1.5. Explain the importance of permanency planning for children and young people

This guide will help you answer 1.5. Explain the importance of permanency planning for children and young people.

Permanency planning is an essential process for ensuring stability, security, and long-term well-being for children and young people who cannot live with their birth families. When children are removed from their families due to abuse, neglect, or other challenges, permanency planning helps create a stable and supportive environment for them. The planning supports their development and provides certainty about their future.

What Does Permanency Planning Mean?

Permanency planning refers to the process of finding a long-term, stable living arrangement for children and young people in care. The aim is to minimise disruptions and create a sense of security. It considers the child’s emotional, physical, and social needs, ensuring these are met through consistent care and nurturing relationships.

Examples of permanent arrangements can include:

• Living with extended family members (e.g., grandparents, aunts, uncles) through kinship care.
• Being adopted by a new family.
• Long-term fostering placements.
• Special guardianship orders (where a carer has parental responsibility for the child while maintaining some links with the birth family).

Why It’s Important to Act Quickly

Delays in permanency planning can lead to several negative outcomes. Prolonged uncertainty often leaves children feeling unsettled and anxious. For example, moving between foster homes or temporary placements can disrupt their education, friendships, and emotional health.

Children thrive in stable and predictable environments. Acting swiftly ensures they can begin bonding with long-term caregivers and building consistent routines. This minimises the harmful effects of instability.

The Impact on Emotional and Social Development

A child’s emotional well-being is strongly linked to their sense of belonging. Permanency planning helps children form secure attachments to caregivers who are committed to their long-term care. Secure attachments are essential because they allow children to:

• Build trust in adults.
• Feel safe and loved.
• Develop positive self-esteem.

Without permanency, children may struggle with feelings of rejection, abandonment, or low self-worth. They may also find it challenging to form healthy relationships in the future.

Social development is affected by the relationships and stability in a child’s life. Through permanent arrangements, they can integrate into communities, form friendships, and participate in activities that enrich their lives. Stability encourages consistent interaction with peers and provides opportunities for learning and growth.

Educational Stability

Education is a critical part of a child’s life. Frequent moves or disrupted care can lead to poor attendance, difficulties concentrating, and lower academic achievement. Children in care often face barriers to education, which makes stability even more important.

Permanency planning ensures children have regularity in schooling. With a consistent home base, they can build relationships with teachers, access support services, and enjoy a routine that promotes learning. This support contributes to their academic success and future opportunities.

Legal and Rights-Based Perspective

In the UK, the Children Act 1989 highlights the importance of ensuring children’s safety and providing them with permanent solutions when staying with their birth family is not possible. Permanency planning aligns with these legal requirements.

Family courts often oversee the permanency planning process. Social workers, carers, and other professionals involved must advocate for solutions that prioritise the child’s best interests. They assess the child’s needs, wishes, and feelings to identify the most suitable permanent arrangement.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) also stresses that children have the right to grow up in a loving, supportive family environment. Permanency planning helps protect this right for children in care.

Reducing Trauma and Promoting Healing

Children entering the care system have often experienced significant trauma, such as abuse, neglect, or loss. Without stability, this trauma can intensify, affecting their behaviour, mental health, and ability to trust others.

A permanent, nurturing home allows children to heal from past trauma. Consistent caregivers can help children feel safe, offering a secure base where they can process their feelings and rebuild trust. Stability also reduces the likelihood of re-traumatisation caused by frequent moves or changes in caregivers.

Strengthening Support Systems

Permanency planning also involves supporting caregivers in their role. Foster carers, adoptive parents, or kinship carers need access to resources, training, and emotional support to manage the challenges of caring for children with complex histories.

When caregivers are well-supported, they are better equipped to provide high-quality, stable care. This benefits the child’s development and promotes long-term success in the arrangement.

Planning for Adolescents and Young People

Permanency planning is not just for young children. Adolescents and young people in care need stability too. Although their needs may differ, the principle remains the same: a long-term, supportive environment is essential for their well-being.

For older children, permanency may focus on fostering independence in a stable setting. This might include:

• Maintaining close connections with long-term carers.
• Preparing for adulthood with life skills training.
• Ensuring access to education, employment, or training opportunities.

Permanency planning also includes creating safety nets for young people leaving care. These may involve personal advisers, continued advice from carers, and access to support services in adulthood.

Barriers to Achieving Permanency

While permanency planning has clear benefits, achieving it can be difficult in some cases. Factors that contribute to challenges include:

• Limited numbers of adoptive families or foster carers.
• Complex family situations, such as disputes over parental rights.
• The child’s own preferences, particularly in adolescence.
• The need to assess cultural, religious, and linguistic compatibility with carers.

Professionals involved in permanency planning must carefully assess these factors and work collaboratively to find the best outcomes.

The Role of Collaborative Working

Achieving permanency involves teamwork. Social workers, carers, teachers, health professionals, and legal teams all have important roles to play. Good communication and sharing of information are key to making informed decisions.

Collaboration helps ensure that the child’s voice is heard throughout the process. Their wishes and feelings must be taken into account whenever possible.

The Importance of Life Story Work

Life story work supports permanency planning by helping children understand their past. It involves creating a record of their personal history, including their family background and experiences. This helps children process their emotions and develop their identity.

Knowing their story helps children make sense of any transitions or changes. It reinforces a sense of belonging and ensures they feel valued, regardless of their circumstances.

Final Thoughts

Permanency planning is vital for children and young people in care. It provides stability, safeguards emotional well-being, supports education, and promotes healing from trauma. By prioritising the child’s needs and working together, professionals can create a permanent solution that allows the child to flourish in a supportive and loving environment.