CHAPTER 8: Section 47 Enquiries (LAST REVISED JUNE 2010)

OBLIGATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF ALL AGENCIES

RESPONSIBILITY OF CHILDREN'S SOCIAL CARE

Children's Social Care has the:

• General duty to safeguard and promote children's welfare (s.17 Children Act 1989)
• Duty to make, or cause to be made, enquiries when the circumstances defined in Section 47 Children Act 1989 exist
• Responsibility to inform the police in a case referred which constitutes or may constitute a criminal offence against a child

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE POLICE

The police have a responsibility to:

• Investigate allegations of criminal offences against children
• Refer any suspicion, allegation or disclosure a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm to Children's Social Care
• Pass all concerns received by CAIUs relating to people under 18 to Children's Social Care

SECTION 47 enquiries start when:

• There is reasonable cause to suspect that a child who lives in or is found in, a local authority area is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm in the form of physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect
• Following an Emergency Protection Order or use of Police Protection powers (PPOP)
• A child is found to be in contravention of a ban imposed by a local child curfew scheme in which case the response must be initiated within 48 hours of receipt of the information (Section 47(1)(a)(iii) Children Act 1989 inserted by s.15 (4) Crime and Disorder Act 1998)

SECTION 47 INTERVENTION THRESHOLD

In reaching her/his conclusion as to the justification for a Section 47 enquiry, the manager must consider the following variables:

• Seriousness of the concern/s
• Combinations of concerns
• Repetition or duration of concern/s
• Vulnerability of child (through age, developmental stage, disability or other pre-disposing factor e.g. Looked After)
• Source of concern/s
• Accumulation of sufficient information
• A child in the carer's current or previous household is / has been the subject of a Child Protection Plan or of previous Care Proceedings
• There has been a previous unexpected death of a child whilst in the care of either parent where abuse /neglect is/was suspected
• Emotional environment of child, especially high criticism / low warmth
• Any predisposing factors in the family that may suggest a higher level of risk e.g. domestic violence, substance misuse
• The impact on the child's health and development

The duty / social worker must:

• Obtain clear, detailed information about the concerns, suspicion or allegation
• Obtain history and background information including agency files
• Establish if the child, any other children in the household or children who have previously lived with the caregiver/s have ever been subject to a child protection plan
• Establish whether the child has ever been subject to a Common Assessment (CAF)
• Report to the responsible manager
• Undertake any necessary emergency action
• Contact the local police CAIU
• Agree with manager if parental agreement to be sought prior to undertaking agency checks, recording the decision
• Undertake agency checks with agencies that may be involved with the child and family

Strategy discussions between Children's Social Care, the CAIU and other agencies involved with the child/ren should:

• Agree when the child will be seen alone by the lead social worker (unless inappropriate for the child)
• Clarify nature of allegation or suspicion of abuse and / or neglect
• Share and evaluate information
• Allocate tasks if any immediate protective action is required
• Decide whether a Section 47 Enquiry and Core Assessment should be initiated (or continued if already commenced)
• Agree the conduct and timing of any criminal investigation as part of a joint Section 47 Enquiry

Where it is decided there are grounds to initiate or continue a Section 47 Enquiry and Core Assessment, decisions, in the context of the racial, cultural, religious and linguistic background of the child and her/his family, should be made about:

• The nature of the concerns and scope of the enquiry, including other children at possible risk
• Further information required and how it should be obtained
• When, how and who will undertake interviews with the child/ren and if a video interview will be used (consider gender of interviewer, especially in relation to concerns about sexual abuse)
• When and how the parents / carers will be informed of the concerns and the planned action
• The need for any paediatric or specialist assessment
• Any further action if consent is refused for interview or medical assessment
• How to ascertain the child's wishes and feelings and meet her / his best interests in the enquiry, taking account of any additional needs such as that arising from a disability or a need for an interpreter, speech and language therapist
• The needs of other children in contact with the alleged abuser/s
• Whether to interview referrer or anyone else
• The need to observe the state of the family home in cases of suspected neglect
• Agree what other actions may be needed to protect the child or provide interim services and support, including securing the safe discharge of a child in hospital
• What information may be shared, with whom and when, taking into account the possibility of placing a child at risk of Significant Harm or jeopardising police investigations
• Any implications for disciplinary action e.g. use of evidence statements
• Any legal action required
• Timescales, agency and individual responsible for agreed actions, including the timing of police investigations and relevant methods of evidence gathering
• Contingency planning to cover changing circumstances including the need to reconvene the strategy discussion during the enquiry if the circumstances are particularly complex or unknown
• The mechanism and date for reviewing the completion of agreed actions i.e. further strategy discussions

OUTCOME OF STRATEGY DISCUSSION

Possible outcomes include:

• A joint or single agency Section 47 Enquiry to continue or be initiated
• Deferred decision whilst more information obtained
• No Section 47 Enquiry because the threshold for Section 47 Enquiries has not been reached
• No Section 47 Enquiry because the incident is of such marginal significance posing no real or potential threat to the welfare and safety of the child and it is not considered to be in the child's best interests to pursue the matter further

Where it is decided not to proceed with a Section 47 Enquiry consideration should be given to specifying:

• Further information required and if another strategy discussion should be held
• Further assessments e.g. proceeding with a core assessment
• Plans for future monitoring by agencies
• Any services to be provided by agencies
• The need for future intervention to be co-ordinated through the use of an ICS initial / Child's Plan

PARTICIPANTS TO STRATEGY DISCUSSION

Consideration should be given to the need to include a professional with expertise in particular cases of complex forms of alleged abuse and neglect.

Where parents or adults in the household are experiencing problems such as domestic abuse, substance misuse, mental illness, learning difficulties and criminal behaviour/convictions, it will also be important to consider involving the relevant adult services professionals.

NOTES OF DISCUSSION

The record should include:

• Those present and those invited and not present (if a meeting)
• Those involved where the discussion was by phone
• A summary of the information shared and an evaluation of it
• All action points, with agreed timescale and identified person responsible for carrying it out
• Details of how and when progress to be reviewed for each action

TIMING OF INITIAL STRATEGY DISCUSSION

In the following circumstances, the child must be seen on the day of referral unless the strategy discussion decides (and records) the decision to defer seeing the child:

• Allegations / concerns indicating a serious risk to the child e.g. serious physical injury, injury to a baby or serious neglect
• Allegations of recent penetrative sexual abuse (to ensure forensic evidence)
• Where the child is frightened to return home

TIMING OF SUBSEQUENT STRATEGY DISCUSSIONS

POLICE & CHILDREN'S SOCIAL CARE LIASON

A written record must be made of telephone referrals (sharing information that a child is or is likely to be suffering Significant Harm). This written record must be agreed and shared across Police and Children's Services and must be recorded in Children's Services and Police databases. The written record must include details of:

• persons involved in the discussion;
• agreed actions;
• grounds / reasons for decisions made;
• decision to proceed on a Single or Joint Agency basis;
• Review date.

JOINT AGENCY INVESTIGATION

A joint investigation must always be initiated whenever there is an allegation or reasonable suspicion that one of the circumstances below applies, regardless of the likelihood of a prosecution:

A sexual offence committed against a child by a child or adult, but excluding 'stranger abuse' see also Draft Guidance for Professionals working with sexually active young people under the age of 18 in Berkshire.

Physical injury, which could be considered serious either by the extent of the injury, age of the child or by repeated assaults of a minor injury e.g. murder, manslaughter, violence to a child constituting actual or grievous bodily harm, repeated assaults causing minor injury.

• All non accidental injuries to babies
• Serious neglect or ill-treatment constituting an offence under s.1 Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (child abandoned, exposes to moral danger, neglected, ill treated, assaulted)
• Institutional and Complex abuse investigations
• Fabricated or induced illness (see Fabricated or Induced Illness Procedure) which must also be reported to senior managers in Children's Social Care and CAIU
• Allegations against those whose work or voluntary activities provide unsupervised access to a child/ren e.g. staff of a professional agency represented on the LSCB, baby sitters, voluntary group leader / helper (must also be reported to senior managers in Children's Social Care and CAIU)

Cases of minor injury should always be considered for a joint enquiry / investigation if the child is:

• Subject to a child protection plan
• Looked after by the local authority

In other cases of minor injury, the circumstances surrounding the incident must be considered to determine the 'seriousness' of the alleged abuse. The following factors should be included in any consideration by the CAIU and Children's Social Care:

• Age, special needs and vulnerability of child or others in household
• Any previous history of minor injuries to child / other children in the household
• The intent of the assault e.g. strangulation may leave no marks, but is very serious
• Whether a weapon or implement was used
• Consistency with and clarity / credibility of child's account of injuries
• Predisposing factors about alleged perpetrator e.g. criminal conviction/s, history of violence, substance misuse and / or mental health problems
• A history of domestic violence
• Previous concerns of an LSCB agency
• Unusual circumstances are present e.g. suspected complex abuse or fabricated and induced illness
• The child's (if age appropriate) wish police involvement

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL CARE SINGLE AGENCY

Where Children's Social Care assess that the circumstances fall into 1of the following criteria, it may progress single agency enquiries following discussion with the CAIU (and making relevant checks):

• Purely emotional abuse with no apparent physical symptoms, unless extreme circumstances constitute an offence of cruelty
• Minor physical injury caused to a child in circumstances amounting to poor parenting
• Minor physical abuse, except for injuries to infants: no visible injury or minor injury; the child provides a coherent account of how the non-accidental injury occurred and there was no intent to injure her/him; where there has been no previous allegations regarding that child or the alleged perpetrator
• Minor allegations against professionals responsible for the care of a child e.g. teacher, where an allegation may represent inappropriate behaviour as opposed to criminal behaviour (CAIU should be consulted before and after Children's Social Care single agency enquiry and joint decision made about subsequent police action) - see Allegations Against Staff, Carers & Volunteers Procedure.
• Minor neglect through inappropriate supervision or poor parenting skills
• Indirect suspicions of sexual abuse, including over-sexualised behaviour of a child, anonymous reports and concerns by other professionals

POLICE SINGLE AGENCY

Criteria for police single agency investigations are those where:

• An allegation of childhood abuse is made by adults (the possibility of current risks to children should be determined and referred to Children's Social Care
• An alleged offender is not known to the child / child's family i.e. stranger abuse providing there are no current child protection concerns arising from the case (in accordance with Achieving Best Evidence, consideration will still be given to joint investigative interview/s)

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Further discussion should occur between the line managers (detective sergeant and team manager) if there is any disagreement between agencies about the:

• Need for a joint investigation or the 'seriousness' of alleged physical abuse
• Possibility that the needs of the criminal investigation, conflict with the needs of a child

Immediate protection may be achieved by:

• An alleged abuser agreeing to leave the home
• Removal of the alleged abuser
• Voluntary agreement for the child/ren to move to a safer place with / without a protective person
• Application for an Emergency Protection Order (EPO)
• Removal of the child/ren under police powers
• Gaining entry to the household under police powers

Generally permission is sought from parents prior to seeking such information, but the first line manager may authorise 'checks' to be completed without such permission if:

• Contact cannot be made with the parent / carer
• Seeking permission is likely to increase the risk to the child/ren concerned or other individuals
• A request for permission has been refused, the reason for refusal considered and sufficient professional concern remains to justify disclosure
• Seeking permission is likely to impede a criminal investigation

In planning any intervention with parent/s, the following points must be covered:

• An explanation of the reason for concern and where appropriate the source of information
• The procedures to be followed (including an explanation of the need for the child to be seen, interviewed and/or medically examined and seeking parental agreement for these aspects of the enquiry and/or investigation)
• An explanation of their rights as parents including the need for support and guidance from an advocate whom they trust (advice should be given about the right to seek legal advice)
• An explanation of the role of the various agencies involved in the enquiry / investigation and of the wish to work in partnership with them to secure the welfare of their child
• The need to gather initial information on history and structure of the family, the child and other relevant information to enable an assessment of the injuries and/or allegations and the continuing risk to the child to be made
• In situations of domestic violence, the possibility of working with the parents separately
• Assessment of evidential opportunities in a police investigation and recovery of evidence that may confirm or refute an allegation or suspicion of crime
• The provision of an opportunity for parents to be able to ask questions and receive support and guidance

Relevant circumstances that could justify this would include:

• 'The possibility that a child would be threatened or otherwise coerced into silence
• A strong likelihood that important evidence would be destroyed or
• That the child in question did not wish the parent to be involved at that stage, and is competent to take that decision

Consideration must be given to child's developmental stage and cognitive ability. Specialist help may be needed if:

• The child's first language is not English (see Interpreters, Signers & Others with Special Communication Needs Procedure)
• S/he appears to have a degree of psychiatric disturbance but is deemed competent
• S/he has a physical / sensory / learning disability see Section 7, Disabled Children, of the Recognising Vulnerability of Children in Particular Circumstances Procedure.
• Interviewers do not have adequate knowledge and understanding of the child's racial religious and cultural background

The objectives in seeing the child are to:

• Hear her/his account of allegations or concerns and whether these constitute a criminal offence
• Record and evaluate, demeanour, mood state and behaviour
• Observe and record the interactions of child and carers
• See and record the circumstances in which the child is currently living and sleeping and, if different, her/his ordinary residence
• Evaluate the physical safety of the environment including the storage of hazardous substances e.g. bleach, drugs
• Ensure that any other children who need to be seen are identified
• Assess the degree of risk and possible need for protective action
• Meet the child's needs for information and re-assurance
• Assess the child's willingness to pursue the complaint through the police
• Make decisions about format to be used if a detailed account to be given by the child i.e. video / statement / question and answer
• Inform decisions about possible medical and forensic needs

The Strategy Discussion must decide where, when and how the child/ren should be seen and if a video interview is required. The child should be seen within 24 hours if s/he:

• Is reported to have sustained a physical injury
• Has disclosed sexual abuse and the child is to be returned to a situation that might place him/her at risk
• Is already the subject of a child protection plan
• Is suffering from severe neglect or other severe health risk
• Is abandoned

In order to avoid undermining any subsequent criminal case, in any contact with a child prior to an investigative interview, staff must:

• Listen to the child rather than directly questioning her/him
• Never stop the child freely recounting significant events
• Fully record the discussion including timing, setting, presence of others as well as what was said - if a disclosure is made, questions and answers must be recorded verbatim and contemporaneously
• All original notes must be retained for disclosure purposes

INVESTIGATIVE INTERVIEWS

INABILITY TO ACCESS THE CHILD

Child's Whereabouts Unknown

Children's Social Care should make all reasonable efforts to persuade parents to co-operate with a Section 47 Enquiry. If a child's whereabouts are unknown, or s/he cannot be traced by the social worker within 24 hours the following actions must be undertaken:

• A strategy discussion held with CAIU
• Agreement reached with the manager responsible about further action to locate and access the child and complete the enquiry
• Legal advice sought

Access to Child Refused / Obstructed

URGENT NEED FOR TREATMENT

REFERRALS FOR MEDICAL ASSESSMENT BY CHILDREN SOCIAL CARE / CAIU

Medical assessments must be considered when there is a suspicion or allegation of child abuse and/or neglect involving:

• Any injuries to children under 1 year
• A suspicious or serious injury (thought to be non-accidental or an inconsistent explanation)
• Suspected sexual abuse or assault (if information indicates an intimate examination may be needed)
• Serious neglect

East Berkshire

West of Berkshire (REVISED - SEPT 09)

STANDARDS FOR MEDICAL ASSESSMENT (REVISED - SEPT 09)

Medical assessments should comply with the following standards;

• When requested by statutory agencies as part of a Section 47 Enquiry, medical examinations should be undertaken by doctors with child protection expertise.
• The number of examinations should be kept to a minimum to minimise any further trauma to the child
• The timing of the examination should be considered: late night or out of hours examinations should be the exception
• The wishes of the child's parents or child's advocate should be acceded to when requesting the services of a female or male doctor whenever possible
• A GP may be asked to document an injury but not to give an opinion as to whether or not it has been non-accidentally caused
• Consent may be verbal or written but must be informed and if verbal must not be transmitted through a 3rd party

The response time from referral to examination should be appropriate:

• Physical abuse: the same day
• Child sexual abuse: if forensic specimens needed - as soon as possible evening / day / night; if acute abuse within 48 hours; if chronic abuse, the next available appointment
  • Neglect: usually next available appointment

Children who present to hospital and the initial examining doctor has child protection concerns must be examined by the paediatric registrar on the hospital site. No patient about whom there are child protection concerns should be allowed home without informing the consultant on call:

• Where there is a suspicion of non-accidental injury the consultant on call should be informed immediately
• If child protection concerns have been raised but there is nothing on history or examination to suggest non-accidental injury, and the patient is admitted for other reasons, the consultant may be informed at the next ward round but must be informed before the child is discharged.

Advice and assistance may be sought:

• On procedural matters from the Trust's named doctor
• From the appropriate clinical specialist in determining the exact significance of the history of injuries
• From the designated doctor if concerns are not addressed adequately within the Trust and /or for advice on advances in the literature and references in more complex cases

Consent for Paediatric Assessments or Medical Treatment

RECORDING OF MEDICAL ASSESSMENT

Report

This report should be structured as:

• Issues
• Fact
• Opinion

The report must:

• Carefully distinguish between fact and opinion
• Clearly document consent to the examination, whether verbal or written and by whom it was given
• Record verbatim any account given by the child, distinguished from what anyone is reported to have given
• Provide information on any injury in the context of a full paediatric assessment of child's growth, development and emotional well being

Body Charts / Photo Documentation

The scope and focus of the assessment during the Section 47 Enquiry will be that of a Core Assessment which specifically addresses the risks for the child/ren. It should address the assessment framework dimensions and specifically:

• Identify clearly the initial cause for concern
• Collect information from agency records and other agencies
• Describe the family history and that of the child/ren
• Describe the family structure and network
• Evaluate the quality of attachments between child/ren and carers
• Evaluate the strengths of the family
• Consider the child's needs for protection
• Evaluate information from all other sources, including any previous assessments
• Consider the ability of parents and wider family and social networks to safeguard and promote the child's welfare
• Evaluate the risks to the child

In evaluating the risk to the child specifically consider:

• Nature of the risk: for whom is the risk, how likely is it to occur and how serious / severe will be the impact (quantify 1-5, 1= high)
• Strengths in the situation and to what extent they mitigate risk
• Potential benefits from taking the risk, for whom and how likely are they to occur?
• Views of other people (child, parents, family members, other professionals) about taking the risk; record accurately who says what
• What experience / research indicates about taking the risk?
• Consequences of not taking the risk
• Possible actions to minimise effects of risk - by whom and extent this makes risk more tolerable
• Possible actions to enhance the strengths in the situation and extent this makes risk more tolerable

CONCERNS NOT SUBSTANTIATED

CONCERNS SUBSTANTIATED: CHILD NOT JUDGED TO BE AT CONTINUING RISK OF SIGNIFICANT HARM

CONCERNS SUBSTANTIATED CHILD JUDGED TO BE AT CONTINUING RISK OF SIGNIFICANT HARM

Children's Social Care recording of enquiries should include:

• The date(s) when the child was seen alone by the Lead Social Worker and, if not seen alone, who was present and the reasons for their presence
• Agency checks
• Content of contact cross referenced with any specific forms used
• Strategy discussion / meeting notes
• Details of the enquiry
• Body maps (where applicable)
• Assessment including identification of risks and how they may be managed
• Decision making processes
• Outcome / further action planned

RECORD OF OUTCOME OF ENQUIRIES

DISPUTED DECISIONS

ROUTINE

EXCEPTIONS

There may be exceptional circumstances where it is not in the child's interests to work to the above time-scales. The circumstances which may lead to an alternative time-scale include:

• The need to engage interpreters, translators etc. for those with communication needs (including disabled children)
• Pre-birth assessments