Keeping children and young people safe at night at a care and protection residence

The Working with Children and Young People in Residences policy says that:

• At the beginning and end of each night shift, a count of the number of children and young people in the residence must be done jointly by staff members from both the beginning and end shifts.
• The frequency of checks on children and young people must be aligned to the current needs of the child or young person as identified in their plan, including if they have been identified as being at risk of suicide and/or self-harm. At a minimum, each child or young person must be sighted by a staff member at least once every 30 minutes.
• Any other requirements in the child or young person's plan relating to their bedtime routine must also be followed.

The policy also outlines recording requirements.

Working with Children and Young People in Residences policy

• We let all children and young people know that when they come into a residence we monitor and check on them regularly to ensure that they are safe.
• At the start and end of a night shift, staff from each shift do a joint check on all children and young people.
• All staff know how many young people are in their residence and where they are all placed.
• The frequency of checks is aligned with each young person’s needs and is documented in their individual plan.
• If we are concerned about a child or young person, we put in place enhanced observations specifically for them. This is recorded in their plan. Where a young person is at risk of suicide or self-harm they are monitored according to their degree of risk which is stated in their plan.
• Accurate records are kept in the daily log.

At the beginning and end of each night shift, the off-going staff need to let other staff know:

• the ‘mood’ of the residence
• if there are children and young people that they are concerned about — if any young people are planning or acting in ways that are different from the norm, acting suspicious or secretive, or if staff have a gut feeling that things are not as they should be.

This information is recorded in the shift planning and debrief documents.

A count of the number of children and young people in the residence must be undertaken jointly by staff from both shifts.

The frequency of checks on children and young people must be aligned to the current needs of each child and young person as identified in their plan.

For children and young people who are high risk, they must have written into their plan the monitoring checks that are to be completed — i.e., constant observations, or at a specific stated interval.

Each young person must be sighted (either their skin or movement) by staff every 15–30 minutes, unless their plan calls for more frequent checks. When checking a room, illuminate the room but do not shine a torch directly on the young person.

Any other bedtime requirements are stated in each young person's plan.

As far as practicable, one staff member must remain in the Hub and retain line of sight of the other night staff member. This is to enable instant radio contact with the Night Supervisor or designated other person when an event occurs which requires additional staff support or otherwise threatens the security of the unit or facility.

Residences use their Daily Log to record monitoring times. The Daily Log must be completed every night, and record accurately every incident, event or period of unsettled behaviour by a child or young person. The designated staff member or night shift supervisor may only sign off the Daily Log once he or she is satisfied that it has been completed correctly and accurately.