Bedrooms

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.

Whilst young people are encouraged to express their own preferences and beliefs, wall art should demonstrate respect for others and for the law.

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.

Children should have adequate, safe, storage for their belongings and medicines, if permitted to administer their own. Young people should have access to their own lockable safe place within their bedroom such as a lockable tin.

If it is necessary to do so, to protect children or their belongings or to develop their sense of independence, bedrooms may be fitted with locks or other forms of security. If locks are fitted, keys may be made available to children.

When a young person is in their own room with the door unlocked staff must remain vigilant to other young peoples behaviours and entering the rooms without consent.

Window restrictors will be fitted on bedroom windows for added safety and security.

Staff should undertake daily bedroom checks covering health and safety aspects which are recorded on Charms.

Children's privacy should be respected.

Unless there are exceptional circumstances, staff should knock the door before entering children's bedrooms; and then only enter with their permission.

The exceptional circumstances where staff may have to enter a child's bedroom without knocking or asking permission are as follow:

• 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.

The young people are not allowed to enter other people’s bedrooms at any time.

All staff have a lone working risk assessment, if there is a particular concern regarding staff and young people this should be updated within the risk assessment.

See the following procedures:

• Searching Children/Bedrooms Procedure
• Use of Restraint and Physical Intervention Procedure

At Homes2Inspire Ltd and Homes & Horizons we would not support children to share bedrooms, unless this was a specific placement request from the Placing Authority and based on a clear risk-assessment.

Requests to change bedrooms are given consideration by the Home Manager should a child raise this with them and/or based on a risk-assessment to meet their needs.

Children may not receive visitors in their bedrooms unless this has been agreed by the social worker, the children's views and wishes have been obtained, considered and the arrangements are outlined in the relevant Placement Plan.

On occasions that a bedroom needs to be maintained, searched as part of a risk-assessment or any other checks the child will be informed unless deemed to be an emergency or high-risk event.

To ensure the safety of the young person or others, it may be appropriate to monitor exit and entry from a child's bedroom outside of normal waking hours with the use of a silent alarm that is triggered when a door is opened.

Such devices may only be used if outlined in the Home's Statement of Purpose and the arrangements set out in relevant Children's Placement Plans.

If used, every effort must be made to ensure the child's privacy, dignity and rights whilst the system is in use:

• The use of these alarms is outlined fully in the homes statement of purpose;
• Their use is assessed on an individual basis and agreed to in the care plan by a social worker;
• The child is made fully aware of their use and the reasons why the decision is made;
• The use of the door alarms is reviewed regularly as to their appropriateness of use.

Staff should ensure they are recording the movements of young people in and out of their bedrooms in the Homes logbook.