DoL) in unregistered settings.

Revised Practice Guidance on the Court’s Approach to Unregistered Placements (October 2023)

Revised National Listing Protocol for Applications that Seek Deprivation of Liberty Orders Relating to Children under the Inherent Jurisdiction

Good Practice Guidance

Healthcare Standards for Children and Young People in Secure Settings (RCPCH)