Using this Manual

1. About this Manual

This is the new procedures manual for Darlington Children Services and it replaces all previous Darlington Children Services Procedures. Any copies of those old procedures should be discarded.

The Darlington Safeguarding Children Partnership Child Protection Procedures can also be accessed from the menu at the top of the home page and should be read alongside this manual.

Please contact Policy.Queries@darlington.gov.uk with any suggested additions, amendments or where there are other issues, e.g. broken links, to the manual.

2. Amendments

This manual will be updated twice annually, and a summary of the changes can be accessed via the 'Amendments' button on the Home page. You will also find the detail of the next planned manual update in this section. The next edition of this manual will be published in April 2025.

If you would like to suggest a change to the procedures manual discuss your suggestion with your line manager in the first instance.

Every version of the manual is archived by tri.x, therefore should you ever need to consult an authoritative version of an earlier edition of the manual we will be able to assist you.

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

3. Local Resources

This manual contains a local resource section which can be accessed via the navigation bar. This library 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.

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 Darlington Borough Council.

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.

We have also taken steps to ensure that our site configuration supports the accessibility features of the recommended browsers (see below).

Each browser has different functions, and there is guidance available online about how to use these functions:

Click here to read guidance on accessibility features for Internet Explorer 11

Click here to read guidance on accessibility features for Microsoft Edge

Click here to read guidance on accessibility features for Google Chrome

Click here to read guidance on accessibility features for Mozilla Firefox

Click here to read guidance on accessibility features for Apple Safari

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. However there will be times when hardcopies of chapters will need to be printed, the printer icon at the top right of every page will link to the printer setup page.

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.

It may sometimes be necessary to force your internet browser to refresh. This is because when you visit a website, data from that site is stored on your computer. This is called "cache" and it helps the website to load faster the next time you visit it by loading data from your computer instead of from the site's server. Normally this won't cause any issues, but occasionally (when the manual has just been updated for example) you may want to force the website to send you new data. By modifying the basic Refresh command, you can force the website to send you fresh data. For most browsers pressing Ctrl + F5 will force a refresh, instructions for all browsers are readily available on the internet.

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.