6.7 Bed Checks
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Last Modified:
19-Jul-2023
Review Date:
01-Jun-2019
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| Purpose |
To provide information about levels of oversight and staff supervision required in residential care for the safety of all children in their bedrooms overnight and/or when they are sleeping. For children who have experienced trauma; night-time, bedrooms or sleep can be associated with triggering experiences. Children residing in residential care may experience difficulties feeling or being safe in their bedroom overnight and require staff support and supervision. The residential care staffing model includes rostering of two staff (where possible) on awake night shifts, which enables a high level of support and supervision to be carried out. The level of supervision required depends on each child's level of need and assessed risk.
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| Practice Requirements |
Residential care workers must supervise all the activities occurring within the home, regularly check on the welfare of the children, and be responsive to meeting their needs. This includes knowing who is in the home at all times, where all the children are, and that they are safe. To enable this to occur, accurate and timely communication of information is vital between staff on shift together, as well as across shifts. Staff leaving shift are to provide an update about each child's state of mind and any risks to incoming staff at handover. Staff are to provide children, awake in bedrooms, a high level of supervision. Bed checks are carried out when children are in their own bedroom, and they appear asleep. Staff must physically sight the children in their bedroom and record the observation in the Log-Book. The frequency of bed checks may alter depending on each child's situation and the assessment of risk. At a minimum, all children are to be checked 3 times overnight – an hour after falling asleep, in the middle of the night (around 2.00am) and then between 6.30am and 7am. For children identified at risk (via handover or safety plan) or where child and house dynamics indicate a heightened state, there should be a corresponding increase in frequency in bed checks with staff to also refer to: 6.12 'Missing' and "unaccounted for" children and young people 4.5 Responding to Suicide and Non-suicidal self Injury 6.9 Drugs and Alcohol 4.10 Responding to Sexual Behaviours The practice of bed checks should be explained to children at admission. It is important to explain they are a safety measure.
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Procedures- Completing Bed Checks
Completing Bed Checks- Staff must undertake a visual check on each child at the beginning of each shift if on site, including a visual bed check on any child asleep in their room. This needs to be recorded in the log that the children were sighted and the whereabouts of any children not on site must also be recorded.
- Once there is no sign the child is awake, staff must commence night-time bed checks as part of the night-time routine.
- Where a child's bedroom door has a chime for assessed risk and safety reasons, it should be activated during the overnight sleeping period.
- Staff should regularly check communal areas of the house near bedrooms whilst children are settling or sleeping.
- The first bed check is to be carried out an hour after the child first appeared asleep.
- If there are no concerns, the second check should take place during the middle of the night (around 2.00am), and if there continues to be no concerns, the third nightshift bed check to be completed between 6.30am and 7am.
- All checks must be recorded in the log-book noting the time, with a brief comment on what can be observed of the child's presentation for example eyes shut, or rolled over, or hear breathing etc.
- If residential care workers assess or are advised of, or there is evidence of particular risks associated with a child, whether identified in the Individual Crisis Support Plan or not, the frequency of these checks must be increased for that child accordingly.
- This decision should be recorded in the log-book and in the child's case note.
- Such concerns may include sexualised behaviour, self-injury, victim of bullying, drug or substance use, absconding, recent conflict, out of character behaviour, etc. The frequency of these bed checks must be carried out as deemed necessary by the senior residential care worker (SRCW) on shift ( or Manager/On-Call Manager if no SRCW on shift) with reference to other policy documents indicated above e.g. absconding, suicide and self-injury.
- Staff should consider how to maintain the appropriate level of supervision required. For example, for a young person affected by alcohol, where medical treatment has not been deemed necessary, it may be safer for them to sleep on a fold-out bed in the lounge. This enables staff to remain in close proximity in their vision, rather than the usual practice of sleeping in their bedroom where the young person may close or lock the door.
- If residential care workers are unable to access a bedroom to conduct the necessary checks, they must try to engage the child whilst assessing the risk, and if necessary, contact emergency services for assistance to enter the room.
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