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• working together 2010

Contents

1. Bedroom Furniture, Facilities, Equipment and Decoration
2. Bedroom Security and Keys
3. Monitoring Arrangements
4. Staff/Carer Presence in Rooms
5. Visiting and Sharing Rooms

1. Bedroom Furniture, Facilities, Equipment and Decoration

Children’s bedrooms should be pleasantly furnished, equipped and decorated in a manner appropriate to their individual needs, interests and choices. 

Children should be encouraged to personalise their bedrooms, with posters, pictures and personal items of their choice.

Children of an appropriate age and level of understanding should be encouraged and supported to purchase furniture, equipment or decorations, preferably as part of a plan to prepare the child for independence.

2. Bedroom Security and Keys

Children should have adequate, safe, storage for their belongings and medicines, if permitted to keep and administer their own. 

If locks are fitted to children’s bedroom doors, the social worker should be consulted before the child is provided with a key; and any decision to provide a key should be set out in the Placement Plan (recorded on the Placement Information Record).

3. Monitoring Arrangements

Where it is necessary to install or use listening or other strategies to monitor children, including the use of glass panels or waking night carer, these arrangements must be set out in relevant Placement Information Records for individual children.

4. Staff/Carer Presence in Rooms

Children’s privacy should be respected.

Unless there are exceptional circumstances (see next paragraph), staff/carers should knock bedroom doors before entering children’s bedrooms; and then only enter with permission.

The exceptional circumstances, where staff/carers may have to enter children’s bedroom without knocking or asking permission, are as follows:

• To wake a heavy sleeper, undertake cleaning, return or remove soiled clothing; though, in these circumstances, the child should have been told/warned that this may be necessary;
• To take necessary action, including forcing entry, to protect the child or others from injury or to prevent likely damage to property. The taking of such action is a form of Physical Intervention and the procedures set out in Physical Intervention Procedure, must be adhered to.

5. Visiting and Sharing Rooms

Children may not share bedrooms or receive visitors in their bedrooms unless this has been agreed by the social worker, the children’s views and wishes have been obtained and considered, and the arrangements are outlined in the relevant Placement Plan (recorded on the Placement Information Record).

End