1.3.8 Safeguarding Summary

RELEVANT CHAPTERS

This Guidance should be read in conjunction with Assessment Framework Procedure and Guidance.

Principles
Legislation and Guidance
Explanation
Procedure

1. Principles

The welfare of the child is paramount in all work to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and, without sacrifice to this principle all professionals must work as closely as possible in partnership with parents and carers.

In the vast majority of cases, children and young people remain living with their families following a Section 47 Enquiry. Therefore, every effort must be made to engage with parents and children in an open, supportive way at an early stage in order to encourage honesty and co-operation.

Children should only be removed from their parents or carers when it is in their best interests and it is impossible to protect them in any other way.

Trained interpreters and appropriate specialist services to assist in assessing the child needs and any concerns about risks of significant harm should be used to ensure that the child's race, culture, religion and first language are properly addressed.

The procedures contained in the the London Child Protection Procedures should be followed, without exception.

Reference should also be made for guidance to the London Child Protection Procedures.

2. Legislation and Guidance

The statutory basis for protecting children and young people is contained in among others, The Children Act 2004, Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families 2000, the Common Assessment Framework for Children and Young People 2006, Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010, London Child Protection Procedures, What To Do If You Are Worried A Child Is Being Abused 2006'.

3. Explanation

The following should be read only as a signpost and it is not a substitute for referring to the London Child Protection Procedures, which must be referred to when any concerns of child abuse arises, either from a new referral on duty or in any on-going work with a child, young person, their parents, or those who have parental responsibility for them.

4. Procedure

1.	Social Workers must always be aware that working to safeguard and protect children is a multi-agency responsibility. Effective decisions and thorough assessments require the differing perspectives of a range of professional staff. However:
2.	The Family and Young People’s Service is the lead agency in work to promote the welfare of children and safeguard children from the risk of Significant Harm. It is vitally important for the social worker dealing with a new referral or beginning to have concerns of risks of significant harm to a child to: Adopt an open-mined approach Share all information about allegations/suspicions as soon as possible with parents or carers unless to do so would put the child at serious risk of harm. The reasons not to share information with parents must be based on serious concerns for the child’s safety and recorded accordingly Share all concerns with a Children’s Social Care Manager Report all factual evidence accurately and exactly, fully and clearly separated from the factual evidence
3.	If the referral/Common Assessment/concerns of risks of Significant Harm to a child arises at St. Bartholomew's Hospital and the child is a City of London resident, both a Social Care Manager and the Service Manager at Milton Court must immediately be informed. If the child is an in-patient, it is important to work closely with the medical and nursing staff. It is equally important to do so if the child is an out-patient. If the child originates from another local authority, the hospital Social Worker dealing with the case must contact the relevant Local Authority Children’s Social Care Services immediately.
4.	If a referrer from the community wishes to remain anonymous, s/he must be told that we will respect their wishes but must be warned that families often deduce the source of the referral. It is never appropriate for a worker or professional from any of the member agencies of the City and Hackney Safeguarding Children Board to be granted anonymity.
5.	Unless this information is already available, the social worker must obtain the following on, not only the child, but also the parents/carer, siblings and any other members of the household. Name Address Date of birth Gender Race Religion First Language Nursery School Place of work GP Health Visitor any other agency or professional involved with the family
6.	Always check if the child is subject to a Child Protection Plan or the List of Children subject to a Child Protection Plan, as it will be known as from the 1st April 2008. It lists all children and young people under the age of 18 who have been included on the Register (the List) by a decision of an Initial or subsequent Review Child Protection Conference. The telephone number for the City Corporation Register is 020 7332 1224. Ask for a manager.
7.	Contact the City of London Police Hate Crime Unit, who are responsible for child protection enquiries in the City, at an early stage, either to give information, to collect information or to discuss and consult about deciding the way forward. The Police Hate Crime Unit is based at Wood St. Police Station Tel. – 020 7601 2940. Wood St., London EC2P 2NQ.
8.	Contact the relevant General Practitioner at an early stage. GPs may have an extensive knowledge of a family and, at an early stage, contact the relevant Health Visitor if the child or any sibling is of an age when a health visitor is likely to know the family.
9.	If the child/young person is of school age, remember at an early stage to contact the school.
10.	If it appears likely that a medical assessment is necessary, this should be arranged via the Department of Child Health, City and Hackney Primary Care Trust, St. Leonards, 1 Nuttall Street, Kingsland Road, N1 5LZ, tel. 0207683 4000. Where a child is not of sufficient understanding to give informed consent to a medical assessment, the relevant worker should seek to obtain the permission of the parent or carer with parental responsibility. If consent is not forthcoming, it may be necessary to consider legal advice.
11.	Following the referral and Initial Assessment where there are concerns about the safety of a child a Strategy Discussion will be held to determine if a Section 47 Enquiry should take place with a Core Assessment. For details of the criteria, whom to invite and the agenda see Working Together and the Pan-London Safeguarding Children Procedures.
12.	A Strategy Discussion - this is a discussion which may be conducted by telephone or a meeting between the investigating agencies to gather and share relevant information, to decided on a joint or single agency investigation and assessment, to consider the possibility of criminal/civil proceedings and video interviews, to ensure a structured investigation without undue delay and for the immediate protection of the child. All Strategy Discussions, whether a meeting or not, must be fully recorded and all decisions must be copied to all participants with clear notes of who will do what by when. A Manager must be consulted and must countersign the decisions of the Strategy discussion.
13.	The outcome of a Strategy Discussion may be a Section 47 Enquiry and a Core Assessment. See the City of London and Hackney Safeguarding Children Board Procedures for details of Section 47 Enquiries and the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families for details of the Core Assessment process.
14.	The outcome of the Section 47 Enquiry may be the decision to convene an Initial Child Protection Conference.
15.	The criteria for convening an Initial Child Protection Conference are laid out in the London Child Protection Procedures, Section 8, Child Protection Conferences as are the expectations of all staff of how to work with the child and family to prepare them for the conference, the format and timescales for reports and whom to invite.
16.	The leaflets for families, children and young people to assist them in understanding the Child Protection Conference process should be provided in good time and the social worker should be supporting the children and families to attend and participate as fully as possible.