Child protection (safeguarding)

We will keep parents informed about any decisions that are made concerning their child, and any actions we will take.

We may ask other individuals or organisations for information, for example, your GP or your child’s school. We will ask your permission to do this (unless information becomes known about a possible threat to your child’s welfare).

Any information you give to us will be held in confidence within our service. If we need to discuss this information with anyone else or to share the information we will ask for your permission wherever possible.

However, if we have reason to believe that not passing on information will increase the risk of harm to your child, we have the right to act without informing you first.

At any stage in the child protection process, from the initial assessment onwards, we may decide to carry out a core assessment on your child to help with our decision making.

A core assessment will take place over several weeks, led by a social worker that has not been involved with your family before. During this assessment many members of your family will be interviewed, as well as others involved in the education, health and care of your child (such as teachers and doctors).

We build up a complete and fair picture of your child’s home life, which will help us to plan with you what to do next. For more information please see our assessing families page.

If we have to take emergency action to protect a child, it will usually be done on the same day that the allegation is made.

Usually the first order a court will grant in an emergency is an Emergency Protection Order. This is in response to a request for emergency action and is valid for eight days.

If the enquiry is continuing when the Emergency Protection Order expires, we may apply to the court for and Interim Care Order with care proceedings. Parents are usually present when this happens.

If we believe a child will be at risk and should remain in foster care but we do not have the parents’ agreement, we will apply for an Interim Care Order, which lasts for several weeks.

When we have finished our enquiry into the original allegations, which may be several months later, the court will make a final decision about whether a full care order is needed.

If we decide that no emergency action is required, but the situation needs further investigation, we will hold a Child Protection Conference within 15 working days of the allegation being made.

The conference will be chaired independently, with a report from the social worker. It will involve you as a parent, other family members and people working for other agencies, such as police officers, health visitors or your child’s school.

The information we share during the conference will be used to put together a Child Protection Plan for your child.

We will also decide at the conference whether to place your child’s name on the Child Protection Register. The register holds the details of children and families where the children are at risk. The information is reviewed regularly and used to speed up enquiries if more allegations are made at a later date.

In court you have the right to represent your views and contest any allegations made.

The social worker investigating the allegations will give you contact details for the Children’s Panel, a list of solicitors with experience in care proceeding cases, or these can be found in Yellow Pages.

Any parent involved in care proceedings is automatically granted legal aid, which will cover solicitor’s fees.

A child protection enquiry is a serious matter because it follows serious allegations. From beginning to end our focus will be on keeping your child safe.

If you have a complaint or any comments to make about the process, or any other aspect of the enquiry, we have a dedicated phone line and leaflet to assist you. Please contact us for more information using the details on this page, or visits our complaints page.