Using this Manual

1. Using this Manual

The updated manual is laid out as following

• Procedures – this contains the procedures that meet the national social work requirements and are in line with the legislation and statutory guidance;
• Practice Guidance – this contains local guidance, tools and other information that supports and complements the main procedures; when you click the Practice Guidance button on the top toolbar you will find links to the practice guidance areas for Kingston and Richmond and a separate one for Windsor and Maidenhead. It is important that you use these areas;
• The Kingston and Richmond Safeguarding Children Partnerships and the Windsor and Maidenhead Multi Agency Safeguarding Arrangement Website have a range of guidance on safeguarding topics that are relevant to Achieving for Children employees. These can be accessed from the button on the top toolbar titled SCP Guidance. The London Safeguarding Children Procedures and separately the Pan Berks Child Protection Procedures can also be accessed from the same button. You should read this supplementary guidance that includes guidance on CSE, Domestic Abuse, Missing FGM, Extremism and a range of safeguarding topics as well as the multi-agency child protection processes such as child protection conferences, management of allegations etc.

Achieving for Children is a community interest company created by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames to provide their children's services. The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a co-owner of AfC and AfC now deliver children's services across all three boroughs. For more information see the following websites.

Achieving for Children Website

Achieving for Children - Kingston and Richmond

Achieving for Children – Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

For more information, please contact Lisette Cockell lisette.cockell@achievingforchildren.org.uk or Samukele Matshakayile-Ndlovu samukele.matshakayile-ndlovu@achievingforchildren.org.uk.

2. Amendments

This manual will be updated on a regular basis and a summary of the changes can be accessed via the 'Amendments' button on the Home page. The next planned manual update is April 2025.

If you have any queries or suggestions, please contact Lisette Cockell lisette.cockell@achievingforchildren.org.uk or Samukele Matshakayile-Ndlovu samukele.matshakayile-ndlovu@achievingforchildren.org.uk.

Click here to view details of updates made to this manual.

3. Practice Guidance

This manual contains a Practice Guidance section which can be accessed via the navigation bar. This is populated and maintained locally. If there is a resource that you think should be added talk in the first instance to your manager.

4. Glossary and National Contacts

The manual is accessed by readers who may find terms that they are not familiar with. Therefore, a glossary of definitions is available under the resource tab.

5. Regulatory Compliance

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

These procedures use the word ‘must’ where the provision is a legal requirement. The word ‘should’ is used where the provision should be complied with but is not a legal requirement, such as where it is taken from non-statutory government guidance or accepted good practice.

6. Register for Updates

We recommend that you register with us to automatically receive notification when this manual is updated, and to receive a monthly newsletter containing articles which may be of interest. Click on the 'Register for Updates' button on the home screen, to complete and send your details to us.

We will manage your data respectfully and in accordance with your preferences and we will never share your data with other organisations for marketing or other purposes.

7. 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. 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 and Achieving for Children.

8. Accessibility

This website aims to achieve Double-A conformance to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines in accordance with government guidelines. In order to change font size or manual colour use the highlighted 'Accessibility' button at the top right hand corner of any page.

9. Printing and Retaining Copies

The Manual is intended to be viewed on line to ensure only the most up-to-date version of procedures are being used. It will be updated regularly so, in the unlikely event there is a requirement for hard copies they should be destroyed after 72 hours.

10. Browser Recommendations

It is recommended that this manual is viewed with the latest browsers, with Java Script and cookies enabled for maximum compatibility and functionality.

Recommended browsers are:

• Internet Explorer 11 (Windows 7, 8 and 8.1);
• Microsoft Edge (Windows 10);
• Google Chrome;
• Mozilla Firefox;
• Apple Safari.

11. Mobile/Tablet Compatibility

This manual has been tested on a variety of mobile devices to ensure that it displays correctly. If you are using an older mobile device it is possible that the manual will not display correctly.

If you would like the text to be larger, resize the text under the accessibility options, alternatively if you would also like the buttons and the rest of the layout to be enlarged you can use the zoom function within your browser.