The Arrangements for Placement of Children by Voluntary Organisations and Others (England) Regulations 2011

Application of Regulations to short-term placements

28.—(1) This regulation applies where a child is placed in a series of short-term placements with the same person or in the same accommodation and the arrangement is such that no single placement is intended to last for longer than 17 days and the total duration of the placements does not exceed 75 days in any period of 12 months.

(2) Any series of short-term placements to which this regulation applies may be treated as a single placement for the purposes of these Regulations and in such a case the Regulations apply with the modifications set out in paragraphs (3) to (5).

(3) Regulation 13(1)(c) applies as if it required arrangements to be made for visits to the child on a day when the child is in fact placed (“a placement day”)—

(a) within the first 7 placement days of a series of short-term placements, and

(b) thereafter, if the series of placements continues, at intervals of not more than 6 months or, if the interval between placements exceeds 6 months, during the next placement.

(4) Regulation 16(1)(a) applies as if it required arrangements to be made for visits to the child on a placement day within the first 7 placement days of a series of short-term placements.

(5) Regulation 19 does not apply to a case to which this regulation applies, but instead—

(a) each such case is first to be reviewed within 3 months of the beginning of the first of the short-term placements,

(b) if the case continues, the second review must be carried out not more than 6 months after the first, and

(c) thereafter, if the case continues, subsequent reviews must be carried out not more than 6 months after the date of the previous review.