Working Together to Safeguard Children

Working Together to Safeguard Children

A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children

March 2010

Working Together to Safeguard Children

A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children

March 2010

A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children 1

Contents

Working Together to Safeguard Children: Executive Summary 7

Introduction

7

Part 1: Statutory guidance

8

Part 2: Non-statutory practice guidance

18

Preface

22

Introduction

22

Purpose of the document and who should read it

22

Content of this guidance

24

Other related guidance

24

Status of the document as statutory guidance

25

When does the guidance apply?

26

Glossary

27

Part 1: Statutory Guidance

28

Chapter 1 ? Introduction: working together to safeguard

and promote the welfare of children and families

29

Supporting children and families

29

Parenting, family life and services

29

Lord Laming's progress report

30

The Government's response

30

An integrated approach

31

A shared responsibility

31

The child in focus

32

Key definitions

34

Chapter 2 ? Roles and responsibilities

40

Introduction

40

The statutory framework within which organisations operate

40

Infrastructure and governance to deliver safeguarding responsibilities

42

Information sharing

43

ContactPoint

44

Common Assessment Framework (CAF)

44

Local authorities that are children's services authorities

45

Other local authority roles

48

Health services

51

2 Working Together to Safeguard Children

Health organisations Roles of different health services Health professionals Criminal justice organisations Schools and further education institutions Early years services Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) The armed services The voluntary and private sectors Faith communities

Chapter 3 ? Local Safeguarding Children Boards

LSCB role Scope of the LSCB LSCB functions Other policies and procedures LSCB governance and operational arrangements Membership of an LSCB

Chapter 4 ? Training, development and supervision for inter-agency working

Introduction and definitions Purpose Roles and responsibilities Content, audiences and values Planning, organisation, delivery and evaluation Effective support and supervision Table 1: Suggested training for different target groups

Chapter 5 ? Managing individual cases where there are concerns about a child's safety and welfare

Introduction Working with children when there are concerns about their safety and welfare Principles underpinning work to safeguard and promote the welfare of children The processes for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children The welfare of unborn children Referrals to local authority children's social care where there are concerns about a child's safety or welfare Response of local authority children's social care to a referral Initial assessment

52 60 67 70 78 80 81 82 84 86

88

88 89 90 93 99 102

113

113 114 114 118 121 123 126

133

133

133

134 137 140

140 144 146

A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children 3

Next steps ? child in need but no suspected actual or likely significant harm 150

Next steps ? suspicion that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer,

significant harm

151

Immediate protection

152

Strategy discussion

153

Section 47 enquiries and core assessment

155

Child Assessment Orders

158

The impact of section 47 enquiries on the family and child

159

The outcome of section 47 enquiries

159

Concerns are not substantiated

160

Concerns are substantiated, but the child is not judged

to be continuing to, or be likely to, suffer significant harm

160

Concerns are substantiated and the child is judged to be

continuing to, or be likely to, suffer significant harm

162

The initial child protection conference

162

Action following the initial child protection conference

172

Completion of the core assessment

174

The child protection plan

175

Intervention

176

The child protection review conference

179

Discontinuing the child protection plan

180

Children looked after by the local authority

181

Pre-birth child protection conferences and reviews

182

Recording that a child is the subject of a child protection plan

182

Managing and providing information about a child

183

Recording in individual case records

184

Request for a change of worker

185

Chapter 6 ? Supplementary guidance on safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children

Introduction Sexually exploited children Children affected by gang activity Fabricated or induced illness (FII) Investigating complex (organised or multiple) abuse Female genital mutilation Forced marriage and honour-based violence Allegations of abuse made against a person who works with children Abuse of disabled children Child abuse linked to belief in `spirit possession' Child victims of trafficking

191

191 191 192 192 194 195 196 199 201 204 204

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