Southend, Essex, Thurrock (SET) - Safeguarding and child ...

1 SOUTHEND, ESSEX &. Thurrock (SET). Safeguarding AND. child PROTECTION PROCEDURES. Note: LSCBs have been replaced by new multi-agency Safeguarding arrangements. Across SET Local Multi-Agency Safeguarding Partnerships/Boards' will co-ordinate these new arrangements on behalf of their named Statutory Partners and will be referred to throughout these procedures. 2019. Revised October 2019. Contents PART A .. 14. 1. Responding to Concerns of Abuse and Neglect .. 15. Introduction .. 15. Concept of significant harm .. 16. Early Help .. 17. Definitions of child abuse and 20. Potential risk of harm to an unborn child .. 22. Professional/agency response .. 23. Response and concerns raised by members of the public .. 27. Schools and educational establishments .. 28. Adult services responsibilities in relation to children .. 28.

2 Health agencies, NHS reforms and information 29. 2. Referral and Assessment .. 31. Referral .. 31. Assessment .. 33. Local authority children's social care - thresholds for 39. Making and receiving a referral .. 40. Assessment of children in need or in need of protection .. 44. Pre-birth referral and assessment .. 48. 3. child Protection s47 Enquiries .. 52. Duty to conduct s47 Enquiries .. 52. Immediate protection .. 52. S47 thresholds and the multi-agency assessment .. 54. Strategy meeting/discussion .. 55. Referrals to the police .. 60. Involving parents, family members and children .. 61. Visually recorded interviews/Achieving best evidence .. 62. Paediatric assessment .. 62. Outcome of s47 enquiries .. 66. Timescales .. 68. Recording .. 69. 4. child Protection 70. child protection conferences .. 70. Looked after children and child protection conferences.

3 75. Membership of child protection conference .. 77. SET Safeguarding & child PROTECTION PROCEDURES OCT 2019 2. Involving children and family members .. 80. Exclusion of family members from a 82. The absence of parents and/or children .. 84. Information for the conference .. 84. Chairing the conference .. 86. The child protection plan .. 87. child does not require a protection plan .. 88. Dissent at/arising from a child Protection Conference .. 90. Complaints by children and/or parents .. 90. Children who are subject of a child protection plan living in another local authority .. 91. Administrative arrangements for child protection conferences .. 91. 5. Implementation of child protection plans .. 94. Introduction .. 94. Core group .. 94. Formulation of child protection plan .. 96. The lead social worker role .. 98.

4 Resolving difficulties in implementing the child protection plan .. 99. 6. Children and Families moving across Local Authority boundaries .. 100. Introduction .. 100. Identifying children at risk of harm .. 101. Information sharing .. 102. Case responsibility .. 102. Information sharing and child protection plan .. 104. Transfer in conference .. 106. Retention of child protection responsibilities by the originating authority 107. A child moving during s47 enquiries .. 108. Arrangements for child protection enquiries .. 110. Families moving during s47 enquiry .. 113. Children who move abroad who are subject to a child Protection Plan .. 114. 7. Allegations against staff, volunteers and people in positions of trust who work with children .. 115. The management of allegations against adults who work with children 115. People in positions of trust.

5 116. General considerations relating to allegations against staff .. 118. Initial response to an allegation or concern .. 121. Disciplinary process .. 126. SET Safeguarding & child PROTECTION PROCEDURES OCT 2019 3. Record keeping and monitoring progress .. 128. Unsubstantiated and false allegations .. 129. Substantiated allegations and referral to the DBS .. 129. Learning lessons .. 130. Procedures in specific organisations .. 130. Allegations/concerns process 131. 8. Organised and Complex Abuse .. 133. Definition .. 133. Investigation .. 134. The child .. 134. Referral .. 135. The strategy 135. The Strategic Management Group .. 136. The Investigation Management Group .. 138. End of enquiry/investigation meeting and report .. 138. 9. Death of a child .. 140. Local framework for responding to child deaths .. 142. child Death Overview Panel (CDOP).

6 145. Strategic child Death Overview Committee (SCDOC) .. 147. Information sharing in relation to child 149. Joint Agency Response (JAR) .. 150. Key strands to Joint Agency Response .. 153. Other related 158. PART B .. 161. 1. A child Focussed Approach to Safeguarding .. 162. 2. Roles and Responsibilities .. 164. Introduction .. 164. Statutory Duties .. 164. Responsibilities shared by all agencies .. 165. Local authority children's service authorities .. 173. Local authority children's social 173. Local authority adult social care .. 176. Local authority housing authorities and social landlords .. 177. Local authority environmental health and planning services .. 180. Local authority sport, culture and leisure .. 182. Youth 182. Local authority education .. 183. SET Safeguarding & child PROTECTION PROCEDURES OCT 2019 4.

7 The National Health Service (NHS) and independent/third sector health services .. 191. Essex 195. Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS).. 201. Probation Services .. 203. Essex Community Rehabilitation Company .. 203. National Probation Service .. 204. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) .. 206. The Prison Service and high security hospitals .. 206. The secure estate for children .. 207. The Armed Services .. 212. Border Force (formally UK Border Agency) .. 215. The Refugee 216. The Fire and Rescue Service (F&R Service) .. 217. The independent and third sectors .. 217. 3. Sharing information .. 223. Introduction .. 223. Key questions to inform decision making .. 224. Lawful Reasons for Sharing Information .. 225. Meaning of consent in GDPR & Data Protection Act (not an effective legal basis for Safeguarding or child protection activities).

8 227. Sharing Information safely .. 228. 4. Accessing information from abroad .. 230. 5. Working with interpreters/communication facilitators .. 231. Introduction .. 231. Recognition of Communication Difficulties .. 231. Interviewing Children .. 231. Video 232. 6. Managing work with Families where there are obstacles and resistance .. 234. Definition .. 234. Recognition and understanding .. 234. Impact on assessment .. 236. Impact on multi-agency work .. 238. Response to unco-operative families .. 241. Dealing with hostility and violence .. 243. Keeping professionals safe .. 246. SET Safeguarding & child PROTECTION PROCEDURES OCT 2019 5. Management responsibility .. 247. Supervision and support .. 249. 7. Best Practice Guidance for child Protection Conferences .. 251. Who Should Attend a child Protection Conference?

9 251. Enabling Parental Participation .. 252. Criteria for Excluding Parents or Restricting their Participation .. 254. Enabling Children's Participation .. 256. Responsibilities of the social worker before the conference .. 259. Responsibilities of other 261. Responsibilities of the conference chair .. 262. 8. Best Practice for the Implementation of child Protection Plans .. 265. The Core Group .. 265. The child Protection Plan .. 265. The child .. 267. The parents and/or carers .. 267. The role of the lead social worker .. 268. The role of Core Group members .. 268. Evaluation of progress and review .. 269. 9. Multi Agency Safeguarding 271. Multi Agency Safeguarding Arrangements (MASA) .. 271. Purpose of the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements .. 273. Information Requests .. 275. Functions of Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements.

10 276. Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements governance .. 281. 10. Quality Assurance .. 288. Monitoring and Evaluation Function .. 288. Individual Agencies' Quality Assurance .. 289. Unallocated child Protection Cases .. 290. 11. Resolving Professional Disagreements .. 291. Introduction .. 291. Process .. 292. 12. Safer Recruitment .. 293. Safer Recruitment .. 293. Induction and supervision of newly appointed staff .. 301. 13. Risk Management of Known Offenders .. 302. Individuals who pose a risk of harm to children .. 302. child offenders who pose a risk of harm to children (and adults) .. 303. SET Safeguarding & child PROTECTION PROCEDURES OCT 2019 6. Sex Offenders Register .. 306. Adult offenders .. 308. Multi-agency risk assessment conferencing (MARAC) .. 311. Multi-agency Public Protection Arrangements .. 315.