Amendments

Section 8, Court Hearings has been updated in line with A View From the President’s Chambers: Relaunching the PLO (November 2022) and that section should be re-read.

• Permanence Planning Guidance;
• List of Agency Decision Makers, Designated Managers and Nominated Officers.

• Young Persons Guide to Children and Families Act 2014;
• Legal Planning Meetings.

A link has been added to the Independent Child Trafficking Guardians Referral Form. In areas where the ICTG service has been implemented, if the social worker considers a child to be a potential victim of modern slavery, they should refer them to the ICTG service by completing the online referral form.

This chapter has been revised to reflect the ‘Review of Sexual Abuse in Schools and Colleges (Ofsted)’; updated ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (see Scope of This Chapter) and Sexual Harassment in Education – Briefing (House Of Parliament Library). (See Section 8.2, Protecting looked after children from sexual harassment and peer on peer abuse).

The chapter has also been amended to reflect Promoting the Education of Children with a Social Worker: Virtual School Head Role Extension.

A new Section 10, Use of Inherent Jurisdiction to Authorise a Placement Involving a Deprivation of Liberty When One or More of the Relevant Criteria Under Section 25 Children Act 1989 are Not Satisfied has been added. 

Contact details have been updated in Section 6, Placements of Children under the age of 13 Years.

This chapter has been updated in line with the new digital referral system for reporting potential victims of Modern Slavery.

Amendments have been made in:

• Section 5, Leaving Care Assessment of Need - in relation to children who are victims of trafficking or unaccompanied asylum seeking children;
• Section 7, Reviews of Pathway Plans - in relation to Relevant/Former Relevant young people moving to 'unregulated' accommodation; and
• Section 8, Personal Advisers - in relation to frequency of visits by Personal Advisers.

This chapter has been amended to remove references to the Adoption Register.

This chapter has been updated in line with the Children and Social Work Act 2017 and revised statutory guidance.

Updated:

This chapter has been updated to provide some emphasis on parents who lack capacity and added links to the President of the Family Division, Family Proceedings: Parents with a Learning Disability note, and a relevant link to working with parents who have a learning disability.

Links have been added to:

• Raising Concerns at Work;
• Whistleblowing Helpline - Speak Up;
• Public Concern at Work.

This guidance has been reviewed and updated following the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018.

This chapter has been reviewed and updated in line with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018.

The link has been updated to the Fostering Network Transfer of Foster Carers Protocol England.

This chapter has been refreshed throughout.

This chapter has been given a general refresh throughout.

This chapter has been extensively amended and now includes new/enhanced sections on 'Applications for Secure Accommodation'; 'Children to Whom Section 25 Applies', (including the issues of children aged 16 years and Section 20 Accommodation); 'Placements for Children aged under 13 years' and 'Support, Monitoring and Ending of Placements' etc.

It has also been updated to reflect the complex cross-border legal issues when children from England are placed in Secure Units in Scotland.

An updated version has been added.

Added in to Section 14, Records Should be Kept Securely:

For case records that have been locked down automatically by the system due to the child being considered for adoption, the allocated practice manager can request access from the information unit for another practitioner to view the record.

A link has been added to new guidance Whistleblowing to Ofsted about Children’s Social Care Services.

• Family Group Meetings Safeguarding Policy;
• Family Group Meetings Confidentiality Policy;
• Family Group Meetings Quality Aims.

This chapter has been updated throughout in line with Care of Unaccompanied and Trafficked Children: Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities on the Care of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking and Trafficked Children (2014), and should be re-read.

This chapter has been updated in line with Looked-after Children: Contact with Siblings - Update to Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review.

This chapter has been updated to include the following information:

Minutes of the Looked After Review which recommended the child's placement can be taken as a written record of the consultation with those in attendance.

A ‘Working Agreement’ should be completed by the practitioner with the parents to clarify the expectations of the parent(s) and ensure the child is safeguarded and their needs are met during this temporary phase before the Statutory Review.

This chapter has been updated in line with statutory guidance Looked-after Children: Contact with Siblings - Update to Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review.

A link has been added to guidance on Cases with a Foreign Element, in the Greater Manchester Safeguarding procedures. It includes:

Working with Foreign Authorities: Child Protection Cases and Care Orders - Departmental Advice for Local Authorities, Social Workers, Service Managers and Children’s Services Lawyers (July 2014)

This chapter has been updated throughout in line with new/updated statutory guidance:

• Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions (2014): statutory guidance from the Department for Education;
• Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years - Statutory guidance for organisations who work with and support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (2014);
• Keeping Children Safe in Education.

This chapter has been updated in line with the Children and Families Act 2014 and the overall aim of speeding up the adoption process. The chapter has been updated throughout and should be re-read. Information has been added in relation to:

• Fostering for Adoption (Sections 1 and 5.4);
• Adoption Register (Section 9);
• Duty to provide information on adoption support services (Sections 1 and 2);
• Ethnicity (Section 15.3).

This chapter has been updated in line with the Children and Families Act 2014, and the overall aim of speeding up the adoption process. The chapter has been updated throughout and should be re-read. The main changes are in relation to:

• The duty to consider Fostering for Adoption placements;
• The removal of the requirement to give due consideration to a child’s religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background when matching a child and prospective adopters;
• Post-adoption contact;
• Placing of siblings.