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| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Drugs and Substance Misuse | Information has been added to reflect the reclassification of nitrous oxide as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (as amended). |
| Smoking and Alcohol | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Female Genital Mutilation | A new Section 8, Other Harmful Practices has been added. The Health and Care Act 2022 has made it illegal to carry out, offer or aid and abet virginity testing or hymenoplasty in any part of the UK. It is also illegal for UK nationals and residents to do these things outside the UK. Information has also been added on Breast Flattening which is an offence as set out in CPS So-Called Honour-Based Abuse Legal Guidance. |
| Leadership and Management | Section 2.2, Appointment of Manager has been updated in line with updated Ofsted Guidance – Social Care Common Inspection Framework: Children’s Homes. |
| Preparation for Leaving Care | A link to Ofsted Guidance Children’s Homes that Provide Care and Accommodation for Adults has been added into Further Information. |
| Next update: December 2024 |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Safe Use of the Internet, Social Media and Photographs | This chapter has been refreshed and additional links added in Further Information. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Case Recording | This chapter has been updated in relation to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. |
| Health Care Assessments and Plans | Information in relation to allergies has been added into Section 2, Health Care Plans. |
| Policy for the Management of Medication for Children and Young People in Residential Care | This policy has been updated. |
| Positive Relationships and Behaviour Management | This chapter has been updated to incorporate Ofsted feedback. Information has also been added into Section 2, Positive Behaviour Support, Section 6, Risk Assessment and Section 9, Recording and Reporting. |
| Use of Restraint and Physical Interventions | This chapter has been updated to incorporate Ofsted feedback. Information on holding a restorative conversation with the child following physical intervention or restraint has been added into Section 12, Recording and Management Review. |
| Allegations Against Staff and Volunteers | This chapter has been amended in line with revised Keeping Children Safe in Education. A new Section 2, The Difference Between an Allegation of Harm and a Concern has also been added. |
| New Chapters and Features | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Supporting Children and Young People with Disabilities | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
| Self Harm and Suicidal Behaviour | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
| Rotherham Safer Recruitment Guidance (2023) | This document has been added to the manual. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Providing Personalised Care | This chapter has been updated. |
| Case Recording | This chapter has been updated. |
| Contact with Parents / Carers/ Siblings and Others | Section 3, Supervised Contact has been updated to reflect a finding by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman that the supervisor's observations of the contact must be clearly recorded in the child's record and shared with the parents within 3 months of the visit. |
| Safe Use of the Internet, Social Media and Photographs | This chapter has been updated. |
| Advocacy, Independent Visitors and Independent Reviewing Officers | This chapter has been updated. |
| Education | This chapter has been updated. |
| Leisure and Activities | This chapter has been updated. |
| Health and Wellbeing, Health Notifications and Access to Services | This chapter has been updated. |
| Positive Relationships and Behaviour Management | This chapter has been updated. |
| Use of Restraint and Physical Interventions | This chapter has been updated. |
| Searching Children/Bedrooms | This chapter has been updated. |
| Safeguarding Children and Young People and Referring Safeguarding Concerns | This chapter has been updated. |
| Surveillance and Monitoring | This chapter has been updated. |
| Staff Supervision and Appraisal | This chapter has been updated. |
| Whistleblowing or Raising Concerns at Work | This chapter has been updated. |
| Care and Placement Planning | This chapter has been updated. |
| Looked After Reviews and Disruption Meetings | This chapter has been updated. |
| New Chapters and Features | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Consultation and Participation | This chapter has been added. |
| Equality and Diversity | This chapter has been added. |
| Female Genital Mutilation | This chapter has been added. |
| Health and Safety | This chapter has been added. |
| Risk Assessment and Planning | This chapter has been added. |
Leadership and Management |
This chapter has been added. |
| Recording and Reporting of Accidents | This chapter has been added. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Statement of Purpose | The Liberty House Short Break Service – Statement of Purpose has been updated. |
| Staying in Touch, the Safe Use of the Internet, Social Media and Taking Photographs | A link has been added to Childnet Parents and Carers Toolkit. |
| Education | This chapter has been amended throughout to reflect Keeping Children Safe in Education Statutory Guidance and the outcome of Ofsted’s thematic report, Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges. Please see Section 6, Safeguarding in Schools. New sections on Placing the Child (Section 2.1, Placing the Child) and The Role of the Virtual Head (VSH) (Section 2.2, he Role of the Virtual School Head (VSH)) have been added and additional material has enhanced the Personal Education Plans (PEPs) (Section 2.3, Personal Education Plans). Section 6, Safeguarding in Schools has been updated to reflect the importance of sharing allegations or concerns about an adult’s behaviour as set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education. |
| Use of Restraint and Physical Interventions | A link to Ofsted Guidance Positive Environments Where Children Can Flourish has been added. |
| Countering Bullying and Peer Abuse | This chapter has been amended to reflect Keeping Children Safe in Education Statutory Guidance, the outcome of Ofsted’s thematic report, Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges and the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. See Section 2, Definition of Bullying and Peer Abuse and Section 3, Responding to Bullying. |
| Allegations Against Staff and Volunteers | KCSIE highlights the importance of sharing and responding to any concerns, about the behaviour of an adult who works with children, no matter how small. This chapter has been revised to also consider low level concerns, with a new section added in relation to the differences between an ‘allegation’ and a concern. |
| Placements and Admissions | This chapter has been amended to note the importance of a child’s belonging’s being transferred in appropriate luggage and to add a link to the NYAS ‘My Things Matter’ Report – support and respect care-experienced children and their belongings when they move (see Section 3, Planning). |
| Moving to Another Placement | This chapter has been amended to add a link to the NYAS ‘My Things Matter’ Report – support and respect care-experienced children and their belongings when they move (see Section 2, Arrangements for the transfer to Another Home). |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Residential Child Care - Key Principles | This chapter has been given a general refresh. |
| Staying in Touch, the Safe Use of the Internet, Social Media and Taking Photographs | A link has been added in Further Information to the NSPCC Report Remove Tool and the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS) Digital Passport. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Information Sharing | This guidance has been reviewed and updated throughout to reflect updated advice on information sharing contained in the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children. |
| Recognising Abuse and Neglect | This guidance has been updated to reflect changes from the revised Working Together to Safeguard Children. |
| Referring Safeguarding Concerns | This guidance has been updated reflect changes from the revised statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children. |
| Allegations Against Staff and Volunteers | A fourth bullet point has been added into Section1, Introduction to reflect the revised guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children. The new bullet point means this procedure now also covers situations where an individual has behaved or may have behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children. This is to capture concerns around transferable risk; for example where a person who works in the home is involved in a domestic abuse incident and this may have implications for their suitability to work with children. |
| Staff Qualifications and Employment Checks | A note has been added regarding the checks which employers must carry out to ensure that any person applying to work in the home has the right to work in the UK. See Section 3, Safe Recruitment and Employment Checks. |
| New Chapters and Features | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Child Criminal Exploitation and County Lines | This new guidance provides information on Child Criminal Exploitation, including county lines. It describes the signs and indicators that children are being exploited, and offers guidance for staff in Children's Homes on how they can respond to keep children safe from harm linked to criminal exploitation. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Notification of Serious Events | This procedure has been updated to reflect the latest Ofsted guidance for social care providers on the types of incident which they consider to be serious, and which therefore will require notification to the regulatory authority. New sections on the quality of notifications and learning from notifications have been added. |
| Staff Qualifications and Employment Checks | This guidance has been reviewed throughout and updated as required. Section 3, Safe Recruitment and Employment Checks is new. |
| New Chapters and Features | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Surveillance and Monitoring | This new chapter provides guidance on the use of surveillance and monitoring equipment in Children's Homes. It is based on information published by Ofsted. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Allegations Against Staff or Volunteers | This procedure has been reviewed and updated as required. |
| Notification of Serious Events | This procedure, which sets out which agencies and individuals should be notified when a serious event occurs in relation to a child living in a Children’s Home, has been updated to reflect revised guidance issued by Ofsted in August 2019. The revised guidance sought to clarify what is meant by a ‘serious event’ with the aim of reducing the overall number of notifications made to Ofsted, and in particular reducing the number of repeat notifications made as a result of submitting additional / updated information. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Information Sharing | This guidance has been reviewed and updated throughout to reflect Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018) and the revised DfE Information Sharing Advice for Practitioners Providing Safeguarding Services to Children, Young People, Parents and Carers. |
| Notification of Serious Events | This chapter has been significantly updated therefore should be reread throughout. |
| Moving to Another Placement | Section 2, Arrangements for the Transfer to Another Home has been updated to include a note on the actions placing authorities are required to undertake if a young person is moving from the home into an unregulated placement. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Education | This chapter has been updated to reflect amendments introduced by the Children and Social Work Act 2017. These changes relate to the status of ‘previously looked after children’. A previously looked-after child is one who is no longer looked after in England and Wales because they are the subject of an Adoption, Special Guardianship or Child Arrangements Order which includes arrangements relating to with whom the child is to live, or when the child is to live with any person, or has been adopted from ‘state care’ outside England and Wales. A new Section 6, Safeguarding in School has also been incorporated. |
| Recognising Abuse and Neglect Guidance | Section 6, Sexual Abuse and Section 8, Bullying (including On-line/Cyberbullying) have been reviewed and completely updated. |
| Care and Placement Plans Guidance | This guidance has been reviewed throughout and updated as required. Information in relation to Pathway Plans has been updated to reflect that care leavers can request support from local authorities up to the age of 25 years. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Residential Child Care – Key Principles | Section 3, Achieving the Key Principles has been updated to reflect the General Data Protection Regulations and Data Protection Act 2018, and explains that children in residential care should be helped to understand the types of personal information which is kept in their case records, what it is used for, who it will be shared with and how long it will be kept for. The child’s right to access their case record should also be explained to them. |
| Statement of Purpose | The Liberty House Short Break Service – Statement of Purpose has been updated. |
| Children’s Guide | This chapter has been updated following publication of the General Data Protection Regulations and Data Protection Act 2018 to recommend that Children’s Guides contain information for children and young people on the data / records which the home keeps on them, as well as explaining the right of children and young people to access their case file. |
| Information Sharing and Confidentiality | This chapter has been significantly updated throughout and should be re-read. |
| Case Recording | This guidance has been reviewed and updated following publication of the General Data Protection Regulations and Data Protection Act 2018. |
| Access to Records | This chapter has been significantly updated throughout and should be re-read. |
| Health Care Assessments and Plans | Section 1, Health Care Assessments has been updated with regard to consent to medical treatment. |
| Preparation for Leaving Care | This chapter has been significantly updated throughout and should be re-read. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Case Recording | Section 17, Records must Usually be Retained After Closure has been updated to include a link to Children’s Services – Retention of Records table which provides an overview of the retention requirements for different types of Children’s Social Care Records. |
| Contact with Parents / Carers/ Siblings and Others | Section 2, Different Types of Contact has been updated to take account of the use of mobile communication with regards to contact. |
| Provision and Preparation of Meals | Section 2, Provision of Meals has been updated to reflect that children’s’ views are sought and help to shape the menus and food items available. |
| Smoking and Alcohol | Section 1.1, E-cigarettes/Vapes has been added and links to Electronic cigarettes – NHS and Drinkaware in the Related Information section. |
| Countering Bullying and Peer Abuse | This chapter has been extensively updated and should be read throughout. |
| Offending and Anti-Social Behaviour – Guidance on when to Involve the Police | Section 1.1, Missing Children has been revised to take account of the revised College of Policing definition of missing and absent. |
| Recognising Abuse and Neglect Guidance | This guidance has been reviewed and updated to reflect current Government guidance on safeguarding children and the responsibility which is shared among all professionals to keep children safe and promote their welfare. |
| Referring Safeguarding Concerns | This guidance has been reviewed and updated throughout to reflect current Government guidance on safeguarding children and emphasises that keeping children safe and promoting their welfare is a responsibility of all staff working in the home, not just managers and key workers. |
| Missing Children | This chapter has been extensively updated and should be read throughout |
| Identifying and Supporting Children and Young People Vulnerable to Violent Extremism including Radicalisation | Section 1, Introduction / Definitions has been updated to include additional information for staff on what is meant by the term extremism; an explanation of the processes by which young people can be exposed to the messages of extremist groups has also been added. |
| Allegations Against Staff and Volunteers | This guidance has been updated to clarify the distinct roles and responsibilities of the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and the homes’ senior manger in relation to the handling of allegations against staff and volunteers. |
| Visitors to the Home | This guidance has been reviewed throughout and refreshed as required. |
| Notification of Serious Events | The title of this document has been revised to ‘Notification of Serious Events’ to provide clarity and better reflect terminology used in the Children’s Homes Regulations and Quality Standards. |
| Looked After Reviews | This guidance has been reviewed throughout and updated to include additional detail on the circumstances in which Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) should look to bring forward a child’s Looked After Review. See Section 2, Frequency of Looked After Reviews for full details. |
| Moving to Another Placement | This chapter has been extensively updated and should be read throughout |
| Removed Chapters | |
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| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Advocacy and Independent Visitors | This chapter has been updated to add a link to the Children’s Society ‘Advocacy services for children and young people – a guide for commissioners’. This guide outlines the legislative requirements of local authorities in the provision of advocacy support to children in need and looked after children. |
| Bedrooms | An updated version of the Liberty House Policy Listening Devices and Sleep Monitor has been added in the Related Information section. |
| Education | A new Section 4, Short Break Settings has been added to this chapter. |
| Removed Chapters | |
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| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Providing Personalised Care | This guidance has been updated to include information on the role of residential care workers in supporting young people who are experiencing gender identity issues (see Section 3.2, Gender). |
| Case Recording | A note has been added into Section 17, Records must Usually be Retained After Closure to remind all staff no children’s social care records should be destroyed while the National Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is on-going. |
| Social Visits (Including Overnight Stays) | This chapter has been extensively updated and should be read throughout. |
| Bedrooms | A link has been added to Liberty House Policy Listening Devise and Sleep Monitor in the Related Information section. |
| Sexual Health and Relationships | Section 3, Pornography has been updated to include advice for staff on how to deal with issues relating to young people’s access to pornography online. |
| Allegations Against Staff | This chapter has been extensively updated and should be read throughout. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Drugs and Substance Misuse | This chapter has been updated to reflect Psychoactive Substances (NPS) (previously called legal highs) and the Psychoactive Substances Act which came into force on 26 May 2016. |
