Holidays and School Trips in the UK

Where there is a proposal for a cared for Child to go on holiday in the UK, the child's Social Worker must obtain full information about the holiday, and seek the views of the child and parent as soon as possible.

If the parents consent, (Section 20) their consent must be obtained in writing.

Where the Social Worker, parent and staff/carer agree to the proposed holiday, the holiday can be approved and should be included in the child's Placement Plan/Placement Information Record and Delegated Authority Form.

Children must not be taken on holiday during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances and the holiday has been approved by the Head Teacher of the child's school and the Social Workers Manager in liaison with the virtual school. The sign off for this comes from the Assistant Director. Holidays must not be booked without this agreement.

Where parental consent is not given (Section 20), the Social Worker should obtain legal advice as to whether the holiday can go ahead.

Written confirmation of the manager's decision, together with the reasons, should be provided to the parent.

Where the holiday will involve additional costs that are being requested from the local authority, the Social Worker should obtain approval for the costs from the relevant manager before the holiday can be agreed.

If approved, the holiday should be included in the child's Placement Plan/Placement Information Record and Case Summary with address/dates etc. It is important to ensure that appropriate travel insurance is in place.

Where the holiday will interrupt family time arrangements between the child and parents, consideration should also be given to arranging additional time for the child with the family before and after the holiday.

The Social Worker should ensure risk assessments have been conducted.

The child's participation in school/organisational trips should be considered at the time of the child moving into the home via delegated authority and regularly reviewed. The consultation required before any trip can be agreed should be included in the Placement Plan/Placement Information Record and will also be covered by the Delegated Authority Form.

Where a child is subject to an order but living with their parents, the Placement Plan/Placement Information Record will usually provide that a school trip of up to 4 days can be agreed by the Team Manager in consultation with the Social Worker, school and the parent.

Where a child is living in a foster family or residential home, the Placement Plan/Placement Information Record will usually authorise the staff/carer to agree to the child going on school or other organisational trips of up to 4 days away with prior consultation with the Social Worker or the parent (Section 31) - see Social Visits (Including Overnight Stays) Procedure. If the staff/carer have not been so authorised, the child's Social Worker and parents (Section 20) must be consulted before agreement can be given.

Where parental consent is not given, the Social Worker should consult their Team Manager and obtain legal advice as necessary. Where the Team Manager agrees to the child going on the trip despite parental opposition, the reasons must be recorded and explained to the parent.

Where the child expresses a wish to go on a school/organisational trip that is for more than 4 days, the following procedure should be followed.

To obtain approval for the trip, the Social Worker must first obtain full details of the arrangements for the trip including how many staff will be present, and whether all the adults on the trip including volunteers have had the necessary checks.

Social workers should ensure the appropriate procedure has been followed for risk assessments.

The child's Social Worker must seek the views of the parent (and have consent if section 20 order in place), staff/carer and school (including virtual schools) as soon as possible and decide whether it is appropriate to recommend that the child be allowed to go.

If the Social Worker considers that it would be appropriate for the child to go on the trip, the Social Worker must seek the consent of his/her Team Manager.

The written request for such approval should explain the purpose and length of the trip; the wishes of the child; the views of the parent (Section 20); the views of the staff/carer (unless the child is placed at home), the views of the school; arrangements for adult supervision on the trip, whether the adults are well known to the child and vice versa and the likely cost and how it is to be funded. Insurance details must also be clear. The request for approval may be accompanied by a request for financial support which will be considered in line with the councils scheme of financial delegation, dependent on amount.

Where parental consent (Section 20) is not given, the Social Worker should obtain legal advice and the request to the Social Worker's Team Manager should refer to the legal advice given. Where the Team Manager agrees to the child going on the trip despite parental opposition, the reasons must be recorded and a written explanation should be provided to the parent.