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3.2 Recording that a Child is Subject of a Child Protection Plan

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Contents

1. The Record

1.1 Children's Social Care IT systems should be capable of recording in the child's case record when the child is the subject of a Child Protection Plan. Each local authority's IT system should be capable of producing a list of all the children resident in the area (including those who have been placed there by another local authority or agency) who are considered to be at continuing risk of Significant Harm, and for whom there is a Child Protection Plan.
1.2 The principal purpose of having the IT capacity to record that a child is the subject of a Child Protection Plan is to enable agencies and professionals to be aware of those children who are judged to be at continuing risk of Significant Harm and who are the subject of a Child Protection Plan. It is equally important that agencies and professionals can obtain relevant information about other children who are known or have been known to the local authority. Consequently, agencies and professionals who have concerns about a child should be able to obtain information about a child that is recorded on the local authority's IT system.
1.3 Outside of office hours, legitimate enquirers such as police and health professionals can obtain information through contacting the Emergency Social Work Team on 01908 265545.
1.4 Children should be recorded as having been abused or neglected under one or more of the categories of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, according to a decision by the chair of the child protection conference. These categories help indicate the nature of the current concerns. Recording information in this way also allows for the collation and analysis of information locally and nationally and for its use in planning the provision of services. The categories selected should reflect all the information obtained in the course of the Child and Family Assessment/Section 47 Enquiry and subsequent analysis and should not just relate to one or more abusive incidents.

2. Managing and Providing Information About a Child

2.1

Each local authority should designate a manager, normally an experienced social worker, who has responsibility for:

  • Ensuring that records on children who have a Child Protection Plan are kept up to date;
  • Ensuring enquiries about children about whom there are concerns or who have child protection plans are recorded and 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 and Children in Care;
  • 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; and
  • Managing requests for checks to be made to ensure unsuitable people are prevented from working with children.
2.2 The above manager should be accountable to the Director of Children's Social Care.
2.3 Information on each child known to Children's Social Care should be kept up-to-date on the local authority LCS IT system, and the content of the child's record should be confidential, available only to legitimate enquirers. This information should be accessible at all times to such enquirers.
2.4 The details of enquirers should always be checked and recorded on the system before information is provided.
2.5 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 informed of this enquiry so that they can follow it up.
2.6 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 Child Protection Plan.
2.7 If an enquiry is made, but the child is not known to Children's Social Care, this enquiry should be recorded on a contact sheet together with the advice given to the enquirer.
2.8 In the event of there being a second enquiry about a child who is not known to Children's Social Care, the, designated manager in Children's Social Care should ensure that the local authority considers whether this is or may be a Child in Need.
2.9 The Department for Education holds lists of the names of designated managers and should be notified of any changes.
This page is correct as printed on Monday 26th of October 2020 12:43:00 AM please refer back to this website (http://mkscb.procedures.org.uk) for updates.
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