Safeguarding law

Safeguarding law United Nations Convention of the Rights of a Child 1989 Children Act 1989/2004 (Every Child Matters) Human Rights Act 1998 Data Protection Act 1998 Framework For Assessment Of Children In Need and Their Parents 2000 Working Together To Safeguard Children 1999

Local Procedures Welsh Government 7 core Aims All Wales Child Protection Procedures 2008 Right of a child Measure Wales 2011

Data Protection Act 1998 Securing information .   The Eight Data Protection Act Principles The act contains eight “Data Protection Principles”. These specify that personal data must be: 1. Processed fairly and lawfully. 2. Obtained for specified and lawful purposes. 3. Adequate, relevant and not excessive. 4. Accurate and up to date. 5. Not kept any longer than necessary. 6. Processed in accordance with the “data subject’s” (the individual’s) rights. 7. Securely kept. 8. Not transferred to any other country without adequate protection in situ.

Human Rights Act 1998 The Human Rights Act 1998 (also known as the Act or the HRA) came into force in the United Kingdom in October 2000. It is composed of a series of sections All public bodies (such as courts, police, local governments, hospitals, publicly funded schools) and other bodies carrying out public functions have to comply with the Convention This means, among other things, that individuals can take human rights cases in domestic courts. The Act sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms that individuals in the UK have access to. They include:

Right to life Freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment Right to liberty and security Freedom from slavery and forced labour Right to a fair trial No punishment without law Respect for your private and family life, home and correspondence Freedom of thought, belief and religion Freedom of expression Freedom of assembly and association Right to marry and start a family Protection from discrimination in respect of these these rights and freedoms Right to peaceful enjoyment of your property Right to education Right to participate in free elections

Freedom and safety are important to us all. You should be free from harm, and also from the threat of harm – physical or psychological. This includes living in fear of strangers or neighbours. But, just as importantly, it includes living in fear of family members. The government should not take away your freedom without good reason. If you are under threat from someone, the government has a duty to protect you. UK law includes a range of human rights to help keep you safe from harm. The right to life Protection from torture and inhuman and degrading treatment Protection from slavery and forced labour Right to liberty and security Right to respect for private and family life Protection from discrimination

Children Act 1989 The main principles and provisions embodied in this legislation are that: • The welfare of children must be the paramount consideration when the courts are making decisions about them; • The concept of parental responsibility has replaced that of parental rights. • Children have the ability to be parties, separate from their parents, in legal proceedings.

• Local authorities are charged with duties to identify children in need and to safeguard and promote their welfare(S17) • Certain duties and powers are conferred upon local authorities to provide services for children and families. • A checklist of factors must be considered by the courts before reaching decisions. • Orders under this Act should not be made unless it can be shown that this is better for the child than not making an order. • Delay in deciding questions concerning children is likely to prejudice their welfare

SECTION 17 Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 - Provision of services for children and their families It shall be the general duty of every local authority to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need; and so far as is reasonably consistent with that duty, to promote the upbringing of such children by their families, by providing a range and level of services appropriate to those children’s needs. The services provided by a local authority under this section may include providing accommodation, giving assistance in kind, or in exceptional circumstances, in cash.

Section 47 Where a child is suspected to be suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm, the local authority is required under S47 of the Children Act 1989 to make enquiries, to enable it to decide whether it should take any action to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child.

Section 47, A responsibility for all agencies Children's Social Care as noted above has the statutory duty to make, or cause to be made, enquiries when the circumstances defined in Section 47 of the Children Act 1989 exist. The Police's primary responsibility is to undertake criminal investigations of suspected or actual crime. Where both Children's Social Care and the police have responsibilities with respect to the child, they must coordinate to ensure the parallel process of a section 47 enquiry and a criminal investigation is undertaken in the best interests of the child. The Children Act 1989 places a statutory duty on health, education and other services to help the local authority carry out its social services functions under Part 3 of the Children Act 1989 and section 47 enquiries. All agencies then have a duty to assist and provide information in support of child protection enquiries.

Local safeguarding boards (LSGB) Following Lord Laming’s inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie, the Children Act 2004 required all local authorities across England and Wales to set up a Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB). The task of each LSCB is to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in their area. Welsh Government, Local Safeguarding Boardshttp://wales.gov.uk/topics/childrenyoungpeople/health/protection/lscb/?lang=en, accessed on 3/2/14

Children Act 2004 Section 47 Criteria for Section 47 Enquiries A s47 enquiry must always be commenced immediately when: There is reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm in the form of physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect; An Emergency Protection Order or use of police powers of protection have been used (Refer Appendix 6, Legal Matters). North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Boardhttp://www.safeguardingchildren.co.uk/section-6-procedures.html#enquiries,accessed on 3/2/14

Every Child Matters Agenda/ Children Act 2004 Five outcomes underpin the government’s strategy Being healthy Staying safe Enjoying and achieving Making a positive contribution Economic wellbeing

Un Convention 1989 Look at the articles of the convention, highlight the ones that relate to safeguarding

All Wales Child Protection Procedures Who are the procedures for? The All Wales Child Protection Procedures are for use by all those whose work involves contact with children and families, across departments and agencies, These might be people working in health, education, police, Social Services, the probation service or voluntary sector support services, along with others whose work brings them into contact with children and families and those who have access to information about children and families. It is the responsibility of each agency to bring these procedures to the attention of all staff who have contact with children. Individual agencies should also have detailed procedures which complement this document. (policy on dealing with disclosure) The procedures are a public document. Members of the public can have a vital role in alerting Social Services and the police to concerns about children. The procedures should be available to members of the public who want to read them. ( All Wales Child Protection Procedures 2004/2008 Welsh Assembly Government)

Framework For assessment Of Children in Need and their Parents 2000/ partner to Working Together To safeguard Children 1999 Securing the wellbeing of children by protecting them from all forms of harm and ensuring their development needs are responded to appropriately are primary aims of Government policy. A framework has been developed which provides a systematic way of analysing, understanding and recording what is happening to children and young people within their families and the wider context of the community in which they live. The Common Assessment Framework

The Framework is to be used for the assessment of all Children in Need, including those in Need of Protection. The assessment process determines whether a referral should be responded to only as a Child in Need of support (Section 17, Children Act 1989) or additionally as a Child in Need of Protection (Section 47, Children Act 1989). Throughout the assessment process, the safety of the child remains paramount at all times and in all circumstances. Information is required from all agencies that have knowledge of the child and his/her family to complete the assessment in a systematic way and in order to reflect the child and family’s strengths as well as their needs. The Assessment Framework involves gathering and analysing information in three domains: Children’s developmental needs; Parents’ or caregivers’ capacity to respond appropriately; Impact of the wider family and environmental factors on parenting capacity and children.

Elements of the framework A pre-assessment checklist – intended to help practitioners decide whether an assessment is required. The assessment itself, which records personal details about a young person, a summary of strengths and needs, and provides space to record conclusions, proposed solutions and actions. Commonassessment framework assets and onsethttp://www.yjb.gov.uk/Publications/Resources/Downloads/Common%20Assessment%20Framework%20Asset%20and%20Onset%20-%20Guidance%20for%20youth%20justice%20practitioners.pdf,accessed on 3/2/14

Framework Triangle

Sequence of event leading to a child being placed on the child protection register Disclosure/referral of abuse Referral to duty social worker Child`s immediate safety secured Multiagency meeting called (strategy meeting). Police, social services, GP, schools. Initial investigation (72 hours) Duty social worker passes case to team manager. He decides if further action needs to be taken.

If yes, another strategy meeting held. Child protection order made If yes, another strategy meeting held. Child protection order made. Parents informed of action Joint police and social services interview(child) Perpetrator removed, care order made. Child Protection conference undertaken