Local Authority Responsibilities
The manager of the Safeguarding Unit is responsible for:
- ensuring that records on children who have a child protection plan are kept up to date
- ensuring that enquiries about children about whom there are concerns, or who have child protection plans, are recorded and the content of the enquiry considered
- managing other notifications of movements of children into or out of the local authority area, such as children who have a child protection plan, looked after children, and children who are placed for adoption
- managing notifications of people who may pose a risk of significant harm to children who are either identified with the local authority area or have moved into the local authority area
- managing requests for checks to be made to ensure that unsuitable people are prevented from working with children or caring for them
The manager of the Safeguarding Unit is accountable to the Director of Children’s Services for these responsibilities.
Information on each child known to Children’s Social Care must be kept up to date on the local authority’s IT system, and the content of the child’s record must be kept confidential, available and accessible at all times to legitimate enquirers only.
Guidance for Professionals
An electronic record is kept by Children’s Social Care of all children who are the subject of an inter-agency child protection plan.
This recording of children who are the subject of child protection plans allows agencies to be aware that these children have been judged by a child protection case conference to be at continuing risk of significant harm. The database provides a central point for professional staff to make speedy enquiries if they are concerned about a child and wish to know whether or not they are already subject of a child protection plan.
Information as to whether a child is the subject of a child protection plan will only be given to professionals who can demonstrate that they have a bona fide need to know. A callback system will be used.
The enquirer will only be told whether or not the child they are enquiring about is the subject of a child protection plan. If the child is the subject of a child protection plan, they will be given the name, address and telephone number of the child’s lead social worker
Guidance for the Local Authority
A database check will be recorded on the Children’s Social Care electronic client record system by Out of Hours/Emergency Duty frontline staff, the referral reception team, or Safeguarding Unit staff. During office hours, should enquiries of the database be made via any other team within Children’s Social Care, these should be redirected to the referral reception team or the Safeguarding Unit so that they can be officially recorded.
The details of enquirers must always be checked and recorded on the system before any information is provided. Information must only be provided using a call-back system, so that the bona fide identity of the enquirer can be confirmed.
The worker will need to clarify the reason for the database being checked. These could include
- As part of a Section 47 Enquiry/child protection investigation
- As the result of general concerns
A database check will be recorded where someone not known to the family or involved in the Child Protection Plan has some concerns and wishes to establish whether the child is known to Children’s Social Care and whether they are subject to a Child Protection Plan.
A database check will not be recorded where the enquiry is from professionals involved in the Child Protection Plan who are communicating with each other about the details of the Plan.
If an enquiry is made about a child, and the child’s case is open to Children’s Social Care, the enquirer should be given the name of the child’s lead social worker and the lead social worker must be informed so that they can follow it up.
If an enquiry is made about a child at the same address as a child who is the subject of a Child Protection Plan, this information should be sent to the lead social worker of the child who is the subject of the plan.
If an enquiry is made but the child is not known to Children’s Social Care, the enquiry must be recorded together with the advice given to the enquirer. In the event of there being a second enquiry about this child:
- the second enquirer must be informed of the fact of the first enquiry, and
- the Safeguarding Unit must inform Children’s Social Care so that consideration can be given to whether this may be a child in need.
