Children's Services Quick Guide

Manual Version: June 2011

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Amendments and next planned update (updated)
3. Requesting Changes
4. Structure of the Manual
5. Links to the  Pan Lancashire Policy and Procedures for Safeguarding Children Manual
6. How to Find a Chapter
7. Printing and Retaining Copies
8. Display and Browser Options
9. Terminology
10. Keywords
11. Compliance
12. Copyright

1.Introduction

Welcome to this edition of the Blackpool Social Work and Safeguarding Service Procedures Manual. Former electronic versions have been archived for reference purposes. To access these use the contact us button on the left hand side of this screen.

This manual represents a large investment both in terms of time and money and it is designed primarily to help you, the practitioner or manager, to do your job as thoroughly as possible.

Blackpool Social Work and Safeguarding Service and Tri.X Childcare worked together to develop the original version of this manual that appears and functions like other website's that you are familiar with. The manual is comprised of many chapters, some of which are drawn from existing Blackpool documents, some of which are new and some of which are a combination of the two. See 'How to Find a Chapter'.

Please note that the Youth Offending Service chapters are currently under review.

2. Amendments and next planned update (updated)

New Chapters
Placement Plans Procedure	Changes to timescales and content made by the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 and Associated Guidance.
The Sufficiency Duty in Relation to Accommodation for Children Procedure	A new duty imposed by the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 and associated Guidance, to secure sufficient accommodation within the Local Authority area to meet the needs of Looked After children.
Placements Out of Area Procedure	Requirement for approval by Nominated Officer.
Case Records for Looked After Children Procedure	Clarification as to content and retention.
Responsibilities of the Local Authority to Former Looked After Children in Detention Procedure	To take account of the Visits to Former Looked After Children in Detention (England) Regulations 2010 and Guidance ‘Local Authority Responsibilities Towards Former Looked After Children in Custody’
Short Breaks Procedure	Clarification of legal status of children provided with short breaks; extension of time periods; changes re. assessment of needs, reviews, social worker visits.
Appendix 6.6, Quick Reference Guide	This Quick Reference Guide was previously available via a yellow button on the menu bar of each screen. It is a summary of the key changes to the Regulations, Guidance and Minimum Standards effective from 1 April 2011.
Updated Chapters
Chapter Name	Change
Child Trust Funds Procedure	Cessation of new accounts
Placements in Secure Accommodation Procedure	To include  link to the YJB Protocol.

The next planned update for this manual will be in November 2011.

3. Requesting Changes

In a manual of this size, it is inevitable that you will see things that require changing or fixing. This may be something as simple as a link that doesn't work or an incorrect job title, or it could be something more complicated such as a chapter that doesn't reflect the way that you normally work or which requires more complicated consideration. Simple changes will be made immediately.

Whether changes are big or small, this manual will be updated on a regular basis. This means that the manual will remain up-to-date and that national and local changes can be reflected quickly.

If you see something that you think requires change or improvement, please either bring this to your manager's attention or use the 'Contact Us' button on the left hand side of the screen.

4. Structure of the Manual

This manual contains the policies, procedures and guidance for Blackpool Social Work and Safeguarding Service. In this manual, Policies, Values and Principles are located in one Chapter, which users are required to familiarise themselves with before proceeding to the main body of the Manual. These Policies, Values and Principles are located in a Chapter called 'Values' - available from the left hand side of the screen. Procedures and Guidance: In an attempt to keep procedures succinct, procedures and more detailed guidance are separated - with links provided as appropriate. 'Procedures' summarise how Managers and Staff must act in given circumstances. 'Guidance' provides direction or advice to a decision or course of action.

5. Links to the  Pan Lancashire Policy and Procedures for Safeguarding Children Manual

Within the manual there are a number of links to external website's including the Pan Lancashire Policy and Procedures for Safeguarding Children Manual. Where appropriate, the relevant chapter of the Safeguarding Procedures is referenced.

6. How to Find a Chapter

Procedures and guidance are located in individual 'Chapters' which are available from a 'traditional' Contents List - on the left hand side of the screen.

Using the Contents List

Chapters are categorised or grouped together as follows:

PARTS: The manual contains procedures categorised under a number of Service Sectors, like 'Looked After Children',

SECTIONS: Within each Service Sector e.g. 'Looked After Services', you will find a Section (group of procedures) like 'Adoption and Permanence'.

CHAPTERS: Under each Section, you'll find individual Chapters/Procedures e.g. 'Adoption Case Records' 4.2 You can search for a Chapter

If you aren't sure which service or section to look in, try 'Search' which will help you identify specific Chapters and sub headings within Chapters

7. Printing and Retaining Copies

The Manual should normally be viewed on line but can be printed, for reference only.

To print a chapter, click on the icon which is in the top right hand corner of the relevant procedure.

Please note, the Manual will be updated regularly, so staff should avoid retaining printed versions - hard copies are only valid for 3 working days.

8. Display and Browser Options

People with a visual impairment may have difficulty accessing this Manual.

To change the size of the text/layout - please use these accessibility buttons

which are on menu bar on the left side of every screen. Click a larger button to increase your text size, the very largest being high visibility mode.

9. Terminology

We believe it is crucial to use consistent terminology, which we agree with individual customers, for example:

'Home' and 'Resource'	this is a generic term which means Children’s Home, Foster Home
'Child' or 'Young Person'	both these terms are used to mean any child under the age of 18
'Staff' or 'Carer'	means all Staff and Carers (including) whether employed or not
'Manager'	means Team Manager, it also means YOT Team Manager
'Line Manager'	means the first Line Manager of a team/service
'Parent'	means person with Parental Responsibility
'Regulatory Authority'	Regulatory Authority is the generic term used in this manual to describe the independent regulatory body responsible for inspecting and regulating services e.g. Ofsted.
'Social Worker'	This means the worker allocated to the child/family. If there is no allocated worker, the Duty Social Worker or Team Manager is responsible.

10. Keywords

The manual is accessed by practitioners from varying agencies, who may find terms that they are not familiar with. Therefore, a large glossary (Keywords) of terms such as Notifiable Disease (Try it: click on the highlighted text). We call them 'Keywords'. Once clicked, the definitions will appear in a new window or tab, depending on your browser. You can leave it open for reference, or close it using the "close" button at the bottom.

Many Keywords are highlighted in the body of procedures, but you can search for the Keyword you need: Go to the Keywords Index, on the left hand side of the screen. Or, use 'Search'.

11. Compliance

Regulatory Compliance

Every effort has been taken to ensure regulatory compliance. If you discover any errors or mistakes, please alert your manager or contact us.

W3C Compliance

This manual meets the double A Standards of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), for example, it can be accessed by people with high levels of visual impairment. To find out more, click on 'Display Options' on the left hand side of the screen.

12. Copyright

The content of this website can be accessed, printed and downloaded in an unaltered form, on a temporary basis, for personal study or reference purposes. However any content printed or downloaded may not be sold, licensed, transferred, copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner or in or on any media to any person without the prior written consent of Tri-X-Childcare Ltd and Blackpool Council.

End