Welcome to the Brighter Futures for Children Procedures Manual

This is the procedures manual for Brighter Futures for Children. Any copies of old procedures should be discarded.

The manual is laid out as following:

• Procedures - this contains the procedures that meet the national social work requirements required by the legislation and statutory guidance;
• Local BFfC Practice Guidance - this contains the Brighter Futures for Children local guidance, tools and other information in addition to the main statutory procedures. It is important that you use this area too;
• The Berkshire West Safeguarding Children Partnership has a range of guidance on safeguarding topics. These can be accessed from the button on the top toolbar titled 'SCP Guidance'.

The Pan Berks Child Protection Procedures can also be accessed from the same button and contain the multi-agency procedures for safeguarding. You will need to access these procedures as well.

See also: the Brighter Futures for Children Foster Carers Handbook which contains useful information for our foster carers in addition to that on the Fostering Website.

We value the children and young people that we work with. In particular, the children and young people we care for are known as Children Looked After. However in the context of this manual as the legislation refers to Looked After Children this is the terminology that is used within the procedures. We have changed the chapter headings of a number of the procedures to recognise the use of the term Children Looked After.

Note: The majority of electronic devices have the functionality to allow a shortcut to be downloaded to the welcome screen of their phone/tablet by loading the site using the web address above and tapping 'Add to Home Screen'. from the menu on their browser.

The 'Using this Manual' guidance explains how this manual works, and sets out the latest amendments. For more information about this manual, please contact: Fiona Tarrant, Head of Corporate Communications & Compliance Fiona.Tarrant@brighterfuturesforchildren.org.

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 and Brighter Futures for Children.