| 1.1 |
This appendix assists professionals outside normal office hours and complements the main body of the child protection procedures. |
| 1.2 |
Bracknell Forest Borough Council Emergency Duty Team provides a social work and homelessness crisis service across the 6 Unitary Authorities of Berkshire outside normal office hours covering 75% of the hours in a week. |
| 1.3 |
Although a number of agencies and professionals are not available during this time and relevant background may not be readily available, there should be no difference in the quality of service provided when it comes to protecting children. To achieve this outside normal office hours there are increased responsibilities and requirements upon the Emergency Duty Team, Thames Valley Police and the Health services to work in close partnership. |
| 1.4 |
The same principles of joint working should be adhered to but staffing arrangements and processes are different. The main Police contact point is through the Police Enquiry Centres and for Social Services the Emergency Duty Team. |
| 1.5 |
When working outside office hours the Emergency Duty Team and Thames Valley Police balance the need to protect children against the right to respect for private and family life. Knocking on someone's door at 10pm to follow up a child protection concern is likely to be viewed significantly differently by a family than at 10am. It is therefore crucial outside normal office hours that the Emergency Duty Team and Thames Valley Police assess the seriousness of any allegation before determining what course of action is needed and at what time this should take place. |
| 1.6 |
Both the Emergency Duty Team and Thames Valley Police work in close co-operation with their daytime colleagues and information relating to out of normal office hours involvement should be passed to daytime colleagues as soon as possible. |
EMERGENCY DUTY TEAM
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| 2.1 |
On receiving a referral from another professional or a member of the general public the duty Social Worker will need to make an assessment as to whether the injury or concern should be treated as a Section 47 Enquiry Children Act 1989. |
| 2.2 |
It is important that the duty Social Worker gathers as much relevant information to make this decision. |
| 2.3 |
Having made this assessment the duty social worker will discuss the referral with their manager on call prior to agreeing a course of action with the Police. The duty manager will be kept informed throughout the process. |
| 2.4 |
Parents have a right to be informed as soon as is appropriate that a Section 47 Enquiry is taking place except in certain instances. For instance, if it is likely to significantly increase the risk to the child or if it would impede a criminal investigation then informing the parents may need to be delayed. The timing of when to notify parents should be agreed within the Strategy Discussion. |
THAMES VALLEY POLICE
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| 2.5 |
On receiving a referral from another professional or member of the general public an assessment needs to be made by a Police Officer with child protection training. This will include determining whether action is required instantly and/ or whether the referral is of a child protection nature or not. |
| 2.6 |
The Police Officer will need to gather as much information as possible to make this decision. This will need to be balanced against the urgency of the response required. |
| 2.7 |
If the referral is of a child protection nature the Police Officer will need to discuss the referral with the Emergency Duty Team. |
HEALTH
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| 2.8 |
Health professionals are likely to have contact with children outside normal office hours, for instance when a child is presented at A&E with an injury. The health professional will need to make an assessment of the situation and if there are any concerns relating to the safety of the child, the Emergency Duty Team or Thames Valley Police will need to be contacted. |
| 3.1 |
On receiving a referral indicating concerns requiring a Section 47 Enquiry, Thames Valley Police and the Emergency Duty Team need to have an initial Strategy Discussion over the phone. |
| 3.2 |
This will normally involve a Social Worker from the Emergency Duty Team and the Patrol Sergeant/ Inspector or CAIU officer from the relevant Police area. The Patrol Sergeant/ Inspector or CAIU Officer can be contacted via the Police Enquiry Centres or Control Rooms. |
| 3.3 |
A record of the discussion and the decisions will be recorded on the strategy meeting form by the Police or Emergency Duty Team. This will be faxed between the agencies for both to sign. Where possible the respective line managers of the Police and Social Services should be involved and sign the strategy discussion form. |
| 3.4 |
If the decision is to proceed on a single agency basis, the agency undertaking the investigation should keep the other agency advised of any significant developments and the outcome. |
| 3.5 |
If a joint investigation is necessary, the Police Officer(s) and Social Worker(s) involved should meet prior to meeting the child and/ or family. This enables the respective parties to confirm their roles, update each other on any additional information and complete the strategy form. If available other professionals involved (in particular any available health professionals) should be invited to this meeting, this is acknowledged as potentially difficult due to the time of day/night and the need to respond quickly to child protection issues. |
| 3.6 |
During and following the investigation it is important that changes to or additional actions taken are recorded. Completed reports need to be sent to the respective Unitary Authorities' Children Services Departments and CAIU. |
