 | Copyright © tri.x | |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Statement of Purpose | The Ride - Statement of Purpose has been updated. |
| Drugs | This chapter has been updated. |
| Recognising Abuse and Neglect | Definitions have been updated in line with revised Working Together to Safeguard Children. |
| Female Genital Mutilation | A new section has been added on Other Harmful Practices. The Health and Care Act 2022 has made it illegal to carry out, offer or aid and abet virginity testing or hymenoplasty in any part of the UK. It is also illegal for UK nationals and residents to do these things outside the UK. Information has also been added on Breast Flattening which is an offence as set out in CPS So-Called Honour-Based Abuse Legal Guidance. |
| Leadership and Management | Section 2.2, Appointment of Manager has been updated in line with updated Ofsted Guidance – Social Care Common Inspection Framework: Children’s Homes. |
| Staffing and Safe Recruitment | New sections have been added in to Section 2, Safe Recruitment and Employment Checks, on Prospective Staff Spending Time in the Home and Carrying Out Interviews, in line with updated Ofsted guidance. A link has been added to information on DBS Digital Identity Verification Guidance. |
| Preparation for Leaving Care | A link has been added in the Further Information section to Ofsted Guidance Children’s Homes that Provide Care and Accommodation for Adults. |
| New Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| E-Bike and E-Scooter Policy | This PDF has been added to the manual. |
| Child Criminal Exploitation and County Lines | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
| Protocol for Calling the Police | This PDF has been added to the manual. |
| Removed Chapters | |
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| Next update: November 2024 |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Safe Use of the Internet, Social Media and Photographs | This chapter has been refreshed and additional links added in Further Information. |
| Health Care Assessments and Plans | Information has been added into Section 2, Health Care Plans in relation to allergies. |
| Provision and Preparation of Meals | Information has been added into Section 1, Responsibility and Risk Assessments, in relation to allergies. |
| First Aid, Home Remedies and Medication | Section 2, Allergies has been added to this chapter. |
| New Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Supporting Children and Young People with Disabilities | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Case Recording | This chapter has been updated in relation to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. |
| Positive Relationships and Behaviour Management | This chapter has been updated to incorporate Ofsted feedback. Information has been added into Section 2, Positive Behaviour Support, Section 6, Risk Assessment and Section 9, Recording and Reporting. |
| Use of Restraint and Physical Interventions | This chapter has been updated to incorporate Ofsted feedback. Added into Section 4, Staff Training ‘This training will be refreshed on an annual basis’. Added into Section 12, Recording and Management Review, information on holding a restorative conversation with the child following physical intervention or restraint. |
| Searching Children/Bedrooms | Additional information has been added in relation to the arrangements around gender of staff undertaking searches. |
| Missing Children | This chapter has been updated to incorporate Ofsted feedback. Information has been added into Section 6, Action to be Taken if a Child is Missing, in relation to Philomena Protocols. |
| Allegations Against Staff | This chapter has been updated. |
| Self Harm and Suicidal Behaviour | This chapter has been amended to include a link to Self-harm: Assessment, Management and Preventing Recurrence NICE Guidance in the Further Information section. |
| Staffing and Safe Recruitment | This chapter has been updated. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Providing Personalised Care | This chapter has been updated. |
| Case Recording | This chapter has been updated. |
| Contact with Parents / Carers / Siblings and Others | Section 3, Supervised Contact has been updated to reflect a finding by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman that the supervisor's observations of the contact must be clearly recorded in the child's record and shared with the parents within 3 months of the visit. |
| Safe Use of the Internet, Social Media and Photographs | This chapter has been updated. |
| Advocacy, Independent Visitors and Independent Reviewing Officers | This chapter has been updated. |
| Education | This chapter has been updated. |
| Leisure and Activities | This chapter has been updated. |
| Health and Wellbeing, Health Notifications and Access to Services | This chapter has been updated. |
| Positive Relationships and Behaviour Management | This chapter has been updated. |
| Use of Restraint and Physical Interventions | This chapter has been updated. |
Health and Safety |
This chapter has been updated. |
| Safeguarding Children and Young People and Referring Safeguarding Concerns | This chapter has been updated. |
| Missing Children | This chapter has been updated. |
| Whistleblowing or Raising Concerns at Work | This chapter has been updated. |
| Surveillance and Monitoring | This chapter has been updated. |
| Staff Supervision and Appraisal | This chapter has been updated. |
| Placements and Admissions | This chapter has been amended to note the importance of a child’s belonging’s being transferred in appropriate luggage and to add a link to the NYAS ‘My Things Matter’ Report – support and respect care-experienced children and their belongings when they move (see Section 3, Planning). |
| Care and Placement Planning | This chapter has been updated. |
| Looked After Reviews and Disruption Meetings | This chapter has been updated. |
| Moving to Another Placement | This chapter has been updated. |
| New Chapters and Features | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Equality and Diversity | This chapter has been added. |
Consultation and Participation |
This chapter has been added. |
| Female Genital Mutilation | This chapter has been added. |
| Leadership and Management | This chapter has been added. |
| Recording and Reporting of Accidents | This chapter has been added. |
| Staffing and Safe Recruitment | This chapter has been added. |
| Risk Assessment and Planning | This chapter has been added. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Statement of Purpose | The Ride - Statement of Purpose has been updated. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Statement of Purpose | The Ride - Statement of Purpose has been updated. |
| Children’s Guide | The Children's Guide has been updated. |
| Staying in Touch, the Safe Use of the Internet, Social Media and Taking Photographs | Links have been added in Relevant Guidance to the NSPCC Report Remove Tool and the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS) Digital Passport. |
| Education | This chapter has been amended throughout to reflect Keeping Children Safe in Education Statutory Guidance and the outcome of Ofsted’s thematic report, Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges. A new Section 2.1, Placing the Child and Section 2.2, The Role of the Virtual Head (VSH) have been added and additional material has enhanced the Section 2.3, Personal Education Plans (PEPs). Section 5, Safeguarding in Schools has been updated to reflect the importance of sharing allegations or concerns about an adult’s behaviour as set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education. |
| Smoking and Alcohol | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Clothing, Pocket Money and Allowances | This chapter has been updated throughout. |
| Behaviour Management | This chapter has been updated throughout. |
| Use of Restraint and Physical Interventions | A link to Ofsted Guidance: Positive Environments Where Children Can Flourish has been added. |
| Countering Bullying and Peer Abuse | This chapter has been amended to reflect Keeping Children Safe in Education Statutory Guidance, the outcome of Ofsted’s thematic report, Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges and the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. See Section 2, Definition of Bullying and Peer Abuse and Section 3, Responding to Bullying. |
| Health and Safety Policy | This policy has been updated. |
| Allegations Against Staff | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| The Ride – Unit Safeguarding Policy | This policy has been updated. |
| Petty Cash and Finance | This chapter has been updated throughout. |
| Organisational Structure and Manager Contacts | This document has been updated. |
| Placements and Admissions | This chapter has been updated. |
| Moving to Another Placement | This chapter has been amended to add a link to the NYAS 'My Things Matter' Report – support and respect care-experienced children and their belongings when they move (see Section 2, Arrangements for the Transfer or Discharge). |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Residential Child Care – Key Principles | This chapter has been updated. |
| Information Sharing | This guidance has been reviewed and updated throughout to reflect updated advice on information sharing contained in the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children. |
| Advocacy and Independent Visitors | This chapter has been updated. |
| Staff Qualifications and Employment Checks | A note has been added regarding the checks which employers must carry out to ensure that any person applying to work in the home has the right to work in the UK. See Section 3, Safe Recruitment and Employment Checks. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Statement of Purpose | The Statement of Purpose has been updated. |
| Children’s Guide | The Children's Guide has been updated. |
| Education | This chapter has been updated to reflect changes from the revised Working Together to Safeguard Children. |
| Blood Borne Viruses (BBVs) | This chapter has been updated throughout and replaces the previous chapter titled 'Infection and Blood Borne Viruses'. |
| Recognising Abuse and Neglect | This chapter has been updated to reflect changes from the revised Working Together to Safeguard Children. |
| Referring Safeguarding Concerns | This chapter has been updated to reflect changes from the revised Working Together to Safeguard Children. |
| Allegations Against Staff | A fourth bullet point has been added into Section 1, Introduction to reflect the revised guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children. The new bullet point means this procedure now also covers situations where an individual has behaved or may have behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children. This is to capture concerns around transferable risk; for example where a person who works in the home is involved in a domestic abuse incident and this may have implications for their suitability to work with children. |
| Surveillance and Monitoring | This chapter has been given a general refresh throughout |
| Preparation for Leaving Care | A link has been added in Relevant Guidance to the Joint Housing Protocols for Care Leavers: good practice advice (DfE and MHCLG). |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Allegations Against Staff | This chapter has been given a general refresh throughout |
| Notification of Serious Events | This procedure has been updated to reflect the latest Ofsted guidance for social care providers on the types of incident which they consider to be serious, and which therefore will require notification to the regulatory authority. |
| Staff Qualifications and Employment Checks | This chapter has been given a general refresh throughout |
| Care and Placement Plans Guidance | Section 2, Placement Plans has been updated and information added in relation to Issues which the Placement Plan should cover. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Notification of Serious Events | This procedure, which sets out which agencies and individuals should be notified when a serious event occurs in relation to a child living in a Children’s Home, has been updated to reflect revised guidance issued by Ofsted in August 2019. The revised guidance sought to clarify what is meant by a ‘serious event’ with the aim of reducing the overall number of notifications made to Ofsted, and in particular reducing the number of repeat notifications made as a result of submitting additional / updated information. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Statement of Purpose | The Statement of Purpose has been updated. |
| Information Sharing | This guidance has been reviewed and updated throughout to reflect Working Together to Safeguard Children and the revised DfE Information Sharing Advice for Practitioners Providing Safeguarding Services to Children, Young People, Parents and Carers. |
| Recognising Abuse and Neglect | Section 6, Sexual Abuse and Section 8, Bullying (including Online / Cyberbullying) have been reviewed and completely updated. |
| Safeguarding Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation | Links have been added to resources for practitioners working with children who have been, or are at risk of, Child Sexual Exploitation published by Barnardos and Research in Practice. |
| Notification of Serious Events | This chapter has been reviewed. |
| Care and Placement Plans Guidance | This guidance has been reviewed throughout and updated as required. Information in relation to Pathway Plans has been updated to reflect that care leavers can request support from local authorities up to the age of 25 years. |
| Moving to Another Placement | This guidance has been reviewed throughout and updated as required. Section 2, Arrangements for the Transfer to Another Home has been updated to include a note on the actions placing authorities are required to undertake if a young person is moving from the home into an unregulated placement. |
| New Chapters and Features | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Transgender and Sexual Orientation Policy | This policy has been added to the manual. |
| Child Criminal Exploitation Policy | This policy has been added to the manual. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Statement of Purpose | The Ride - Statement of Purpose has been updated. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Education | This chapter has been updated to reflect amendments introduced by the Children and Social Work Act 2017. These changes relate to the status of ‘previously looked after children’. A previously looked-after child is one who is no longer looked after in England and Wales because they are the subject of an Adoption, Special Guardianship or Child Arrangements Order which includes arrangements relating to with whom the child is to live, or when the child is to live with any person, or has been adopted from ‘state care’ outside England and Wales. A new Section 5, Safeguarding in School has been incorporated. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Residential Child Care – Key Principles | Section 3, Achieving the Key Principles has been updated to reflect the UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018, and explains that children in residential care should be helped to understand the types of personal information which is kept in their case records, what it is used for, who it will be shared with and how long it will be kept for. The child’s right to access their case record should also be explained to them. |
| Children’s Guide | This section has been updated in following publication of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018 to recommend that Children’s Guides contain information for children and young people on the data / records which the home keeps on them, as well as explaining the right of children and young people to access their case file. |
| Information Sharing and Confidentiality | This chapter has been extensively updated and should be re-read throughout. |
| Case Recording | Section 17, Records must Usually be Retained After Closure has been updated to include a link to Children’s Services – Retention of Records table which provides an overview of the retention requirements for different types of Children’s Social Care Records. It has also been reviewed and updated following publication of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018. |
| Contact with Parents / Carers / Siblings and Others | Section 2, Different Types of Contact has been updated to take account of the use of mobile communication with regards to contact. |
| Access to Records | This chapter has been extensively updated and should be re-read throughout. |
| Health Care Assessments and Plans | Section 1, Health Care Assessments has been updated with regard to consent to medical treatment. |
| Provision and Preparation of Meals | Section 2, Provision of Meals has been updated to reflect that children’s views are sought and help to shape the menus and food items available. |
| Smoking and Alcohol | This chapter has been extensively updated and should be re-read throughout. |
| Countering Bullying and Peer Abuse | This chapter has been extensively updated and should be re-read throughout. |
| Offending and Anti-Social Behaviour – Guidance on when to Involve the Police | Section 1.1, Missing Children has been revised to take account of the revised College of Policing definition of missing and absent. |
| Recognising Abuse and Neglect Guidance | This guidance has been reviewed and updated to reflect current Government guidance on safeguarding children and the responsibility which is shared among all professionals to keep children safe and promote their welfare. |
| Referring Safeguarding Concerns | This guidance has been reviewed and updated throughout to reflect current Government guidance on safeguarding children and emphasises that keeping children safe and promoting their welfare is a responsibility of all staff working in the home, not just managers and key workers. |
| Missing Children | This chapter has been extensively updated and should be re-read throughout. |
| Safeguarding Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation | Section 1, Introduction has been revised throughout to include additional information on the nature of child sexual exploitation and its impact on young people. Section 2, Indicators of Possible Sexual Exploitation has also been revised to reflect the complexity of child sexual exploitation, including situations where young people are both perpetrators and victims of abuse. |
| Identifying and Supporting Children and Young People Vulnerable to Violent Extremism including Radicalisation | Section 1, Introduction / Definitions has been updated to include additional information for staff on what is meant by the term extremism; an explanation of the processes by which young people can be exposed to the messages of extremist groups has also been added. |
| Complaints | The Important Contact details have been updated. |
| Self Harm and Suicidal Behaviour | Section 2, Planning and Prevention has been updated to provide additional guidance for staff on how to respond to young people in our care who are feeling suicidal or who are self harming. A note has also been added on the importance on offering appropriate support to staff members and other young people living in the home when incidents of self harm have taken place. |
| Visitors to the Home | This guidance has been reviewed throughout and refreshed as required. |
| Notification of Serious Events | The title of this document has been revised to ‘Notification of Serious Events’ to provide clarity and better reflect terminology used in the Children’s Homes Regulations and Quality Standards. |
| Looked After Reviews | This guidance has been reviewed throughout and updated to include additional detail on the circumstances in which Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) should look to bring forward a child’s Looked After Review. See Section 2, Frequency of Looked After Reviews for full details. |
| Preparation for Leaving Care | This chapter has been extensively updated and should be re-read throughout. |
| Moving to Another Placement | This chapter has been significantly updated and should be re-read throughout. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Title | Details |
| Providing Personalised Care | This guidance has been updated to include information on the role of residential care workers in supporting young people who are experiencing gender identity issues (see Section 3.2, Gender). |
| Case Recording | A note has been added into Section 17, Records must Usually be Retained After Closure to remind all staff no children’s social care records should be destroyed while the National Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is on-going. |
| Social Visits (Including Overnight Stays) | This new chapter replaces the previous chapter and should be re-read in its entirety. |
| Health Care Assessments and Plans | A link to NICE guideline (NG26) has been added. |
| Sexual Health and Relationships | Section 3, Pornography has been updated to include advice for staff on how to deal with issues relating to young people’s access to pornography online. |
| Drugs and Substance Misuse | This chapter has been updated to reflect new Psychoactive Substances (NPS) (previously called legal highs) and the new Psychoactive Substances Act which came into force on 26 May 2016. |
| Safeguarding Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation | Section 1, Introduction has been updated to take account of the change of definition in Child Sexual Exploitation: Definition and Guide for Practitioners (DfE February 2017). |
| Allegations Against Staff | This new chapter replaces the previous chapter and should be re-read in its entirety. |
