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1. Arrangements for and the frequency of visits for supervising the placement must be made at Placement Planning Meetings and set out in the Adoption Placement Plan - see Chapter on Placement for Adoption, Section 9, The Placement. 
   
   This will involve at a minimum:
   • The child's social worker or adopters' social worker visiting the child within the first week of the placement and thereafter weekly until the first review
   • The child's social worker or adopters' social worker visiting the child every two weeks for the next three months until the second review or at the frequency determined at the first review
   • After this, the child's social worker or adopters' social worker visiting the child on a monthly basis or more frequently as required and/or determined at reviews

   Visits should be made more frequently if the circumstances require it.  Where there are any concerns, additional visits must be arranged.
   
   The visits should continue until an Adoption Order has been made.

2. Visits must be made by suitably experienced qualified social workers or social workers/student social workers who are supervised by suitably qualified and experienced social workers - see Section 5, Reports to Adoption Panel of Adoption Panel Procedures.

3. Records of all visits must be made and copies placed on the child's Adoption Case Record. Between visits, the social workers involved must discuss progress in the placement and read each other's recording of visits during the monitoring period.
4. Where there are concerns that the placement is at risk of breaking down, a review meeting must be convened immediately by the child's social worker - see Chapter on Adoption Reviews.
5. The child should be seen alone at all of the visits unless the child is of sufficient age and understanding and refuses to see the social worker alone.  This applies whether visits are undertaken by the child's social worker or the adopters' link worker.  The child's expressed wishes and feelings must always be recorded.
6. The child's social worker will arrange for the child to continue to have Health Care Assessments in line with his or her Health Care Plan. The child's social worker should also ensure that the Health Care Plan continues to be reviewed up to the Adoption Order.   See Health Care Assessments and Health Plans Procedure.
7. The procedures to be followed where a placement disrupts are set out in Chapter on Disruption of Adoptive Placements.
8. Visits to the child and adopters after the Adoption Order will be made as and when required under the Adoption Support Plan - see Chapter on Adoption Support Services Procedures. After the Adoption Order is made, the adopters' social worker will visit with a member of the Post Adoption Team to introduce the adopters to the person responsible for arranging any post-adoption services, including monitoring any contact arrangements.

End