Child Protection

What should I do if I think that a child is at risk?

If you think that a child is at risk of being harmed or neglected, please contact us. We will keep your name confidential if you wish. We will carry out a thorough investigation on every case about a child at risk, which is reported to us.

Children's Services Admin (Mon-Fri 9.30 am to 5.00 pm)
Tel. 01344 351582
Email: childrens.services@bracknell-forest.gov.uk

Emergency Duty Team (5.00 pm - 9.00 am Mon-Fri, 24 hrs on weekends and bank holidays)
Tel. 01344 786543
Email: edt@bracknell-forest.gov.uk
Text 07867 907 877 (for clients with hearing problems)

What will we do if a child is at risk?
If we hear about a child or children who appear to be neglected, ill treated or not thriving, we have a statutory duty to clarify the situation. We will contact the parents and find out if there are any particular problems. Often in such situations we will also wish to talk to the child’s school or health visitor and GP, or any other professional who has information about the family. Usually what is most helpful for children is to support the family so they can stay together.

However, the law allows us in certain circumstances, to take action to protect a child from abuse or neglect. This may involve calling a child protection conference to consider whether a child’s name needs to be included on Bracknell Forest Borough Council’s Child Protection Register.

In exceptional circumstances the need to protect a child may include removing a child from their home for a short period of time or until the problems at home have been sorted out. Such a step can only be taken by Social Services with the prior consent of a Court or with the agreement of the parents.

New Children Protection Procedures
The Local Bracknell Forest Safeguarding Children Board, the statutory body that replaced the Area Child Protection Committee earlier this year, has now published a complete new procedure manual of Child Protection Procedures 2006, together with a Child Protection Handbook for practitioners. The new documents were produced by a cross Berkshire group on behalf of all six unitary authorities.

A copy of the main procedure manual is now available for download and viewing from this web page.

The main manual provides comprehensive information and guidance on all aspects of child safeguarding across a broad range of agencies and sets out the actions to be taken by all agencies to protect children from harm whenever this occurs or is suspected. The new procedures are issued following the publication of new national guidance from the central government in ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children, April 2006’.

The Child Protection Handbook is aimed at all practitioners involved in providing services to children and sets out the procedure to be followed for the identification, referral and investigation of any incident involving suspected or actual harm to a child. It's being distributed widely to all organisations that play a role in working with children. For more information contact Chris Mills chris.mills@bracknell-forest.gov.uk

Since its inception in April this year, the LSCB has taken over the primary responsibility for ensuring that the local agencies concerned with child welfare are effective in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in Bracknell, and the publication and promotion of these new procedures is very important step in carrying out that work. One of the LSCB’s main tasks is to raise public and professional awareness of the need to safeguard children and young people, so we are intending that the new Child Protection Handbooks should be distributed as widely as possible.

The main areas of change and development that the new procedures represent are set out below:

Changes in Professional Culture

Child protection is everyone’s business
Universal obligations and responsibilities are now made explicit
The new Procedures reflect the relevance and need for involvement of a wider group of stakeholders e.g. Fire & Rescue, British Transport Police, Faith communities, sports clubs and the wider public
The respective contributions of all agencies to the task of protecting children are enhanced in these procedures

Information sharing

Information sharing is now an integral part of child protection processes
A dedicated module offers a clear and comprehensive account of why and how judgements about the sharing of information are to be made
Emphasis is placed on the positive (lawful and individually determined) need to share information when acting under the terms of sections17 and 47 of the Children Act 1989

Law and guidance

The new procedures reflect relevant new and amended law since the last procedures were published, e.g. Sexual Offences Act 2003, Children Act 2004, Children Act 1989 Statutory guidance contained in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006, and all other guidance documents published since 2001.

Scope

The basic child protection processes are spelt out in detail
The main reference manual replaces a number of hitherto freestanding ‘protocols’
The particular vulnerability of some children / groups / situations is detailed in easy to access alphabetical order (see Module 5)
Additional procedures which apply in special circumstances are provided (in alphabetical order in module 10), and their application is made clear
Procedures for out of office hours practice are appended
A strategic management module includes resolution of professional differences, whistle blowing, employers responsibilities’ for safe recruitment and supervision.
The management of allegations against staff, carers and volunteers is covered in Module 12

Greater specificity

The procedures require at a minimum, compliance with the timescales of Working Together 2006 (where it is does not prescribe them, local timescales are introduced)
In some cases higher standards have been set e.g. in situations of domestic violence or hospital discharge procedures
The required level of authority for operational decisions is made clear
The procedures clearly distinguish between ‘musts’ & ‘shoulds’ with an explanation in the introduction about what to do when exceptional circumstances arise
The thresholds for distinguishing between responses under sections17 and 47 of the Children Act 1989 are set out

Functionality

The large reference manual will be accessed via web-sites, CD ROMs and in a limited number of hard copies
Hyper-text linked contents & internal cross references are available for intranet and CD-ROM users
A comprehensive subject index is available for use in the above media
Key national & local contacts are also included in the procedures