Young Person's Guide

Each children's home must produce a guide for the young people living in the home (or who are coming to live in the home).

This guide must be made available to all young people when their placement in the home is agreed (or on arrival at the home if the placement is made in an emergency).

The guide must be age appropriate and provided in an accessible format. Workers in the home should go through the guide with each young person to make sure they understand it.

The guide should help young people to understand the following:

• The day to day routines of the home ('what happens in the home');
• The information which the home keeps on them and why including who it might be shared with;
• Their right to access their case file;
• The care and support they will receive while living in the home;
• The homes' Statement of Purpose;
• How to make a complaint in line with the home's Complaints Procedure;
• How to access an Advocate or Independent Visitor;
• How to contact the Office of the Children's Commissioner.

The guide should be reviewed regularly; this review should incorporate feedback from children and young people living in the home.