| PART 4:
WORKING TOGETHER TO PROTECT CHILDREN |
| Recognition
of abuse |
| 4.1 Everyone who works with children and
families should be alert to signs that a family is under
stress or in need of help with bringing up their
children. Early
support may help the child or family to tackle problems,
improve coping and prevent the risk of significant harm.
Guidance on supporting vulnerable children and families
is contained in Scotland’s Children: Children
(Scotland) Act 1995 Regulations and Guidance, Volume 1 - Support
and Protection for Children and their Families. Where
professionals suspect child abuse or neglect they should
consult with senior staff or designated child protection
officers in their own agency, or contact the social work
service, the police or the Reporter directly for advice.
Any person who believes or suspects that a child is being
abused, or is at risk, should tell the social work
service, the police or the Reporter about their concerns. |
| 4.2 There
are a number of common stages in the management of child
protection cases: |
- referral to the
social work service, police or Reporter
- initial inquiries
- action to protect the
child in an emergency
- inter-agency case
conference
- assessment and the
inter-agency child protection plan
- monitoring and review
|
| 4.3 These
stages will overlap; assessment is a continuous process
which should inform each stage of the management of a
case. Setting the stages out in sequence enables
professionals to identify the range of activity for
agencies involved in child protection casework. |
| 4.4 When
a child tells any adult about possible abuse, his or her
statements should not be dismissed or ignored. The adult
should attend carefully to what the child wants to
communicate. Sometimes children may say things which may
seem fantastic. Adults should consider what may have
prompted this and assess their meaning and significance.
Adult abusers sometimes use stories or fantasy to make a
child’s claims of abuse less credible. Where
information is offered, those receiving the information
should listen carefully to what is being said, be
attentive and responsive taking into account the
child’s age and stage of development, and allow the
child to say what he or she wants to, without being drawn
into detailed questioning. Care must be taken to avoid
undermining future inquiries or police investigation, for
example by asking leading or multiple questions. The
listener should record as accurately as possible anything
a child has said, noting exact words, time, place and
context, as far as possible, and should avoid summarising
the child’s account using the listener’s words. |
| 4.5 Children
who report abuse may be anxious about the information
being shared with others. If necessary the listener
should reassure the child that he or she is right to talk
to an adult about being hurt or harmed, and that the
adult must take what the child says very seriously. Any
professional should make clear that other people may have
to be informed to make sure that the child can be
properly protected. They should not make promises to
children about confidentiality of information. Schools
are now encouraged to have codes on confidentiality which
make clear to their pupils what kinds of information
cannot be kept confidential. In most cases the listener
should be able to explain to the child who else will need
to be told and why, giving a commitment to keep to a
minimum the number of people who need to be informed. The
professional should, as far as he or she is able, tell
the child what is likely to happen, and should find out
the child’s views and wishes to inform the next
steps. |
| 4.6 When a
parent or adult refers concerns about a child, the person
receiving the referral should ensure, as far as
practically possible, that suspicions or allegations of
abuse or neglect are not discussed in the child’s
hearing. This could prejudice the reliability of any
information the child may provide later. |
| |
| Screening
referrals |
| 4.7 Members
of the public and all those who work with or have contact
with children and their families should know when, how
and to whom they should report any concerns they have
about a child’s safety or welfare. Systems for
receiving and processing referrals should be simple and
accessible, so that children and families can obtain help
quickly. Where they suspect child abuse or neglect,
professionals must share relevant information with the
social work service, the police or the Reporter promptly.
When local authorities receive referrals concerning
children, they will need to reach a view on the nature of
the child’s needs and what response is needed, if
any, to promote or safeguard the child’s welfare.
Many referrals will not need a response under local child
protection procedures. After making initial inquiries
into a child’s circumstances, the local authority or
other agency may decide that further inquiries are not
required or that some other response is more appropriate,
for example offering advice, guidance, assistance or
other services to the family. Co-operation between
agencies will help them deal with cases appropriately.
Local authorities should consult with other agencies,
including professionals who may know the child and
family, before deciding whether or not to initiate child
protection inquiries. |
| 4.8
All referrals, including those which do not require an
immediate response, should be acknowledged quickly,
indicating when a response will be made. When the local
authority receives any referral it will need to seek
further information from the relevant agencies, including
police, health and education services, in order to decide
the most appropriate response to make. There is then a
range of responses to referrals; the local authority may
do one or more of the following: |
- provide advice or
information, and take no further action when the
task is completed
- refer the family to
another agency or service
- seek further
information from the family or others
- offer a service (for
example allocate a social worker to visit the
family or provide a place in a day care service)
- undertake an
assessment of the child and family’s needs
in order to inform future decisions
- make inquiries, after
consultation with the police and other agencies,
under local child protection procedures
- in cases where a
child may have been a victim of abuse or neglect,
undertake a joint investigation with the police
|
| 4.9 In all
cases, including anonymous referrals or emergencies,
where a child is referred to the social work service
because of concern about his or her safety or welfare,
the social worker receiving the referral should explore
the information with the referrer carefully. The referrer
may be worried about the consequences of talking to
social work services about his or her concerns, and may
require an explanation of the local authority’s
duties and responsibilities towards children and
families. |
| 4.10
The social worker should gather and clarify information
before acting. Even in emergencies the initial assessment
of information should be discussed and endorsed by a
social work manager. The social worker and senior
colleagues must decide which agencies to consult and
whether to make inquiries under local child protection
procedures. They should ensure through consultation with
other agencies who know the child, that they have all
available relevant information to decide what form
further inquiries should take. In cases where the level
of concern is sufficient to warrant consideration of
child protection procedures the social work service must
consult with the police. This may in the first instance
involve sharing information, or may suggest the need for
a joint investigation by police and social workers. These
decisions are complex and child protection procedures
should support a measured response to the range of
referrals of children who may be at risk, keeping the
welfare of the child as the paramount consideration in
decision-making. CPCs should agree procedures for liaison
and co-operation between staff undertaking child
protection inquiries and the Reporter. |
| 4.11 When a
local authority suspects that a child is suffering, or is
likely to suffer, significant harm, inquiries under local
child protection procedures should include consideration
of any risk to other children in the household or family. |
| |
| Sharing
information |
| 4.12
Personal information about children and families given to
professional agencies is confidential and should be
disclosed only for the purposes of protecting children.
Nevertheless the need to ensure proper protection for
children requires that agencies share information
promptly and effectively when necessary. Ethical and
statutory codes for each agency identify those
circumstances in which information held by one
professional group may be shared with others to protect a
child. Agencies should not disclose information given in
confidence for any other purpose without consulting the
person who provided it. |
| 4.13 When a
child is being looked after away from home in residential
or foster care, his or her carers must be given full
information about the child’s background and any
previous experience of abuse or neglect, including any
history of sexual abuse or sexualised behaviour. Carers
need to have sufficient information about any allegations
of abuse to help them understand how the child may feel
and behave, and to cope confidently with after-effects of
trauma. Local authorities should draw upon carers’
skills and experience in observing and assessing
children. If a child in their care alleges abuse, carers
should remain receptive to what the child says, or how he
or she behaves, without detailed questioning of the child
which might prejudice subsequent child protection
inquiries (see paragraphs 4.4 and 4.5). |
| |
| Initial
inquiries |
| 4.14 Initial
inquiries under child protection procedures into concerns
about a child’s welfare will be carried out by local
authority social workers acting alone or jointly with
other agencies, such as the police or health and
education professionals. They may ask a GP or
paediatrician to examine a child for signs of trauma, or
a health visitor to provide a report about the child or
the family. The public and professionals are likely to
contact social work services about equivocal and
borderline cases, where the nature of the concerns about
a child need clarification. Social work services will
consult with other agencies and make preliminary
inquiries to establish whether there is genuine cause for
concern or intervention. Other professionals may be asked
to assist. Social workers and police may need to
interview a child jointly to progress child protection
inquiries. Staff who carry out these interviews will have
special skills and training in talking to and listening
to children. |
| 4.15 All
allegations of child abuse or neglect, including
anonymous referrals, should be taken seriously.
Professionals should consider all cases with an open mind
without assuming that abuse has, or has not, occurred.
All referrals, particularly those involving allegations
of sexual abuse, warrant a carefully considered and
measured response. Professionals must be alert to the
possibility of abuse of children they already know and
similarly, they should be alert to the possibility of
child abuse or neglect in cases in which concerns about
child abuse are not stated in the referral. |
| 4.16
Agencies making child protection inquiries must first
obtain all relevant information about the child and
family and their circumstances, to identify any sources
of potential harm to the child and to assess the degree
of risk. On the basis of their assessment of risk,
agencies need to decide whether any immediate action
should be taken to protect the child and any others in
the family. |
| |
| Legal
measures for the protection of children at risk |
| 4.17 In
some cases local authorities must take urgent action to
protect a child from significant harm. In some cases a
child’s parents may agree to the local authority
providing the child with accommodation and looking after
him or her, until concerns about the child’s safety,
or allegations of abuse or neglect, can be clarified. The
local authority might also consider whether others in the
child’s extended family or social network could look
after the child while agencies carry out further
inquiries or assessment. There will, however, be cases
where the risk of significant harm befalling the child
may make it necessary for agencies to take legal action
for his or her protection. Any person may apply to a
Sheriff for a Child Protection Order (CPO) (12), or
the local authority may apply for an Exclusion Order (EO)
(13). The CPO authorises the applicant
to remove a child from circumstances in which he or she
is at risk, or retain him or her in a place of safety.
The EO requires the removal of a person suspected of
harming the child from the family home. A Justice of the
Peace may also, in certain circumstances, authorise the
removal of the child for a short period if a Sheriff is
unavailable and, in limited circumstances, a police
constable may take the child to a place of safety (14). |
| 4.18 The
responsibility to take any urgent action to protect a
child rests with the local authority within whose
boundaries the child is located when such action is
deemed necessary, even if the child does not normally
live within that local authority’s area. Other
agencies or professionals may need to apply to a Sheriff
for a CPO or to a Justice of the Peace, where a Sheriff
is not available, for authority to remove a child where
emergency protection is necessary. In such circumstances
the applicant should contact the local authority social
work service for advice. If a local authority or any
other person is considering emergency action to protect a
particular child, the need for similar action to ensure
the safety of any other children in the household should
be considered at the same time. |
| 4.19 The
Children (Scotland) Act 1995 also makes provision for the
local authority to apply for a Child Assessment Order
(CAO) if it has reasonable cause to suspect that a child
may be suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm
and the parents or carers are refusing to allow the local
authority to see the child (15).
The CAO requires the parents or carers to produce the
child and allow any assessment needed to take place to
help professionals decide whether they should act to
safeguard the child’s welfare. The authority may
ask, or the Sheriff may direct, someone else, such as a
GP, paediatrician or psychiatrist, to carry out all or
any part of the assessment. Professionals must assist in
carrying out these assessments when asked to do so and
local procedures should make provision for this. Where
the child is of sufficient age and understanding, he or
she may refuse consent to medical examination or
treatment whether or not a CAO is made (16). |
| 4.20 More
detailed guidance on the new provisions in the 1995 Act
is contained in Scotland’s Children: Children
(Scotland) Act 1995 Regulations and Guidance - Volume 1 Support
and Protection for Children and their Families. |
| |
| Criminal
prosecution of alleged perpetrators of abuse or neglect |
| 4.21 If an
allegation of child abuse or neglect proceeds to
prosecution, the social work service should discuss with
the police and Procurator Fiscal any concerns about the
risk of further abuse or interference with witnesses in
the case, so that such matters can be considered when
decisions are being taken by the Court about bail and any
conditions which may need to be attached to bail, if
granted. The initial child protection case conference may
provide an opportunity for the social work service, the
Reporter and the Procurator Fiscal to discuss
recommendations about bail and any necessary conditions.
The Sheriff will decide whether to grant bail or not. |
| 4.22 If an
alleged perpetrator of abuse is to be prosecuted, child
victims should always be provided with support,
information and preparation for the experience of being a
witness in Court. The local authority and other agencies
need to consider a range of issues if the child needs
counselling or therapy before criminal proceedings are
concluded. The needs of the child are paramount, and
counselling should not be withheld solely on the basis of
a forthcoming prosecution. Agencies must consider the
potential impact of an unsuccessful prosecution or
hostile cross-examination of a child, and the
implications for future protection of that child and
others if a prosecution does not succeed. Where
counselling does take place, the person(s) offering
counselling may be called as witnesses to explain the
nature, extent and reasons for the counselling. Welfare
agencies should discuss this with the Procurator Fiscal
so that he or she can be aware of the potential impact of
such counselling on any criminal proceedings. In order to
alleviate the stress for a child giving evidence, it is
possible to have a support person present, to use screens
to hide the accused from the child, or to use a live
television link when the child is giving evidence. In
appropriate cases, the Procurator Fiscal can make an
application to the Court, with whom the final decision on
use of these options rests. |
| |
| Outcome
of child protection inquiries |
| 4.23 The
local authority should inform the parents or carers, and
the child, where appropriate (having regard to his or her
age, maturity and understanding), in writing of the
outcome of child protection inquiries. Where inquiries do
not substantiate concerns, the local authority should
explain again the agency’s legal responsibility to
inquire into concerns about children’s safety, and
acknowledge any distress or disruption that such
inquiries may cause. Further support or other services
should be offered where necessary. Referring agencies
should be informed of the outcome of child protection
inquiries promptly and in writing. It is important that
public confidence in professionals’ response to
their concerns about children be maintained. When members
of the public make referrals to a statutory agency, in
most cases it should be possible to provide some
information about the professionals’ response
without giving confidential information about children
and families. |
| 4.24 In some
cases it may be appropriate for the alleged or suspected
abuser to leave the household, with assistance if
necessary. If he or she is unwilling to do so the local
authority may apply to a Sheriff for an Exclusion Order.
If there is no safe alternative to the local authority
looking after the child away from his or her family, the
social work service must make arrangements for the
child’s care, consistent with their duties towards
children looked after (17), which promote and safeguard the
child’s welfare and which take account of the
child's views and wishes, and those of his or her parents
and other family members. The social work service must
ensure that the child’s contact and relationships
with all important members of his or her family,
including any suspected perpetrator, should be maintained
as appropriate. If the social work service believe that
limited or supervised contact is necessary, the reasons
for this should be recorded and the parents advised in
writing. |
| |
| 4.25
Following inquiries, the local authority may find that a
referral does not require further investigation under
local child protection procedures, but the child or
family needs help in other ways. The local authority
should arrange any necessary help or services from child
health and social work services, or additional support
from education professionals or voluntary agency support
services, either directly, or by putting the family in
touch with other agencies. |
| |
| Recording |
| 4.26 Each
agency should have a policy on record keeping which
states the purpose and format that staff should use when
recording information about their clients, patients,
pupils or users. The policy should include arrangements
for ensuring records are fit for purpose and are
maintained to appropriate standards, who will have access
to records, and for how long they will be kept. All
agencies must establish procedures to ensure speedy
transfer of relevant records when a child and/or family
moves into or out of the agency’s area. |
| 4.27 Staff
in different agencies should keep up-to-date case records
of their involvement in any child protection case.
Records should include: |
- details of any
concerns about the child and family
- details of any
contact or involvement with the family and any
other agencies
- the findings of any
assessment
- any decisions made
about the case within each agency or in
discussions with other agencies
- a note of information
shared with other agencies, with whom and when
|
| 4.28 Staff
in local authorities, health services or other agencies
may receive information which may form evidence in later
criminal or civil proceedings. The information received
in a referral must therefore always be written down
accurately and in detail, either at the time or
immediately afterwards. Child Protection Committees may
develop standard referral forms for use by all local
agencies. Records should note the date and time that any
incident occurred and the date when the record was made.
When recording their intervention and activity in child
protection cases staff should take contemporaneous notes
wherever possible, and should complete records as soon as
possible after an event or interview. Original notes and
case records, drawings or other written material should
be retained even if information is condensed into summary
reports. |
| 4.29
Recording systems should meet the requirements of
legislation on access to files and data protection.
Storage arrangements should be adequately secure and
protect client confidentiality. Professional records may
need to be made available to the police or the Reporter
when required. |
| |
| Child
protection case conferences |
| 4.30
Multi-agency case conferences are an essential feature of
inter-agency co-operation to protect children. They
enable agencies to consider information about allegations
or suspicions of child abuse and neglect and the outcome
of child protection inquiries. They assist planning to
help families and welfare agencies ensure that a child at
risk is properly protected from harm. They can assist
those agencies which consider possible criminal
proceedings and the likely impact of these on the child.
The social work service should discuss the need for a
conference with other agencies at an early stage in
inquiries. Case conferences will be convened by the
social work service if a case requires inter-agency
discussion and planning. Any agency may ask the social
work service to convene a child protection case
conference about a particular child. Local inter-agency
procedures should contain information about arrangements
for child protection case conferences and should include
advice for all agencies about how to ask the social work
service to convene a case conference about a particular
child. |
| |
| Objectives |
| 4.31 A child
protection case conference may have a number of
objectives; it will undertake some or all of the
following tasks: |
- ensure that all
relevant information is shared and collated
- assess the degree of
existing and likely future risk to the child
- identify the
child’s needs and any services from any of
the agencies that may be needed to help him or
her, whether or not the case conference concludes
the child is at risk
- review a current
child protection plan
|
| |
| A child
protection case conference will decide: |
- whether a
child’s name should be placed on, or
retained on the Child Protection Register
- if the child is
registered, the arrangements for the inter-agency
child protection plan
- when a child’s
name may be removed from the Register
|
| 4.32 Each
participant should be clear about the reason for, and
purpose of the conference, why he or she is present, and
their current role and contribution to the management of
the case. Each is responsible for ensuring that their own
agency is aware of the tasks or action required. If the
local authority or another agency has not already made a
referral to the Reporter, the case conference should
consider whether this is necessary. If the case
conference decides that referral is appropriate the local
authority, or another agency if more appropriate, should
take responsibility for making the referral. The
referring agency should include the collective view of
the conference in the referral information. Any referral
arising from the case conference should be made to the
Reporter as soon as practicable after the conference. |
| |
| Timing of
case conferences |
| 4.33 When
initial inquiries are complete, professionals involved
with the family should consider whether further action is
necessary and if so whether this needs to be action
within child protection procedures. An initial case
conference can enable professionals from different
agencies to make a well-informed decision about future
protection of the child. The local authority or the
police should not however delay any necessary action to
gather information or to ensure a child’s immediate
safety until a case conference takes place. |
| 4.34 The
timing of the first inter-agency case conference will
vary from case to case. The first case conference may be
held after agencies have held a planning meeting to agree
a strategy for responding to a referral alleging that a
child has been harmed. The local authority may have
already taken urgent action to protect the child. In
other cases, the first case conference may be held
earlier, to pool information about the child, the family
and any suspected abuser, and to identify how any further
inquiries should proceed. |
| |
| Participation |
| 4.35 The
number of people involved in a case conference should be
limited to those with a need to know or those who have a
contribution to make to the tasks identified. In addition
to local authority social worker(s), other participants
might include the Reporter, health professionals, police,
teachers, educational psychologists, relevant voluntary
organisations, Procurators Fiscal (although their
interests may be represented by the police), and Armed
Services staff where children of service personnel are
involved. Agencies should encourage parents and carers
and, where appropriate, children, to attend case
conferences about their family. To encourage
participation in the conference, the social work service
should arrange, as far as practicable, times and venues
for case conferences which are convenient for
participants, taking into account school and surgery or
clinic times, and parents’ and children’s
needs. Sufficient notice of conferences should be given
to enable professionals such as GPs or teachers to
arrange cover or to send written reports. All persons
invited to a case conference should understand its
purpose and the relevance of their particular
contributions. |
| 4.36 There
may be occasions when it is appropriate to invite to the
case conference non-agency or non-professional staff such
as foster carers, home carers, childminders, volunteers
or others working with the child or family. The
professional most closely involved with the person to be
invited should brief him or her carefully beforehand.
This should include providing information about the
purpose of the conference and their contribution, the
need to keep information shared confidential, and advice
about the primacy of the child’s interests over that
of the parents where these conflict. |
| 4.37 Any
participant who is unable to attend should send any
information and their views about any risk to the
child(ren) to the chairperson, normally in writing. They
should quickly be informed of the outcome of the
conference. If the Reporter is not able to attend a case
conference they should provide the chairperson with any
information which they think relevant for the protection
of the child. The Procurator Fiscal should provide
information about criminal proceedings which may be
relevant to the child’s protection and support, such
as proposals for bail. Legal advice from the local
authority should be available as needed. The Procurator
Fiscal will also make available to the Reporter any
relevant information about an alleged abuser from any
psychiatric, psychological or other specialist reports
prepared at his or her request. |
| 4.38 If an
agency cannot comply with the child protection plan
agreed at a case conference they should discuss this with
the officer appointed by the social work service as the
keyworker for the case, normally an allocated social
worker. The keyworker will then inform other people
working with the family and agree a contingency plan. |
| 4.39 Where
it appears to a case conference that information about
the mental health of a family member, or members, may
assist consideration of a child’s welfare, a
psychiatrist or a member of another relevant profession
should be invited to the conference or asked for advice. |
| |
| Requirements
for effective case conferences |
| 4.40 Case
conferences should be chaired by a senior member of the
social work service with appropriate training and skills
in the chairing of inter-agency conferences. The
chairperson should not have first line management
responsibility for decision-making about the case. All
participants should prepare themselves for the
conference, have available written reports, and give
careful consideration to each contribution. |
| 4.41 Clear
and, wherever possible, consensual decisions should be
made about registration or, where appropriate,
de-registration. Where there is disagreement amongst
participants, the chair will make the final decision. The
conference should identify a keyworker and a core group
of staff from the relevant agencies who will carry out
the necessary tasks to protect the child, and agree
arrangements for sharing information between conferences.
Participants should agree a child protection plan and
make sure this is understood by all concerned. |
| 4.42 The
local authority should prepare a written note of the case
conference which: |
- records who attended
and any apologies or absences
- summarises
established or new information and key points
from discussion at the conference
- records decisions of
the case conference and responsibility for action
on registration, recommendations for the
inter-agency child protection plan and the date
and time of the next review conference with any
reservations or dissenting views on these matters
also being recorded
|
| The
chairperson should not be responsible for making the note
of the case conference but he or she should check the
note for accuracy. The local authority should circulate
the note to all those invited to attend the conference.
The keyworker, or social work manager, should inform
parents or carers about the child protection plan and, if
the child’s name is placed on the Register, the
purpose and use of the Child Protection Register. Parents
should also be sent written information about the case
conference outcome (see paragraph 4.47 below). |
| |
| Involvement
of children and parents |
| 4.43
Case conferences should take account of children’s
views and feelings, having regard to their age and
understanding. Whenever children are able to express
their wishes and feelings and are able to contribute to
assessment, planning and review, they should be invited
to attend the case conference, if this is consistent with
their welfare. The social worker should prepare each
child by giving full information about case conferences.
The child should also be told that he or she can ask for
someone to be present for support at the conference. If a
child does not wish to attend, or if this is
inappropriate, the professionals working with the child
should make sure that the conference has information, in
writing, about his or her views. The keyworker should
make sure that the child knows about the plans for him or
her. |
| 4.44
Professionals should actively seek to develop
partnerships with parents and be honest and sympathetic
towards parents but without losing sight of the
child’s needs. Parents and carers need clear
information about professionals’ concerns if they
are to change behaviour which puts their child at risk.
They may be anxious and angry about professionals’
intervention in their family and some may express these
feelings at the conference. This should not be allowed to
interfere with the task of the case conference and the
chairperson should ensure that parents are informed in
advance about how information and discussion will be
presented and be managed. The social work service should
prepare parents and carers before conferences by giving
them information about the reasons for professional
concern, agencies’ statutory powers, the roles of
agencies involved and parents’ legal rights. Parents
may need to bring someone to support them when they
attend a conference. Written information about child
protection case conferences should be made available to
children and parents, in the form of local leaflets or
national public information (18).
Guidance on parents’ attendance at case conferences
should be contained in local inter-agency child
protection procedures. |
| 4.45 When
planning a case conference the chairperson should
consider with the family’s keyworker and any other
relevant agencies, whether there is any reason why the
parents or, if capable of doing so, the child, should not
attend all or part of the conference, for example because
concurrent legal proceedings would prevent their
participation in discussion. If their participation would
prevent the case conference from achieving its functions
the chair should consider how the parents’ or
carers’ or the child’s views can be
communicated to the case conference. The chair should
inform participants and the family of any decision to
exclude family members and the reasons for this. When
parents do not wish to attend a conference, this should
be recorded with any reasons given. |
| 4.46 When a
case conference decides to place the child’s name on
the Child Protection Register and agrees an inter-agency
child protection plan, the local authority should give
the family a written summary of the proposed action, even
if they attended the case conference. Parents should be
told what information will be held on the Register and
how this may be used, and details should be checked with
them for accuracy. The keyworker should talk to parents
or carers about how they will be involved in planning for
the child, and consider with the child’s mother or
other carers how fathers without parental
responsibilities may be informed and included where
appropriate. |
| 4.47 It is
good practice to confirm important information to parents
in writing. The social work service should provide
details of the inter-agency child protection plan to
parents in writing. This should include the reasons for
the agencies’ concern about their child, the
services to be provided for the family and the
parents’ and agencies’ expectations of each
other. The local authority should explain to the family
the different responsibilities of case conferences, the
Reporter and Children’s Hearings and, as far as
possible, help families to understand where decisions
about the protection of children are made. |
| 4.48 Parents
or carers who disagree with any case conference decision
should be given an opportunity to discuss this with a
manager in the local authority social work service. Where
the parent or carer is unwilling to comply with the child
protection plan, the social work service should consider
whether there is a need for further action to protect the
child. Parents, or children who have a complaint about a
particular agency’s service or actions should raise
this with the agency concerned. In some circumstances
they may need help to do this. All agencies should have
procedures which families can use to pursue complaints
about their service. |
| |
| Assessment
and plan to protect the child |
| 4.49
Protection, treatment and other services for the child
and family should be based on a comprehensive assessment
of the child’s and family’s needs, including an
assessment of the level of risk to the child. All cases
in which a child’s name is placed on the Child
Protection Register require a comprehensive assessment.
An assessment involves gathering information purposefully
to assist social workers and other professionals to
identify aspects of the child’s health, welfare or
development that require some help. It will identify what
services are needed to reduce risk of harm and to enable
the family to find ways of addressing difficulties so
that a child’s needs can be properly met. Sometimes
a child’s needs cannot be met by their family at
home. An assessment should focus on a family’s
strengths and skills as well as difficulties. Assessments
vary in complexity and scale. Some assessments will take
relatively little time and can be carried out by a social
worker gathering and evaluating information directly or
from a small number of sources. Other assessments may be
more complex, may involve a range of professionals and
may take considerable time, involving meetings with
family members and consultation and meetings with other
professionals, or require the child or the family to
undergo assessment in a residential setting. Between
these extremes can come a range of different levels of
involvement. Assessments of children with disabilities
should involve professionals with requisite skills and
specialist knowledge. The results and outcomes of each
agency’s assessment or contribution should be
written down and made available to families. |
| 4.50 The
purpose of assessment is to acquire a full understanding
of the child and family’s circumstances in order to
provide a sound basis for decisions about future actions.
Short-term plans may follow a preliminary assessment made
during or at the conclusion of initial inquiries. These
may need to be revised at a later stage. The keyworker is
responsible for ensuring that a comprehensive assessment
is undertaken. In order to plan the assessment the
following questions should be considered: |
What information
is needed and how, and by whom, can this be
gathered?
What are the
child’s and family’s views about the
assessment and how will the family contribute?
Who has parental
responsibilities?
Where will the
work be undertaken?
Does the child or
family have any special needs, for example
because of disability or communication
difficulties, and how will these be addressed?
When should the
assessment be completed?
How will it be
recorded?
What is the legal
status of the child and how will the assessment
impact upon any legal or other action, for
example, prosecution of an alleged abuser, civil
proceedings in respect of the child, or
assessment directed by a Children’s Hearing?
|
| |
| 4.51 The
comprehensive assessment will inform the child protection
plan and should be reviewed throughout the agencies’
involvement with a family. The plan should take into
account the child’s and parents’ views and
wishes, local resources, the availability of specialist
facilities and their suitability for addressing the
particular needs of the child and his or her family. |
| 4.52 Local
authorities should make sure that families understand the
objectives of the child protection plan and are willing
to work with professionals to achieve these. If the
family do not agree with the plan to protect the child,
they should be given opportunities to discuss this. If
they feel that they have been treated unfairly or that
any agency has acted inappropriately they should be given
information about the agencies’ complaints
procedures. If the family refuse to co-operate with the
child protection plan, the local authority, in
consultation with other agencies, should consider whether
to reconvene the case conference or take further action
to protect the child. The local authority should advise
the family about sources of independent advice or
advocacy. |
| 4.53 A
separate plan for work with perpetrators of abuse may be
needed to complement the plan for the protection of the
child. Such plans may be needed in a range of
circumstances: where an unconvicted offender, who accepts
responsibility for abuse or neglect, agrees to work with
social work services on personal change; where an
offender is placed on probation; during a custodial
sentence and following release, if an offender is
released on parole or other statutory licence, or seeks
voluntary assistance. The Scottish Office has issued
guidance for local authorities and other agencies on the
supervision and management of offenders against children
in the community, and preparation and work with offenders
released from prison (19). If a child has been abused by another child
or young person, at home, in school or in other
circumstances, social work services should separately
assess the circumstances, needs and risk presented by
that young person and work with him or her to reduce the
likelihood of the young person abusing again. |
| 4.54 Any
staff or professionals working directly with perpetrators
of abuse should co-operate fully with the keyworker in
the preparation of a comprehensive assessment and
recommendations for action. A criminal justice social
worker may prepare a social enquiry report, or, following
a conviction, may supervise the offender in the
community. Similarly, in the event of a custodial
sentence, prison-based social workers may be working with
the offender. The keyworker will contact prison-based
staff where the alleged or convicted offender is remanded
in custody or is serving a custodial sentence as the case
may be, and, where he or she is a parent of or has
parental responsibilities for the child, advise him or
her of any arrangements for a case conference, the
outcome of any case conference, assessment or child
protection plan. |
| 4.55
Circular SWSG 11/94 requires prison and community-based
social workers to consider what action may be needed to
reduce any risk to any children from those convicted of
offences against children, when they are released from
prison. Where offenders who are placed on probation or
released from prison return to a family in which a child
may be at risk, the social work service should deploy
more than one social worker in order to serve adequately
the needs of the child and other family members, and to
deal effectively with the offender. The Sex Offenders Act
1997 makes provision for offenders convicted of specified
sex offences including sex offences against children, to
register their names, any aliases, their address and any
subsequent changes with the police for periods from 5
years to life. Related guidance sets out how information
on sex offenders (not just those required to register
under the Act) should be shared, managed and used to
reduce risk to the public (20). |
| |
| Pre-birth
case conferences |
| 4.56
Agencies should consider convening a case conference
about an unborn child if there appears to be a risk of
significant harm to the child when he or she is born.
This case conference will have the same status and form
as any other. Parents or carers should be invited to a
pre-birth conference and should be fully informed and
involved in planning for the child’s future, unless
this would increase the risk of harm to the unborn child,
for example by prompting the family to avoid contact with
ante-natal services or to move out of the area. The case
conference may decide that the child’s name should
be placed on the Child Protection Register when he or she
is born and agree an inter-agency child protection plan.
The conference may recommend that the local authority
seek a Child Protection Order at birth. The plan may
include tasks to be undertaken by agencies to support and
prepare parents before the child’s birth. The social
work service should identify a keyworker to co-ordinate
the plan. |
| |
| Review
case conferences |
| 4.57 If a
child’s name is placed on the Child Protection
Register, a first review conference should normally be
held within three months, and no later than six months,
and at six monthly intervals thereafter while the
child’s name remains on the Register. The local
authority should also consider the need for a review
conference when there are significant changes in the
child’s or family’s circumstances. |
| 4.58 The
purpose of a review case conference is to review the
progress of inter-agency work to protect the child, to
consider any continuing risk to the child and whether
there is a need for his or her name to remain on the
Child Protection Register and to update the inter-agency
child protection plan as required. |
| 4.59 If a
review case conference about a child on a supervision
requirement recommends changes to the plan for work with
the child which are likely to have a bearing on the level
of supervision of the child and family, the social work
service should consult with the Reporter about the need
for a review Children’s Hearing. Even when the
decision to remove a child’s name from the Register
does not conflict with the terms of the supervision
requirement, the social work service should still give
consideration to asking for a review Hearing if, for
example, a reduction in the amount of inter-agency
contact or support is planned. |
| 4.60 After
any risk of further abuse or neglect has been eradicated
or reduced to the level where an inter-agency child
protection plan is no longer necessary, all agencies
should continue to be mindful of the possible needs of
the child or family for help or support. In particular,
schools and other agencies in close contact with the
family should remain alert to the child’s and young
person’s continuing need for support even when other
agencies are no longer involved with the family. |
