Holidays and School Trips Outside the UK

1. Holidays for Accommodated Children

Arrangements for notifying and consulting the Social Worker about holiday plans should be agreed in the Placement Plan.

The consent of the parent(s) or person with Parental Responsibility must be obtained and consent form signed. This should be used to provide the following information:

• Proposed dates and duration of the holiday;
• The wishes and feelings of the child;
• Address(es)/contact details of the holiday location/what type of holiday;
• Insurance details;
• Who will be present on the holiday e.g. names of other children and other adults;
• If the holiday involves staying with friends or relatives, their names and addresses;
• Emergency contacts;
• Any risk assessments that may be required, which should include any health or behaviour issues of the child as well as the holiday environment itself.

If it is a group day trip or holiday, the social worker must be satisfied that adequate health and safety precautions are taken.

Children must not be taken on holiday during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances; such a request must be approved by the Head of the child's School and the Social Worker's Manager for the child and the Head of School.

2. Holidays for Children on Care Orders

The procedure is the same as for those for Accommodated Children (see Section 1, Holidays for Accommodated Children) except that the consent of the parents or person having Parental Responsibility is not required but should be obtained wherever practicable or possible. Any objections by the parent(s) should be recorded on the child's electronic records.

The social worker should ensure that arrangements are in place through the Placement Plan to be notified well in advance of any plans for holidays abroad in order to obtain required consent.

3. When the Courts Permission is Required

If the child is the subject of a Care Order and the holiday abroad is for more than one month, an application must also be made to the appropriate Court for the Court's permission to allow the child to go abroad if the parent's written agreement is not obtained.

Where a Court Order is required, the social worker should contact Legal Services as soon as possible for the necessary application to be made and advise the parents of the intended application.

4. Insurance Cover

4.1 Healthcare for UK Nationals in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland

The UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) provides access to state healthcare in Europe at a reduced cost, or sometimes for free.

• If the child already has a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) this remains valid until the expiry date on the card;
• If the child does not have a European Health Insurance Card or it has expired, they will need a Global Health Insurance Card. Cards can be ordered online from the NHS (see the NHS.UK website). For children under 16, the application should be completed by their carers;
• The GHIC and EHIC do not replace travel insurance which should be in place for all holidays outside the UK. For the latest advice on the GHIC, see the GOV.UK website.

4.2 Travel Insurance Cover for Holidays

Carers should obtain travel insurance for all holidays overseas, this will cover a range of eventualities, including medical expenses, a trip being cut short or cancelled, and loss or theft of possessions. For more advice on travel insurance, see the GOV.UK website.

4.3 Meeting the costs of the holiday

Where the carers is a SMBC carers, the following policy must be referred to:

(excerpt from SMBC Financial Policy for Foster Carers Holiday Allowance).
This is payable to all foster carers and is the equivalent of 2 weeks of the age related child allowance.

It is expected this would be used to cover the costs of school holidays and the additional costs to a foster family of a family holiday for the child/children in placement.

Up to twice in a child's school career, and with the agreement of the child's social worker, the local authority can contribute to meeting reasonable holiday costs (family or school) where this is clearly in the interests of the child and where the costs exceed £500.

Where the child is placed with an IFA carer or residential provider, advice from External Placement Management team must be sought as to what holiday costs are reasonable for provider to meet.

5. Obtaining a Passport

The Home Office has issued Guidance Notes for Social Services Departments when Applying for Passports on Behalf of 'Looked After Children'.

• Children's Services Departments are normally only entitled to apply for passports for a Looked After Child when they have parental responsibility;
• Where Children's Services do not hold parental responsibility, the application cannot be processed without the consent of at least one person who has parental responsibility for the child.