Guidance for Young People Having Visitors to their Home
Scope of this chapter
This guidance is only relevant when the young person is living in shared accommodation.
We welcome and encourage young people to have visitors but we understand that this has to be achieved within the context of protecting the interests and rights of everyone living in the shared property.
There is a wide range of people who may wish to visit young people. Young people need to be supported by staff to be vigilant when permitting visitors to enter, ensuring identification is always authenticated if the person is not known to them or the staff. If a visitor is unable to provide identification or the young person does not want to let the person into their home they should not let them in.
Visitors fall into several categories and can include social workers, parents/carers and relatives or friends, prospective employees, inspectors, neighbours or representatives of community/agency groups, workers, delivery drivers, meter readers and the like.
Any contact between a young person and their parents, siblings, relatives or friends should be consistent with arrangements outlined in the Individual Care/Pathway Plan, and also as set out in Contact with Parents/Carers, Siblings and Others Procedure.
Young people will be supported by their social worker and workers to decide whether parents or relatives may visit the young person in their home with or without prior agreement. Staff or the allocated social worker may need to explain to a parent or relative that they are not allowed to visit a young person in their home or could support a young person to have this conversation if wanted by the young person.
Young people should be permitted to have friends to visit them in their accommodation, in line with the setting’s visitor policies. Staff should be skilled in understanding the range of influences that friendships can have and where appropriate, should encourage those with a positive impact and discourage those with a negative impact.
In most instances, young people should be allowed to receive visitors where they live. The registered person may (based on the needs of the young people accommodated in a particular setting and on assessed risks to the safety of young people and staff) put arrangements or practices in place for having visitors to the accommodation. For example, some settings may choose to set rules around visiting hours, pre-approved visitors, the number of visitors at the setting at any given time etc. These practices and any associated policies should be reasonable, not excessive, and for the purposes of safeguarding all people in the setting. Any specific arrangements in place for a young person to receive visitors must be risk-assessed and in line with the young person’s relevant plans.
Before contractors are permitted to undertake work in the property, the registered person must ensure that they are properly briefed on the purpose and function of the Service, and that any parameters are agreed, preferably in writing e.g., which parts of the property they may access, safe management of tools/equipment, confirming the time with the young person and how long the work will take. 24 hours’ notice, minimum, should be issued to a young person for general maintenance and repairs except in an emergency for example, due to a water leak, power failure, or health and safety issue.
Visits should normally be planned in advance and agreed by the registered person or staff and young person. For social workers, please see Social Worker Visits Procedure.
Childrens Rights Advocates or Independent Advocates who are likely to require unsupervised contact with a young person must firstly satisfy the registered person or social worker that they have up-to-date Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Checks.
Social workers, police officers and representatives of the Regulatory Authority will not be required to provide details of Disclosure and Barring Service Checks.
Should such visitors require unsupervised contact with a young person, this is acceptable, but they should not be alone with the young person in their bedrooms.
Staff and other young people not working/living at the property must be treated as visitors and must only be invited in by the young people who live in the property.
We are keen to establish good relationships with people in the community, maintaining an open and honest dialogue. Neighbours may visit for a variety of reasons, and often unannounced, when staff are present. Staff may need to support with these interactions if there are difficulties.
- Where possible the locations of properties are chosen to ensure that any adverse impact on residents is minimised;
- The Service should discourage behaviour patterns which are likely to cause difficulties e.g., noisy activities or loud music in close proximity to neighbours' property.
If an incident occurs with a neighbour, it must be taken seriously. All phone calls or visits should be dealt with calmly and politely, even if aggressive. A manager should call back as soon as possible and if possible; arrange a visit to the neighbour. If the neighbour wishes to make a complaint, the manager should refer to Complaints and Representations Policy.
Last Updated: May 15, 2025
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