Child Protection Enquiries (Section 47)

1. Initiating Section 47 Enquiries

A section 47 enquiry (under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989) is initiated to decide whether, and what type of, action is required to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child who is suspected to be suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm.

A strategy discussion/meeting should be held to decide whether to initiate enquiries under Section 47. Strategy discussions/meetings should be held as soon as possible, bearing in mind the needs of the child.  

See Flowchart 3 Immediate Protection in Working Together to Safeguard Children.

A Lead Practitioner should convene the strategy discussion and make sure they:

• Consider the child’s welfare and safety, including through speaking to the child, and identifying whether the child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm;
• Decide what information should be shared with the child and family (on the basis that information is not shared if this may jeopardise a police investigation or place the child at risk of harm);
• Agree what further action is required, and who will do what by when, where an EPO is in place, or the child is the subject of police powers of protection;
• Record agreed decisions in accordance with local recording procedures; and
• Follow up actions to make sure what was agreed gets done.

See Flowchart 5: Action Following a Strategy Meeting in Working Together to Safeguard Children.

The Lead Practitioner should always be a social worker for child protection enquiries.

A multi-agency assessment (see Assessments Procedure) is the means by which Section 47 Enquiries are carried out. The assessment will have commenced at the point of referral and must continue whenever the criteria for Section 47 Enquiries are satisfied. The timescale within which the assessment must be completed is no longer than 45 working days from the point of referral into local authority children’s social care. The outcome of enquiries under Section 47 must be available in time for an initial child protection conference which (if required) must be held within 15 working days of the Strategy Discussion/Meeting where the enquiries were initiated.

A section 47 enquiry is carried out by undertaking or continuing with an Assessment in accordance with the guidance set out in this chapter and following the principles and parameters of a good assessment as set out in the Assessments Procedure.

It is for the local authority to decide whether to make enquiries and the strategy discussion should inform this decision.

2. Purpose of Section 47 Enquiries

A Section 47 Enquiry is initiated to decide whether, and what type of, action is required to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child who is suspected of, or likely to be, suffering significant harm. The enquiry is carried out by undertaking or continuing with an assessment in accordance with the guidelines set out in this chapter and following the principles and parameters of a good assessment (see Assessments Procedure for further details).

3. Conducting Section 47 Enquiries

Local authority social workers should lead assessments under section 47 of the Children Act 1989. The police, health practitioners, teachers and school staff and other relevant practitioners should help the local authority in undertaking its enquiries.

The Lead Practitioner for section 47 enquiries should be a social worker.

Lead Practitioners should:

• Lead the Assessment in accordance with the guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children;
• Carry out enquiries in a way that minimises distress for the child and family;
• See the child who is the subject of concern to ascertain their wishes and feelings; assess their understanding of their situation; assess their relationships and circumstances more broadly, and understand the child’s experiences and interactions with others, especially where there are concerns of extra-familial harm;
• Explain to parents or carers the purpose, process and potential outcome of the enquiries and be prepared to answer questions openly, unless to do so would affect the safety and welfare of the child;
• Interview parents and/or caregivers and determine the wider social and environmental factors that might impact on them and their child, including extra-familial contexts;
• Systematically gather information about the child's and family's history;
• Analyse the findings of the Assessment and evidence about what interventions are likely to be most effective with other relevant practitioners  to determine the child's needs and the level of risk of harm faced by the child to inform what help should be provided and act to provide that help; and
• Follow the guidance set out in Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Guidance on interviewing victims and witnesses, and guidance on using special measures, where a decision has been made to undertake a joint interview of the child as part of any criminal investigation.

The Lead Practitioner, when conducting a Section 47 Enquiry, must assess the potential needs and safety of any other child in the household of the child in question. In addition, Section 47 Enquiries may be required concerning any children in other households with whom the alleged abuser may have contact.

In determining which practitioners should be involved in a Section 47 Enquiry, consideration could include who are the family most likely to cooperate with. In all cases where there is a known propensity to violence within the family household, consideration should be given to the strategy to be adopted, with police advice or assistance if appropriate, about how to reduce the risks before any visits take place.

The child must always be seen and communicated with alone in the course of a Section 47 Enquiry by the Lead Practitioner, unless it is contrary to their interests to do so. The strategy discussion/meeting will plan any interview with the child. The Record of Section 47 Enquiry and Reports to Child Protection Conferences should include the date(s) when the child was seen alone by the Lead Practitioner and, if not seen alone, who was present and the reasons for their presence.

Parents should be involved at the earliest opportunity unless to do so would jeopardise a police investigation or place the child at risk of harm.

This might include circumstances such as:

• The possibility that a child would be threatened or otherwise coerced into silence;
• A strong likelihood that important evidence would be destroyed; or
• That the child in question did not wish the parent to be involved at that stage, and is competent to take that decision.

In such circumstances, the social worker must take legal advice about how to proceed and whether legal action may be required, for example through an application for an emergency protection order or a child assessment order.

The police should:

• Help other agencies understand the reasons for concerns about the child's safety and welfare by sharing information and analysis;
• Decide whether or not police investigations reveal grounds for instigating criminal proceedings;
• Make available to other practitioners any other relevant information gathered or known to inform discussions about the child's welfare; and
• Follow the guidance set out in Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Guidance on interviewing victims and witnesses, and guidance on using special measures, where a decision has been made to undertake a joint interview with the child as part of the criminal investigations.

Health practitioners should:

• Provide appropriate specialist assessments. For example, paediatric or forensic medical assessments, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and/or child psychologists may be involved in specific assessments relating to the child's developmental progress. The lead health practitioner (probably a consultant paediatrician, or possibly the child's GP) may need to request and coordinate these assessments; and
• Ensure appropriate treatment and follow up health concerns, such as administering missing vaccines.

All involved practitioners should:

• Contribute to the Assessment as required, providing information and analysis about the child and family;
• Consider whether a joint enquiry or investigation team may need to speak to a child without the knowledge of the parent or carers;
• Approach the work with parents and carers in line with the principles in chapter 1 of Working Together to Safeguard Children;

• Seek advice and guidance as required and in line with local practice.

The National Multi-agency Practice Standards for Child Protection provide that:

Practitioners should:

• Satisfy themselves that conclusions about the likelihood of significant harm give sufficient weight to the views, experiences, and concerns of those who know the child and/or parents well, including relatives who are protective of the child, and other relevant practitioners;
• Share their thinking and proposed recommendations with other practitioners who hold relevant information and insight into the child and adults involved with the child.
• Comment, challenge, and jointly deliberate, before making a final decision about the likelihood of significant harm;
• Together with other agencies, clarify what family help from multiagency partners is necessary to reduce the likelihood of significant harm and maintain reasonable care for the children. They should seek assurance that this resource is available and of sufficient skill and intensity;
• Remain alert to changes in circumstances for the child and family and respond as new information comes to light that needs to be reflected in the child protection plan;
• Reflect on the proposed protection plan and consider adjustments to strengthen the protection plan. The protection plan should be specific, achievable, and relevant to the likelihood of significant harm and the context in which it is occurring.

4. Outcomes of a Section 47 Enquiry

Local authority social workers are responsible for deciding what action to take and how to proceed following Section 47 Enquiries. The outcome of a Section 47 Enquiry must be endorsed by the team manager.

A Section 47 Enquiry may conclude that the original concerns are:

• Not substantiated; although consideration should be given to whether the child may need services as a Child in Need;
• Substantiated and the child is judged to be suffering, or likely to suffer, Significant Harm and an Initial Child Protection Conference should be called.

4.1 Concerns not substantiated

Lead practitioners should:

• Discuss the case with the child, parents and other practitioners and be prepared to answer questions openly and be clear on next steps;
• Discuss whether support from any services may be helpful and help secure it;
• Consider whether the child's health and development should be re-assessed regularly against specific objectives and decide who has responsibility for doing this; and
• Discuss with the family whether they wish to be referred to a family group decision-making forum, such as a family group conference, to determine ongoing support for the child and family.

All involved practitioners should:

• Participate in further discussions as necessary;
• Contribute to the development of any Plan as appropriate;
• Provide services as specified in the Plan for the child;
• Review the impact of services delivered as agreed in the Plan;
• Approach the work with parents and carers in line with the principles of a child-centred approach within a whole family focus set out in Chapter 1 Working Together to Safeguard Children;
• Seek advice and guidance as required and in line with local practice guidance;
• Consider the plans for ongoing assessment and reviewing the child’s circumstances.

Outcomes may be:

1. No Further Action
   Enquiries have revealed that there are no causes for concern. The child may be a child in need but the family do not wish for services to be provided, in which case the case will be closed. Feedback should be given by local authority Children’s Social Care to the referrer on the decisions taken. Where appropriate, this feedback should include the reasons why a case may not meet the statutory threshold and offer suggestions for other sources of more suitable support.
   
   
2. Family Support to be provided
   Enquiries have revealed that there is no evidence that the child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm but there are needs that could be met by the provision of services either under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 or by signposting the family to another agency. The family are willing for a package of support to be provided, or continue to be provided.
   
   Where services are to be provided under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989, a social work qualified Practice Supervisor or manager should decide, with partners where appropriate, who the most appropriate Lead Practitioner will be and with the Lead Practitioner’s agreement, allocate them in line with the local protocol.

The Lead Practitioner role can be held by a range of people, including social workers. When allocating the Lead Practitioner, local authorities and their partners should consider the needs of the child and their family to ensure the Lead Practitioner has the time required to undertake the role. The Lead Practitioner should have the skills, knowledge, competence, and experience to work effectively with the child and their family.

The assessment should be led by a Lead Practitioner and approved by a social work qualified Practice Supervisor or manager.

The Lead Practitioner should:

• Lead on an assessment and complete it in line with the locally agreed protocol according to the child’s needs and within 45 working days from the point of referral into local authority Children’s Social Care;
• See the child within a timescale that is appropriate to the nature of the concerns expressed at referral, according to an agreed plan;
• Conduct interviews with the child and family members, separately and together as appropriate. Initial discussions with the child should be conducted in a way that minimises distress to them and maximises the likelihood that they will provide accurate and complete information, avoiding leading or suggestive questions;
• Record the assessment findings and decisions and next steps following the assessment;
• Inform, in writing, all the relevant agencies and the family of their decisions and, if the child is a child in need, of the plan for providing support; and
• Inform the referrer of what action has been or will be taken.

Following an assessment, where the assessment has concluded that a package of family support is required to meet the child's needs under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989, the Lead Practitioner should convene a Child in Need Planning Meeting to agree a Child in Need Plan – see Child in Need Plans and Reviews Procedure.

See Flowchart 4: Action Taken for an Assessment of a Child under the Children Act 1989 in Working Together to Safeguard Children.

4.2 Concerns of Significant Harm are Substantiated and the Child is Judged to be Suffering, or Likely to Suffer, Significant Harm

N.B. Where immediate protective action is required, the advice of Legal Services should be sought.

Lead practitioners should:

• Convene an initial child protection conference. The timing of this conference should depend on the urgency of the case and respond to the needs of the child and the nature and severity of the harm they may be facing. It should take place within 15 working days of a Strategy Discussion, or the Strategy Discussion at which section 47 enquiries were initiated if more than one has been held;
• Consider which practitioners with specialist knowledge or relevant professional disciplines should be invited to participate so that the plan will meet the child’s needs;
• Seek to communicate the outcome and rationale to the referring practitioner or agency, and give particular consideration to whether they should be included in the child protection conference;
• Ensure that the child and their parents understand the purpose of the conference and who will attend. Parents should be given appropriate information to support their participation in the conference;
• Help prepare the child if they are attending or making representations through a third party to the conference;
• Give information about advocacy agencies and explain that the family may bring an advocate, friend or supporter.

All involved practitioners should:

• Be sufficiently skilled and experienced to prepare for and engage with the child protection conference, and able to critically assess and challenge their own and others’ input;
• Contribute to the information their agency provides ahead of the conference, setting out the nature of the agency's involvement with the child and family;
• Offer clear analysis based on their perspective;
• Consider, in conjunction with the police and the appointed conference Chair, whether the report can and should be shared with the parents and if so when;
• Approach the work with parents and carers in line with the principles of a child-centred approach within a whole family focus set out in Chapter 1 Working Together to Safeguard Children;
• Attend the conference and take part in decision-making when invited;
• Seek advice and guidance as required and in line with local practice guidance.

For the detailed procedure in relation to Child Protection Conferences, see Bristol Safeguarding Partnership Procedures, Child Protection Conferences Procedure.

5. Recording Section 47 Enquiries

The Lead Practitioner should record the information gathered and actions during the course of the enquiry and its outcomes on a Record of Section 47 Enquiries, which should be approved by the team manager.

6. Dispute Resolution

If the local authority Children’s Social Care decides not to proceed with a Child Protection Conference then other practitioners involved with the child and family have the right to request that a conference be convened, if they have serious concerns that a child's welfare may not be adequately safeguarded. As a last resort, the safeguarding partners should have in place a quick and straightforward means of resolving differences of opinion. In the event of a continued difference of opinion, the Bristol Safeguarding Partnership Procedures, Conflict Resolution Policy should be followed.

7. National Multi-agency Practice Standards for Child Protection

Section 3 in Working Together to Safeguard Children sets out national multi-agency practice standards for child protection for all practitioners working in services and settings who come into contact with children who may be suffering or have suffered significant harm within or outside the home.

Local safeguarding partners need to ensure all practitioners are supported to be able to achieve the national multi-agency practice standards for child protection, including through:

• An unrelenting focus on protection and the best outcomes for children;
• Creating learning cultures in which practitioners stay up to date as new evidence of best practice emerges;
• Creating an environment in which it is safe to challenge, including assumptions that relate to ethnicity, sex, disability, and sexuality.

A: Recognising Actual or Likely Significant Harm for All Practitioners

• Practitioners are alert to potential indicators of abuse, neglect, and exploitation, and listen carefully to what a child says, how they behave, and observes how they communicate if non-verbal (due to age, special needs and/or disabilities, or if unwilling to communicate). Practitioners will try to understand the child’s personal experiences and observe and record any concerns;
• Practitioners communicate in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and level of understanding and use evidence-based practice tools for engaging with children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities;
• When practitioners have concerns or information about a child that may indicate a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, they share them with relevant practitioners and escalate them if necessary, using the referral or escalation procedure in place within their local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements. They update colleagues when they receive relevant new information;
• Practitioners never assume that information has already been shared by another professional or family member and always remain open to changing their views about the likelihood of significant harm.

B: Section 47 Enquiries, Child Protection Conferences and Child Protection Plans

• Practitioners are aware of the limits and strengths of their personal expertise and agency remit. They work collaboratively and proactively with multi-agency practitioners to build an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the daily life of a child and their family to establish the likelihood of significant harm and any ongoing risks. Practitioners respect the opinions, knowledge and skills of multi-agency colleagues and engage constructively in their challenge;
• Practitioners have an applied understanding of what constitutes a child suffering actual or likely significant harm. They consider the severity, duration and frequency of any abuse, degree of threat, coercion, or cruelty, the significance of others in the child’s world, including all adults and children in contact with the child (this can include those within the immediate and wider family and those in contexts beyond the family, including online), and the cumulative impact of adverse events;
• Practitioners take care to ensure that children know what is being discussed about them and their family where this is appropriate. They ask children what they would like to happen and what they think would help them and their family to reduce the likelihood of significant harm, including where harm is taking place in contexts beyond the family home. Practitioners listen to what children tell them;
• Practitioners engage parents and the family network, as appropriate, in the discussions, recognising previous involvement with agencies and services may influence how they engage. Practitioners encourage parents and families to express what support would help them to reduce significant harm;
• Practitioners thoroughly explore the significance of the adults in contact with the child and their family or individual histories. They should pay particular attention to any serious criminal convictions, previous allegations of child abuse, domestic abuse or impulsive violent behaviour, restrictions on contact with children or involvement with children subject to child protection plans or care proceedings;
• Practitioners satisfy themselves that conclusions about the likelihood of significant harm give sufficient weight to the views, experiences, and concerns of those who know the child and/or parents well, including relatives who are protective of the child, and other relevant practitioners;
• Practitioners share their thinking and proposed recommendations with other practitioners who hold relevant information and insight into the child and adults involved with the child. Practitioners comment, challenge, and jointly deliberate, before making a final decision about the likelihood of significant harm;
• Together with other agencies, practitioners clarify what family help from multi- agency partners is necessary to reduce the likelihood of significant harm and maintain reasonable care for the children. They seek assurance that this resource is available and of sufficient skill and intensity;
• Practitioners explain clearly to parents and the family network the implications of the threshold that has been reached for section 47 enquiries, the initial child protection conference, and any ongoing child protection plan (including that this threshold may lead to pre-proceedings, should the likelihood of significant harm not reduce). Practitioners do everything they can to ensure that parents and the family network understand and can engage purposefully with the enquiries and any protection plan;
• Practitioners remain alert to changes in circumstances for the child and family and respond as new information comes to light that needs to be reflected in the child protection plan;
• Practitioners reflect on the proposed protection plan and consider adjustments to strengthen the protection plan. The protection plan is specific, achievable, and relevant to the likelihood of significant harm and the context in which it is occurring.

C: Discharging the Child Protection Plan

• Practitioners work as part of a multi-agency team to create lasting change for families and ensure the child, parents and family network know that further help and support is available if needed or further concerns arise;
• Following a decision to discharge a child protection plan, practitioners ensure that appropriate support is in place for the child and family and respond to changing circumstances and new information;
• Where a child becomes looked after, practitioners ensure that this is well planned and that the child, parents and family network are appropriately supported. Ongoing need is monitored as part of care planning.

See also Children's Social Care: National Framework - Statutory Guidance which sets out the principles behind children’s social care, its purpose, factors enabling good practice and what it should achieve.