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November 2011

Contents

1. Display Options and Printing
2. Structure of the Manual
3. Amendments and Planned Updates (Amended)
4. Terminology
5. Keywords
6. Compliance
7. Alerts and Suggestions
8. Copyright

1. Display Options and Printing

1.1 Display 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.

1.2 Printing

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 72 hours.

2. Structure of the Manual

This manual contains the policies, procedures and guidance for Wandsworth Children's Specialist Services Division.

2.1 Policies, Values and Principles

All 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 'Home Screen' (see 'Home' on the left hand side of the screen).

2.2 Separation of 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.

2.3 London Child Protection Procedures

You can access the London Child Protection Procedures at any time from this manual - go to the 'Home Screen' - then following link to 'London Child Protection Procedures'.

3. Amendments and Planned Updates

3.1 Amendments

November 2011 Table of Amendments

New Chapters and Features	Details
Supporting Staff to do their Job	A new section has been added to the manual in which is located material relating to staffing and management issues.
Referral Assessment, Planning, Intervention and Review	A new section has been added to manual in which is located material related to these functions is located.
Safe Working Practice	A new chapter to support staff in the management of risks at work.
Local Authority Sufficiency Duty	A new chapter added to outline the duty of each local authority to take steps that secure, so far as reasonably practicable, sufficient accommodation within its area to meet the needs of children that it is looking after and children whose circumstances are such that it would be consistent with their welfare for them to be provided with accommodation in the local authority area.
Youth Justice Board Protocol for Court Ordered Secure Remands	New chapter added to provide a link to these YJB standards.
Reviews of Children Looked After by the Local Authority Who are Subject of a Formal Child Protection Plan	New chapter added to clarify the relationship between looked after and child protection planning processes.
Looked After Children and Young People in Contact with Youth Justice Services	New chapter added to clarify social care responsibilities when looked after children are in contact with Youth Justice Services.
Short Breaks	New chapter added to set out the different legislative for the provision of short break services
Practice Guide to Meting the Identity Needs of Children of Black and Minority Ethnicity in Permanent Placements	New Wandsworth guidance chapter added.
Youth Justice Board National Standards for Youth Justice Services	New appendix added to provide a link to these national standards
Updated Chapters	Details
Integrated Children's System (ICS) Overview	This chapter has been significantly revised to reflect Wandsworth's adoption of a single child and family assessment process. It should therefore be read in full.
Child and Family Assessment – Combined Practice and FWi Guidance (Previously Assessment)	This chapter has been revised to provide a link to the Child and Family Assessment Combined Practice and and FWi Guidance
Children in Need	The Children in Need Flowchart was deleted from this chapter in line with the single child and family assessment process.
Decision to Look After	This chapter was revised to provide links to the Court Proceedings Procedure, the Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities  and the Public Law Outline Frequently Asked Questions.
Notification from Other Authorities	Chapter updated to clarify responsibilities
Adoption Values and Principles	This chapter was amended to comply with the Adoption Guidance and the National Minimum Standards published in March 2011, which became effective from 1 April 2011
Adoption Panel	This chapter was amended to comply with the Adoption Guidance and the National Minimum Standards published in March 2011, which became effective from 1 April 2011
Assessment and Approval of Prospective Adopters	This chapter was amended to comply with the Adoption Guidance and the National Minimum Standards published in March 2011, which became effective from 1 April 2011
Placement for Adoption	This chapter was amended to comply with the Adoption Guidance and the National Minimum Standards published in March 2011, which became effective from 1 April 2011
Adoption Reviews	This chapter was amended to comply with the Adoption Guidance and the National Minimum Standards published in March 2011, which became effective from 1 April 2011
Disruption of Agency Adoptive Placements	This chapter was amended to comply with the Adoption Guidance and the National Minimum Standards published in March 2011, which became effective from 1 April 2011
Allegations Against Prospective Adopters and in Relation to Children Placed for Adoption or Already Adopted	This chapter was amended to comply with the Adoption Guidance and the National Minimum Standards published in March 2011, which became effective from 1 April 2011
Inter Country Adoption	This chapter was amended to comply with the Adoption Guidance and the National Minimum Standards published in March 2011, which became effective from 1 April 2011
Non Agency Adoptions	This chapter was amended to comply with the Adoption Guidance and the National Minimum Standards published in March 2011, which became effective from 1 April 2011
Adoption Support Services	This chapter was amended to comply with the Adoption Guidance and the National Minimum Standards published in March 2011, which became effective from 1 April 2011
Adoption Case Records	This chapter was amended to comply with the Adoption Guidance and the National Minimum Standards published in March 2011, which became effective from 1 April 2011
Access to Birth Records/Adoption Case Records	This chapter was amended to comply with the Adoption Guidance and the National Minimum Standards published in March 2011, which became effective from 1 April 2011
Intermediary Services	This chapter was amended to comply with the Adoption Guidance and the National Minimum Standards published in March 2011, which became effective from 1 April 2011
Private Fostering	This chapter has been significantly revised and should be-read in full
Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children,  Refugees and Child Trafficking	This chapter has been revised to reflect changes in the title of the national Asylum Support Service.
Legal and Court Process	This chapter has been significantly revised and should be read in full.
Joint Working Protocol between Wandsworth YOT and Statutory Social Work Services in Wandsworth	This Wandsworth Protocol has been significantly revised and should be re-read in full.
January 2012
Family and Friends Policy	This chapter was inserted into the manual in January 2012.

3.2 Planned Updates

This manual is updated at least twice in the next year, and we are very keen to involve all staff in the undertaking of these updates.

We want to hear from you if you think the format (look and feel) of the manual can be improved, or if you wish to contribute to the content e.g. provide feedback if you think a procedure should be amended or we need to include a new procedure.

The next update will be published May 2012. Urgent changes can be made at any time, e.g. if it is necessary to amend a procedure as a result of a Serious Case Review. To be included in the May 2012 update all amendments must be approved and forwarded to Tri.x in early March 2012.

Changes should be approved by a Head of Service before being forwarded to Tri-X-Childcare (allen.torrance@trixonline.co.uk) and copied to Denise Green (DGreen@wandsworth.gov.uk).

4. 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.

5. 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'.

6. Compliance

6.1 Regulatory Compliance

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

6.2 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.

7. Alerts and Suggestions

7.1 Comments and suggestions

If you have any comments or suggestions to make about this manual please contact us by using the button on the left hand side of the screen, from anywhere within the manual.

7.2 Alerts

If you would like to be notified when this manual is updated, register your contact details in Alerts and Suggestions' - on the left hand side of the screen.

8. 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 Wandsworth Council.

End