6.3.6 Life Story Books |
Contents
1. Policy
Every Looked After child should have a life-story book and staff will be trained appropriately to achieve this.
The life-story book should be developed throughout the period that the child is looked after.
It is the responsibility of the child’s social worker to ensure that work on the life-story book is undertaken and the book is maintained. However it may be appropriate for this work to be carried out or contributions to be made by the child’s foster carer, staff in children’s homes, others involved with the child and the child him or herself. In appropriate cases, the book may also include contributions from the child’s family.
The life-story book does not form part of the child’s file and should be handed to the child when he or she ceases to be looked after.
2. Guidance
The life-story book is an account of the child’s life in words, pictures and photographs and is a tool to help a looked after child to understand his or her past. It provides a record to which the child and the adults caring for the child can refer at any time.
It provides an opportunity for the child to know about things to be proud of and the book should be compiled in this vein.
It may be appropriate to give parents, grandparents or other members of the wider family the opportunity to contribute to the book, for example by writing a letter or card to be kept in the book, for example if parents wish to try and explain why they were not able to be part of the child’s life.
The life-story book can help to
- Organise past events in chronological order
- Aid the child’s development
- Increase the child’s self-esteem
- Recall past events at the child’s pace
- Enable the child to share with others his or her past
- Build a sense of trust between the child and the worker who aids in compiling the book
- Enable the child to gain acceptance of all facets of his or her life and understand the past
- Facilitate bonding
Information to be included in the book can be
- Information about the child’s birth including the birth weight and height, a photograph if possible and the birth certificate
- Photographs of the child’s parents and any information about them including a family tree
- Information about the child’s life in foster care or residential care including photographs of the foster family and foster home or the children’s home and staff
- Developmental mile-stones
- Information about injuries, illnesses and admissions to hospital
- Favourite activities
- Favourite birthday and Christmas gifts
- Special trips the child has been on
- A life graph
- School reports and names of teachers and schools
- Exam results and certificates
- School photos
- Information about previous placements and significant people with photographs if possible
- Small mementos connecting the child with his or her more distant past, such as the first tooth lost, a lock of baby hair or the ‘bracelet’ from the hospital where they were born
When the child leaves a placement, the life-story book should be taken by the child or the child’s social worker on the child’s behalf.
When the child returns home or moves to independent accommodation or to a permanent family placement, the life-story book should go with the child and be handed to the child or his or her parent (where the child returns home) or the child’s new carers.
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