Amendments

May 2023

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’. Information on holding a restorative conversation with the child following physical intervention or restraint has been added into Section 12, Recording and Management Review.
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.
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 Related Information and Guidance section.
Staffing and Safe Recruitment	This chapter has been updated in line with Guidance: Children’s Homes – Recruiting Staff (Ofsted).

November 2023

Updated Chapters
Chapter Title	Details
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	New Section 2, Allergies has been added.
Allegations Against Staff	This chapter has been refreshed.
Staffing and Safe Recruitment	This chapter has been amended in line with revised statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education. Information has been added to note that Keeping Children Safe in Education provides that copies of a curriculum vitae should only be accepted alongside an application form as a curriculum vitae on its own may not provide adequate information. Information has also been added in relation to online searches.
New Chapters and Features
Chapter Title	Details
Supporting Children and Young People with Disabilities	This chapter has been added to the manual.

November 2022

Updated Chapters
Chapter Title	Details
Case Recording	This chapter has been updated.
Consultation and Participation	This chapter has been added to the manual and replaces the link to the Children's Services Procedures.
Providing Personalised Care	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.
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 Section 3, Responding to Bullying.
Safeguarding Children and Young People and Referring Safeguarding Concerns	This chapter has been updated.
Allegations Against Staff	This chapter has been revised to also consider low level concerns, with a new section added in relation to the differences between an ‘allegation’ and a concern. KCSIE highlights the importance of sharing and responding to any concerns, about the behaviour of an adult who works with children, no matter how small.
Staff Qualifications	This chapter has been updated.
Staff Supervision and Appraisal	This chapter has been updated.
Surveillance and Monitoring	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 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 to Another Home).
New Chapters and Features
Chapter Title	Details
Equality and Diversity	This chapter has been added.
Health and Safety	This chapter has been added.
Female Genital Mutilation	This chapter has been added.
Leadership 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.
Removed Chapters
Dealing with Challenging and Violent Behaviour.

May 2022

Updated Chapters
Chapter Title	Details
Residential Child Care - Key Principles	This chapter has been given a general refresh.
Staying in Touch, the Safe Use of the Internet, Social Media and Taking Photograph	Links have been added in Further Information to the NSPCC Report Remove Tool, the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS) Digital Passport, Childnet Parents and Carers Toolkit and Talking to your Child About Online Sexual Harassment.
Use of Restraint and Physical Interventions	A link has been added in Further Information to the Ofsted good practice guidance which is non statutory - Guidance: Positive Environments Where Children Can Flourish (Ofsted).
New Chapters and Features
Chapter Title	Details
NICE Guideline: Looked After Children and Young People	A link to this resource has been added to the manual.

November 2021

Updated Chapters
Chapter Title	Details
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.
New Chapters and Features
Chapter Title	Details
Child Criminal Exploitation and County Lines	This chapter has been added.

May 2021

Updated Chapters
Chapter Title	Details
Education	This chapter has been updated to reflect changes from the update to Working Together to Safeguard Children in 2020.
Blood Borne Viruses (BBVs)	This chapter has been updated throughout.
Recognising Abuse and Neglect	This chapter has been updated to reflect changes from the update to Working Together to Safeguard Children in 2020.
Referring Safeguarding Concerns	This chapter has been updated to reflect changes from the update to Working Together to Safeguard Children in 2020.
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). The link has been updated to the West Sussex Leaving Care Local Offer.

November 2020

Updated Chapters
Chapter Title	Details
Allegations Against Staff	This chapter has been updated.
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 updated.
New Chapters and Features
Chapter Title	Details
Surveillance and Monitoring	This chapter has been added to the manual.

May 2020

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.

November 2019

Updated Chapters
Chapter Title	Details
Notification of Serious Events	This guidance has been updated throughout and should be re-read.
Moving to Another Placement	This guidance has been reviewed throughout and updated as required. Section 2, Arrangements for the Transfer or Discharge 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.

May 2024

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