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| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Drugs | Information has been added to reflect the reclassification of nitrous oxide as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (as amended). |
| Smoking | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Recognising Abuse and Neglect | Definitions have been updated in line with revised Working Together to Safeguard Children. |
| Child Criminal Exploitation and County Lines | Minor amendments have been made to definitions in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children. |
| Preparation for Leaving Care | A link to Ofsted Guidance; Children’s Homes that Provide Care and Accommodation for Adults has been added into Further Information. |
| Next Update: January 2025 |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Safe Use of the Internet, Social Media and Photographs | This chapter has been refreshed and additional links have been added into Further Information. |
| Female Genital Mutilation | A new Section 8, Other Harmful Practices has been added. 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 | Two new subsections have been added: 2.8, Prospective Staff Spending Time in the Home and 2.9, Carrying Out Interviews in line with updated Ofsted guidance. A link has also been added to information on DBS Digital Identity Verification Guidance. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Providing Personalised Care | A link has been added into Further Information section to Culturally Appropriate Care (Skills for Care). |
| Health Care Assessments and Plans | Information in relation to allergies has been added into Section 2, Health Care Plans. |
| Provision and Preparation of Meals | Information in relation to allergies has been added into Section 1, Responsibility and Risk Assessments. |
| First Aid, Home Remedies and Medication | Section 2, Allergies has been added. |
| Allegations Against Staff and Volunteers | This chapter has been amended in line with revised Keeping Children Safe in Education. A new Section 2, The Difference Between an Allegation of Harm and a Concern has also been added. |
| Self Harm and Suicidal Behaviour | This chapter has been amended to include a link to Self-harm: Assessment, Management and Preventing Recurrence NICE Guidance into Further Information. |
| New Chapters and Features | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Supporting Children and Young People with Disabilities | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Providing Personalised Care | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Case Recording | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Consultation and Participation | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Contact with Parents/Carers/Siblings and Others | Section 4, 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 refreshed. |
| Advocacy, Independent Visitors and Independent Reviewing Officers | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Education | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Leisure and Activities | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Health and Wellbeing, Health Notifications and Access to Services | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Use of Restraint and Physical Interventions | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Searching Children/Bedrooms | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Positive Relationships and Behaviour Management | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Safeguarding Children and Referring Safeguarding Concerns | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Whistleblowing or Raising Concerns at Work | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Surveillance and Monitoring | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Staff Supervision and Appraisal | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Placements and Admissions | This chapter has been amended. |
| Care and Placement Planning | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| Looked After Reviews and Disruption Meetings | This chapter has been refreshed. |
| New Chapters and Features | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Equality and Diversity | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
| Health and Safety | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
| Female Genital Mutilation | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
| Leadership and Management | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
| Staffing and Safe Recruitment | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
| Recording and Reporting of Accidents | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
| Risk Assessment and Planning | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Staying in Touch, the Safe Use of the Internet, Social Media and Taking Photographs | Links have been added in Relevant Guidance to Talking to Your Child About Online Sexual Harassment (Children’s Commissioner) and to Childnet Parents and Carers Toolkit. |
| 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. Please see the Section 4, Safeguarding in Schools. New sections on Placing the Child (see Section 2.1, Placing the Child) and The Role of the Virtual Head (VSH) (see Section 2.2,The Role of the Virtual School Head (VSH)) have been added and additional material has enhanced the Personal Education Plans (PEPs) (see Section 2.3, Personal Education Plans (PEP's)). Section 4, 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. |
| Health Care Assessments and Plans | A link has been added to Who Pays? Determining which NHS commissioner is responsible for making payment to a provider. |
| Use of Restraint and Physical Interventions | A link to Guidance: Positive Environments Where Children Can Flourish (Ofsted) 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. |
| 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). |
| 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. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Residential Child Care - Key Principles | This chapter has been given a general refresh. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Advocacy and Independent Visitors | This chapter has been reviewed and updated throughout. |
| Allegations Against Staff and Volunteers | A fourth bullet point was 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. |
| 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 Name | Details |
| Residential Child Care – Key Principles | A link has been added to Children’s Services Policies, Values and Principles. |
| Providing Personalised Care | This chapter has been updated to reflect local guidance. |
| Case Recording | This chapter has been updated to reflect local guidance. |
| Contact with Parents/Carers/Siblings and Others | This chapter has been updated to reflect local guidance. |
| Staying in Touch, the Safe Use of the Internet, Social Media and Taking Photographs | This chapter has been updated to reflect local guidance. |
| Bedrooms | This chapter has been reviewed and updated locally. |
| Education | This chapter has been updated to reflect changes from the revised Working Together to Safeguard Children. |
| Transporting Children | This chapter has been reviewed and refreshed where required. |
| Health Notifications and Access to Services | This chapter has been updated to reflect local guidance. |
| Sexual Health and Relationships | This chapter has been reviewed and refreshed where required. |
| Blood Borne Viruses (BBVs) | This chapter has been revised throughout and replaces the previous version. |
| First Aid, Home Remedies and Medication | This chapter has been updated to reflect local guidance. |
| Clothing, Pocket Money and Allowances | This chapter has been updated. |
| Link Worker Guidance | This chapter has been updated to reflect local guidance. |
| Relationship Management | This chapter has been updated to reflect local guidance. |
| Use of Restraint and Physical Interventions | This chapter has been updated to reflect local guidance. |
| Searching Children/Bedrooms | This chapter has been updated. |
| Dealing with Unregulated Behaviour | This chapter has been updated to reflect local guidance. |
| Relationships and Physical Contact with Children | This chapter has been updated. |
| 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. |
| Missing Children | This chapter has been updated. |
| Self Harm and Suicidal Behaviour | This chapter has been updated. |
| Notification of Serious Events | This chapter has been updated to reflect local guidance. |
| 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). |
| Moving to Another Placement | This chapter has been updated to reflect local guidance. |
| New Chapters and Features | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Child Criminal Exploitation and County Lines | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| 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 revised and updated throughout and replaces the previous chapter |
| New Chapters and Features | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Surveillance and Monitoring | This chapter has been added to the manual. |
| Updated Chapters | |
| Chapter Name | Details |
| Allegations Against Staff and Volunteers | This chapter has been reviewed and refreshed where required and updated with regard to terminology. |
| 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 Name | Details |
| Statement of Purpose | A link has been added to the Statement of Purpose, located in the Local Resources section of this manual. |
| Notification of Serious Events | This chapter has been reviewed and updated throughout. |
| 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. |
