Procedures and Guidance
Procedures and Guidance
All professionals in contact with children and their families must be aware of child abuse and neglect and of the need to maintain vigilance at all times.
The Safeguarding Children Procedures are to be used at all times when there is concern that a child is at risk of harm. The procedures have been written by a West Yorkshire Consortium comprising Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield Safeguarding Children Boards and they are in electronic format. The procedures took effect from 1 July 2007.
The procedures indicate what must or may be done in specified circumstances and define the limits of professional discretion.
The procedures have the status of instructions to practitioners in safeguarding children board member organisations and any inability or failure to comply with them should be accompanied by a brief explanation.
Any supplementary internal procedures developed by organisations should also refer to, and comply with the procedures.
The procedures must be followed to ensure prompt and effective help to children and their families.
The Safeguarding Children Procedures are based on statutory guidance in the government publication Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006 which sets out in detail how organisations and individuals should work together to safeguard children.
Other useful websites that keep you up to date on the Government's plan for children's services can be found below:
Department for Children, Schools and Families - DFES
New Information
You may be aware of the changes being made regarding checking and monitoring new and existing staff (including volunteers) working with children and/or vulnerable adults. This will be implemented on 12th October 2009 and will bring about significant change to improve safeguarding those vulnerable groups. These changes are supported by Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and further information can be found at Independent Safeguarding Authority
Publications
Community Care
The website of the Community Care weekly magazine can be accessed on Community Care This provides articles on relevant issues; legal updates and developments in issues relating to children and families.
In 1999 the Government announced it would commision overview reports of serious case reviews on a biennial basis. The two above named documents are recommended reading for professionals to increase awareness of the themes and trends which inform policy and practice.
The reports specifically identify key themes common to the recommendations from the serious case reviews. They ascertain if action plans were drawn up, implemented and actioned within time scales. They consider what helped or hindered implementation and finally did they lead to policy/practice change locally and crucially are there any lessons for national change.
Safeguarding Children in whom illness is fabricated or induced DCSF HM Government 2008
The DCSF has produced supplementary guidance to the Working Together to Safeguard Children Document, dealing specifically with the children who are abused through fabricated or induced illness. This guidance raises awareness of the issues involved in this relatively rare form of child abuse and the impact upon the child's health and development. It highlights the possible ways in which illness can be induced or fabricated and outlines roles and responsibilities of specific agencies and how they should work together in this complex area.
Lord Laming stated that every service has to play its part in the support and protection of children. Section 11 (4) of the Children Act 2004 places a duty on key persons and bodies to make arrangements to ensure that in discharging their functions, they have regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This guidance sets out the expectations on each involved agency on both operational and strategic levels in fulfilling their statutory duty in this area.
