Information for Professionals

Safeguarding and Children's Services

Introduction

The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames aims to provide services on a basis that takes proper account of all the circumstances of each child or young person referred. This requires an holistic assessment of the child or young person's needs. In Kingston, social workers will use the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families to complete this assessment.

It is important to ensure that this process of assessment is open and that all concerned understand what is being taken into account, and what level of service can be offered. The intention is that the level of service is clearly related to the whole picture that the assessment provides.

This guidance sets out the 'eligibility criteria' that are used to determine the type and level of service appropriate to each child or young person's circumstances. It forms a summary of Kingston's guidance to social workers and others involved in the referral and assessment process.

At the conclusion of the assessment social workers must provide a care plan that sets out the services to be offered, the timescales for the objectives in the care plan to be met and a date when the progress of the plan will be reviewed.

This guidance includes;

1. Statutory Basis for Intervention
2. Referral Routes
3. Kingston Eligibility Criteria
4. Indicative List of Needs
5. Provision of Services

1. Statutory Basis for Intervention

In order to promote the welfare of children in Kingston the Council provides, supports or monitors a wide range of services. These include early year's services, leisure facilities, schools, youth services, libraries, housing services and services provided by voluntary organisations. These services, in accordance with the Council's equal opportunities policy are available to all children, young people and their families living in the Borough.

Vulnerable Children

It should be recognised that there are some children who, while experiencing difficulties, will not warrant a social work or specialist service intervention. For these 'vulnerable children', gaps can exist in service provision leading to a risk that, because emerging signs of difficulty are not acted on early enough, they may fail to achieve their full potential. As a result Kingston in partnership with other local service providers has developed Advancing Services for Kingston Kids [ASKK]. ASKK provides information sharing and signposting to preventative services like the Children's Fund to give these children extra support before a crisis point is reached and the involvement of statutory services required.

If you know a child who may benefit from additional help and support but who does not need a statutory intervention, contact ASKK on;

Telephone: 020 8547 5888
E-mail: askk@rbk.kingston.gov.uk

Children in Need (Requiring a Statutory Service)

Through Children's Services and Safeguarding the Council provides services to support and safeguard the welfare of 'Children in Need'.

A broad definition of children eligible for these services is set out in the Children Act 1989.

Section 17(10) of the Act states;

A child is in need if:

• He is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or to have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision for him of services from the local authority;
• His health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or further impaired, without the provision for him of such services; or
• He is disabled.

Under Section 17

It is the duty Of the Local Authority under this section:

• To safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need; and
• To promote the upbringing of such children by their families

By providing a range and level of services appropriate to those children's needs.

Under Section 47

Where a local authority is informed that a child who lives or is found in their area:

• Is subject to an emergency protection order; or
• Is in Police protection; or
• Have reasonable cause to suspect that a child who lives or is found in their area is suffering, or is likely to suffer significant harm

The authority shall make, or cause to be made, enquiries, as they consider necessary to enable them to decide what action they should take to safeguard or promote the child's welfare.

It is important to note that many children and their families are vulnerable at different stages of their lives. Families may move along the continuum between needing support and needing protection at various stages in their development.

2. Referral Routes

In order to ensure that children's services in Kingston are easy to find, contact and to access they are organised into four service themes. Specifically;

1. Information Services and Services for Vulnerable Children [ASKK]
2. Safeguarding Services
3. Disabled Children's Services
4. Young People's Services

This structure allows specific services to collaborate and to provide one single access point for service users around a clearly identified theme. Services within each thematic group are responsible for the implementation, operation and review of a single access point. Based on this model there will be four key entry points to services for children.

All new referrals to these service groups will be received and responded to through a referral co-ordinator who will carefully evaluate any information received to decide on the most appropriate response. Based on the information received these co-ordinators will respond in one of three ways;

1. Provide Advice
2. Re-direct, and if necessary introduce, the caller to another service group, or
3. Pass the matter to the relevant social work team for an Initial Assessment

3. Eligibility Criteria

All children are different and have different needs. Similarly a family's capacity to respond to and meet their children's needs may also differ. The eligibility criteria aim to ensure that all children in need referred to Children's Services and Safeguarding receive appropriate support and that resources are used effectively and efficiently.

Based on the information provided at the point of initial contact a response priority is allocated and agreed by the manager. This priority will inform both the nature and timescale of any further action.

There is an expectation that within one working day of a referral being received or new information coming to or from within a social services department about an open case, there will be a decision about what response is required.

There are a number of statutory obligations that do not fall within the Eligibility Criteria. These will be prioritised on a case by case basis and include:

• Step parent adoptions
• Section 7 reports
• Requests for client access to files
• Section 37 reports requested by a court

Initial Assessments

In order to identify a child's needs, Children's Services and Safeguarding will carry out an assessment. An assessment is simply the term used to describe the way social workers collect and evaluate information about children, young people and their families. All initial assessments must be completed within 7 working days of receipt of the original referral. The assessment will consider:

The Child's Needs.
These include; the child's health, education, identity and social behaviour, the child's family and social relationships, emotional and behavioural development and self care skills.

The Parent's Ability to Respond to the Needs of their Child.
This will include the parents' ability to provide their child with; basic care, emotional warmth, stimulation, guidance and boundaries, safety and stability.

The Family and Environmental Factors.
This will include the wider family, the community supports available to the child, housing, employment and income.

Professional judgement will be used to evaluate the information gathered in the assessment and decide whether the child requires services. Consideration will always be given to the role of other agencies, and the assistance available from family, friends, neighbours and carers.

If a child requires support from Children's Services and Safeguarding to promote or safeguard their welfare, a care plan will be developed, based on their assessed needs.

4. Indicative List of Needs

The table that follows provides some examples of children's needs, which may be identified through the assessment process, and the priority that may be given to those needs by Children's Services and Safeguarding. It is important to note that the examples are not comprehensive, and that decisions will be dependent on the professional judgement of staff.

5. Provision of Services to Children, Young People and their Families

There are a range of services available to a child if their needs cannot be met by their family or by services provided by other agencies.

An indicative list of services is given below. In most cases a lower level of service will support a child with a lower level of need. However it is important to recognise that a child who has unmet needs in several areas may require more support than a child with a higher level of unmet need in only one area.

In all cases the support provided will be dependent upon the professional judgement of Children's Services and Safeguarding staff, based on their assessment of the child's needs, the parents' capacity to respond to the child's needs and of the family circumstances and other environmental factors.

Indicative List of Services *

* Because of the particular needs of Disabled Children there are additional arrangements to support their special needs. Information about these arrangements can be obtained from the Disabled Children's Team.

Referrals to Children's Services and Safeguarding - Duties, Priorities & Guidance