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Manual Version July 2011

Contents

1. Display and Browser Options
2. Structure of the Manual
3. Amendments
4. How to Find a Chapter
5. Terminology
6. Keywords
7. Compliance
8. Contact us and Staying up to Date
9. Copyright

1. Display and Browser Options

People with a visual impairment may have difficulty accessing this Manual.

To change the size of the text/layout - please use these accessibility buttons

which are on menu bar on the left side of every screen. Click a larger button to increase your text size, the very largest being high visibility mode.

2. Structure of the Manual

This manual contains the policies, procedures and guidance for The City of London Children and Young People's Services.

We have also integrated a copy of the London Child Protection Procedures, with links to internal Children's Services Procedures.

NOTE: To access the London Child Protection Procedures, click on the link at the bottom/left hand side of this screen; and visa versa to return to the Children's Services Contents List.

All the City of London's Policies, Values and Principles are located in one Chapter, which users are required to familiarise themselves with before proceeding to the main body of the Manual. These Policies, Values and Principles are located in a Chapter called 'Values' - available from the left hand side of the screen.

In an attempt to keep procedures succinct, procedures and more detailed guidance are separated - with links provided as appropriate.

• 'Procedures' summarise how Managers and Staff must act in given circumstances.
• 'Guidance' provides direction or advice to a decision or course of action.

3. Amendments

Updated Chapters
Chapter Name	Details
Policy, Values and Principles	These chapters have been amended in July 2011 to take account of the new standards and regulations, which came into force on the 1st April 2011
Public Law Outline
Decision to Look After
Permanence Planning
Post Placement Arrangements
Placements in Foster Care and Children's Homes
Placement with Parents
Placement with Connected Person
Placements in Secure Accommodation
Placement Planning and Disruption Meetings
Looked After Reviews
Social Worker Visits
Education of Looked After Children
Leisure and Recreation
Contact with Parents and Siblings
Health Care Assessments and Health Care Plans
Leaving Care

This manual will be updated in January 2012.

4. How to Find a Chapter

Procedures and guidance are located in individual 'Chapters' which are available from a 'traditional' Contents List - on the left hand side of the screen.

4.1 Using the Contents List

Chapters are categorised or grouped together as follows:

PARTS: The manual contains procedures categorised under a number of Service Sectors, like 'Looked After Children',

SECTIONS: Within each Service Sector e.g. 'Looked After Services', you will find a Section (group of procedures) like 'Adoption and Permanence'.

CHAPTERS: Under each Section, you'll find individual Chapters/Procedures e.g. 'Adoption Case Records'

4.2 You can Search for a Chapter

You can search for a chapter or sub heading with the new Search function, available from the left hand side of every screen.

5. Terminology

We believe it is crucial to use consistent terminology, which we agree with individual customers, for example:

'Home' and 'Resource'	this is a generic term which means Children’s Home, Foster Home
'Child' or 'Young Person'	both these terms are used to mean any child under the age of 18
'Staff' or 'Carer'	means all Staff and Carers (including) whether employed or not
'Manager'	means Team Manager, it also means YOT Team Manager
'Line Manager'	means the first Line Manager of a team/service
'Parent'	means person with Parental Responsibility
'Regulatory Authority'	Regulatory Authority is the generic term used in this manual to describe the independent regulatory body responsible for inspecting and regulating services e.g. Ofsted.
'Social Worker'	This means the worker allocated to the child/family. If there is no allocated worker, the Duty Social Worker or Team Manager is responsible.

6. Keywords

The manual is accessed by practitioners from varying agencies, who may find terms that they are not familiar with. Therefore, a large glossary (Keywords) of terms such as Notifiable Diseases (Try it: click on the highlighted text). We call them 'Keywords'.

Many Keywords are highlighted in the body of procedures, but you can search for the Keyword you need: Go to the Keywords Index, on the left hand side of the screen. Or, use 'Search', available from the left hand side of every screen.

7. Compliance

7.1 Regulatory Compliance

Every effort has been taken to ensure regulatory compliance. If you discover any errors or mistakes, please alert your manager or contact us.

7.2 W3C Compliance

This manual meets the double A Standards of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), for example, it can be accessed by people with high levels of visual impairment. To find out more, click on 'Display Options' on the left hand side of the screen.

8. Contact us and Staying up to Date

8.1 Comments and Suggestions

If you have any comments or suggestions to make about this manual please contact us by using the button on the left hand side of the screen, from anywhere within the manual.

8.2 Alerts

If you would like to be notified when this manual is updated, register your contact details in 'Contact Us' - on the left hand side of the screen.

9. Copyright

The content of this website can be accessed, printed and downloaded in an unaltered form, on a temporary basis, for personal study or reference purposes. However any content printed or downloaded may not be sold, licensed, transferred, copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner or in or on any media to any person without the prior written consent of Tri-X-Childcare Ltd and The City of London Children and Young People's Services.

End