Section 1: Introduction

Term

Definition

Abuse and neglect

Child abuse can take four forms, all of which can cause long term damage to a child; physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect and child sexual abuse. Bullying and domestic violence are also forms of child abuse.

Accommodation

Section 20 of the Children Act 1989 enables a local authority to provide accommodation for a child who has no person with parental responsibility for him/her, is lost or abandoned or whose parent cannot provide suitable accommodation and care.

Achieving Best Evidence Interview

An investigations interview with a child who is a witness to a crime. "Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Guidance for Vulnerable or Intimidated Witnesses" was issued jointly by key government departments led by the Home Office.

Allocated case

A case that has been made the responsibility of a named social worker or other key worker until such time as the case is closed, transferred or managed in such other way that the named worker no longer has responsibility for it.

Assessment

The assessment of developmental needs of a child within their family and wider environmental context to determine, if the child has needs and what services they require. The assessment may be general in nature (e.g.,) CAF, Initial or Core or relate to a specific developmental need (e.g.,) health or education.

ASSET

A youth justice assessment tool comprising a main assessment, a serious harm risk assessment and a young person's self assessment. It is used to assist in planning interventions and review progress and outcomes.

Care order

A court order under s.31 of the Children Act 1989 placing a child in local authority care to protect the child from harm they are suffering or may suffer, whilst under the care of his/her parent (and/or being beyond a parent's control).

Child

Anyone under 18 years of age.

Child in need

Section 17 (10) of the Children Act 1989 defines a child in need as a child who, without the provision of local authority services:

• Is unlikely to achieve or maintain a reasonable standard of health or development;
• Whose health or development is likely to be significantly impaired;
• Or a child who is disabled.

Young carers in North Yorkshire also have a child in need status.

Child protection

The process of protecting individual children identified as either suffering, or at risk of suffering, significant harm as a result of abuse or neglect.

Child protection enquiry

Section 47 of the Children Act 1989 gives children's social care a duty to make enquiries to decide whether they should take action to safeguard or promote the welfare of a child who is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm.

Children perceived as 'different'

Research and anecdotal evidence indicates that children who may be perceived as 'different', e.g. disabled children, children from minority ethnic groups or cultures and children with differing sexual orientations, are more vulnerable to abuse. It is therefore vital that all agencies promote equality of opportunity and anti discriminatory practice. Failure to do so may expose particular children to significant harm.

Common Assessment Framework (CAF)

The CAF is a standardised approach to conducting an assessment of a child's additional needs and deciding how those needs should be met. It can be used by practitioners across children's services in England. The CAF is intended to provide a simple process for a holistic assessment of a child's needs and strengths, taking account of the role of parents, carers and environmental factors on their development.

Core Assessment

An assessment conducted by a social worker which addresses the central and most important aspects of the needs of the child and the capacity of their parents to respond to these needs. It is to be undertaken where circumstances are complex and should be completed within 35 working days of referral.

CDOP Manager (Child Death Overview Panel Manager)

Professional nominated by the chair of the Local Safeguarding Children Board to whom the death notification and other data on each unexpected child death should be sent.

Criminal Records
Bureau (CRB)

The CRB is an Executive Agency of the Home Office set up to help organisations make safer recruitment decisions.

Duty children's social worker

Professional from the Children's Social Care team that receives and responds to all child concern referrals – in office hours.

Emergency duty team

A social work team providing an out of hours social care service for the county.

Emergency Protection Order

A court order under s44 of the Children Act 1989 giving Children's Social Care and the Police the power to protect a child from harm by removing the child to suitable accommodation or preventing a child from being removed (e.g. from hospital).

Enquiry checks

Checks made of agencies involved with a child for section 47 child protection investigation purposes.

Electronic Social Care Record (ESCR)

Fully electronic case record – not implemented in North Yorkshire at this time.

First line manager

The manager with responsibility for supervising the frontline professional with case or immediate responsibility for the child, adult or family.

Framework for the Assessment of Children
in Need and their
Families (often referred
to as the Assessment Framework)

The Assessment Framework is a systematic way for professionals to assess a child's needs and whether s/he is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, what actions must be taken and which services would best meet the needs of the child and family. All professionals should be competent to contribute to an assessment, which is usually led by children's social care under the Children Act 1989.

Gillick competence / Fraser Ruling

The competency test resided by Lord Fraser, 1985 (known as Gillick Competence), which laid down criteria for establishing whether a child, irrespective of age, had the capacity to provide valid consent to treatment (by health professionals) in specified circumstances.

Impairment of health
and development

Where professionals are seeking to judge whether a child's health and development have been significantly harmed, the Children Act 1989 (s31 (10)) directs them to make a comparison with the health and development which could reasonably be expected of a similar child.

Initial Assessment

An initial assessment of the developmental needs of each child referred to the local authority with a request for services to be provided. This should be undertaken within the maximum of seven working days of the initial referral, but could be very brief depending on the child's circumstances.

Integrated Children's System (ICS)

Case management system for case recording within Children's Social Care. Introduced in 2008, this is a government sponsored system with national criteria for local software providers to adhere to. It ensures that there is consistency of practice across all social work teams, improves transparency and accountability.

Key worker

The key worker has an important role that involves administration, information, co-ordination and the professional management of a case. Their prime responsibility is to maintain a child protection focus to the work being undertaken with families and to maintain and co-ordinate the core group, who will ensure the progress of the child protection plan.

Lead professional

The practitioner who has the most ongoing contact with a child at the time and who is in a position to co-ordinate the professional network to support the child

Local Safeguarding Children Board ( LSCB)

Local Safeguarding Children's Boards (LSCBs) are a statutory body established in each local authority area to ensure that organisations work together effectively to safeguard children and promote their welfare.

Neglect

Neglect is the persistent lack of appropriate care of children, including love, stimulations, safety, nourishment, warmth, education and medical attention.

Network checks

Checks made of agencies for screening and for initial assessments – helps Children's Social Care decide whether a section 47 investigation is required.

Nominated safeguarding children adviser

The person/people in each agency who has/have responsibility for child protection issues in that agency and provide child protection advice to frontline professionals / clinicians, e.g. child protection lead in schools, designated and named doctors and nurses etc.

Parent

Parent or carer.

Parental Responsibility

Allthe duties, rights, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and their property. A Care Order confers the responsibility to a local authority but it does not remove it from the child's parents.

Police Powers of Protection (Section 46)

Section 46 of the Children Act 1989 giving the police powers to protect a child from harm by removing the child to suitable accommodation or preventing a child from being removed (e.g. from hospital).

Private Fostering

An arrangement made directly by a parent for their child to be looked after for more than 27 days by an adult who does not have parental responsibility for the child and is not a close relative/step parent.

Referral

A request for services to be provided by a local authority. A case can become current only after a referral has been made.

Risk to child

Description of an adult or child who has been identified (by probation services / Youth Justice Service, Police or health services, individually or via the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements) as posing an ongoing risk to a child (replaces the term Schedule 1 Offender).

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare
of children

The process of:

• Protecting children from maltreatment;
• Preventing impairment of children's health or development;
• Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care;
• Undertaking that role so as to enable those children to have optimum life chances and to enter adulthood successfully.

Section 17

Section 17 of the Children's Act 1989 imposes on every local authority a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the area who are in need.

Section 47 Enquiry

Section 47 of the Children Act requires every local authority to make enquiries about children thought to be at risk, enabling them to decide whether they need to take further action to safeguard and promote the child's welfare.

Senior Manager

Manager in any agency above first line manager.

Serious Case Review

Chapter 8 of Working Together to Safeguard Children sets out the purpose and process of serious case reviews (SCRs). SCRs are undertaken when a child dies or is seriously injured and abuse or neglect is known or suspected to be a factor in the death.

Significant Harm

There are no absolute criteria on which to rely when judging what constitutes significant harm. Consideration of the severity of ill-treatment may include the degree and the extent of physical harm, the duration and frequency of abuse and neglect, the extent of premeditation, and the presence or degree of threat, coercion, sadism, and bizarre or unusual elements. Each of these elements has been associated with more severe effects on the child, and / or relatively greater difficulty in helping the child overcome the adverse impact of the maltreatment. Sometimes, a single traumatic event may constitute significant harm (e.g. a violent assault, suffocation or poisoning).

More often, significant harm is a compilation of significant events, both acute and longstanding, which interrupt, change or damage the child's physical and psychological development. Some children live in family and social circumstances where their health and development are neglected. For them, it is the corrosiveness of long-term emotional, physical or sexual abuse that causes impairment to the extent of constituting significant harm. In each case, it is necessary to consider any maltreatment alongside the family's strengths and supports.

Social Worker or Child's Social Worker

Social work qualified professional with case responsibility.

Staff / staff member

Any individual/s working in a voluntary, employed, professional or unqualified capacity, including foster carers and approved adopters.

Well-being

The achievement of the best outcomes for children. That is, for every child to:

• Be healthy;
• Stay safe;
• Enjoy and achieve;
• Make a positive contribution;
• Achieve economic well-being;
• Not cause harm to others.

Working day

Timescales in these procedures relate to the working day i.e. from 09.00hrs to 17.00hrs on Monday to Friday, unless otherwise expressed (e.g. 24 hours).

Working Together

Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006) is a guidance document produced by the DCSF setting out how all agencies and professionals should work together to safeguard children and promote children's welfare.