CP procedures
Section 47 of the Children Act 1989 places a duty on local authorities to carry out a child protection enquiry whenever there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm in order to decide whether to intervene to protect the child.
Significant harm is defined as the level of harm at which the local authority has a statutory duty to intervene and includes ill treatment or the impairment of health or development compared with what is reasonable for a child of comparable age and health.
CSSW follows the London safeguarding children procedures; that standardise practice across London; the core procedures are summarised below:
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Responding to abuse and neglect including definitions of significant harm, abuse and neglect, roles and responsibilities of partner agencies. |
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including pre-birth assessments. |
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Procedures for carrying out child protection enquiries and strategy discussions including ABE interviews and paediatric assessments. |
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Procedures for convening and conducting child protection case conferences. |
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Procedures for developing and implementing the child protection plan and the role of the core group. |
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Actions to be taken to liaise with other boroughs and transfer cases where families move between London boroughs. |
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Procedures for dealing with allegations made against staff or volunteers who work with children. |
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Procedures for dealing with complex and organised abuse cases involving multiple victims and perpetrators. |
Where there is a reasonable belief that the child is suffering or at risk of suffering significant harm, CSSW will convene a strategy meeting with the police, the referring agency and any other agency that may have relevant information about the child and the family.
If immediate action needs to be taken due to serious risk of harm, social workers should consider a police protection or child protection order.
The purpose of the strategy meeting is to establish whether there is reasonable cause to suspect the child is at risk of significant harm and decide on the next steps. A review strategy meeting may be held in exceptional circumstances and with the agreement of the CP IRO.
Where the threshold of significant harm is met, the social worker will carry out a section 47 enquiry (child protection investigation) to establish the nature and level of risk to the child. This is recorded as a child and family assessment and this assessment will be the social work report to any conference that may be convened. All children living in the household should be considered during the assessment.
Where a section 47 enquiry finds that concerns are substantiated and the child is at continuing risk of significant harm, CSSW will convene an initial child protection conference.
Timescales
Initial case conferences must be convened no more than 15 working days of the strategy discussion at which the Section 47 was initiated and should consider all children living in the household.
Transfer-in conferences should be held within 15 working days following receipt of the formal notification of transfer.
The first child protection review conference should be held within three months of the child being made a subject of a protection plan.
A review of a pre-birth child protection plan (or a core group) should be set to take place within 10 days of the birth (or 20 days if the mother is not fit to attend) with attendance by relevant health professionals and where possible, and this meeting will function as the discharge from hospital meeting.
Subsequent reviews must be held at a maximum of six monthly intervals although the Chair may decide to bring forward a review case conference.