Click here to read a summary of the 2018 update.
In March 2015, the Department for Education brought out new guidance for people working with children in England, Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015).
This guidance updates the previous version, Working Together to Safeguard Children (2013). Although not a major review, the 2015 guidance includes changes around:
The 2015 guidance also incorporates legislation and statutory guidance published since 2013.
The changes in summary:
Working Together 2015 no longer refers to Local Authority Designated Officers (LADOs). Instead, it says that local authorities should have a designated officer or team of officers for the management and oversight of allegations against people that work with children.
The guidance also states that new appointments should be qualified social workers, unless the person being appointed is an existing officer moving between authorities.
This chapter has been updated to clarify when local authorities are required to report incidents to Ofsted and the relevant LSCBs. It includes a section on what constitutes a notifiable incident.
From Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015) Page 74, this is as follows:
A notifiable incident is an incident involving the care of a child which meets any of the following criteria:
Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015) gives a definition of ?seriously harmed? following concerns that some LSCBs were failing to make appropriate decisions on what constituted serious harm.
From Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015) Page 76, this is as follows:
Seriously harmed includes, but is not limited to, cases where the child has sustained, as a result of abuse or neglect, any or all of the following:
This definition is not exhaustive. In addition, even if a child recovers, this does not mean that serious harm cannot have occurred. LSCBs should ensure that their considerations on whether serious harm has occurred are informed by available research evidence.
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